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michaelflutist's avatar

I'm not so sure about the candidates you're suggesting. I think any Democrat who might possibly win that district couldn't be very liberal. McGrath is probably too liberal, and Grimes ran a terrible Senate campaign, so I'm not impressed.

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Harrison Konigstein's avatar

Disagree on the terrible campaign-it was more a combination of GOP wave and Mitch McConnell possibly being the best campaigner in modern Kentucky history than any problems with Grimes's campaign in my opinion.

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Andrew's avatar

Yeah, that one was weird and went sideways real quick with the national environment. Grimes campaign seemed to not feel confident like it was a real race and so they never got going. She still wouldтАЩve lost but she couldтАЩve came close to matching her early poll numbers. I get it, though. Winning in KY went from possible to a mirage to a money pit.

If we spend on KY-6, we better be spending on a lot of other seats, first. PA-1 has been a glaring example of Dems do bad bc we donтАЩt try. That seat has always been winnable if we threw $10m at it.

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Zack from the SFV's avatar

What rhymes with Alison Lundergan Grimes?

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Brad Warren's avatar

Ugh, I still remember that video. It was like a bad ripoff of the Gregory Brothers' work.

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Brad Warren's avatar

Yeah, in hindsight it's truly amazing how quickly the state Democratic parties collapsed in KY, WV, AR, TN, OK, etc. following the election of Obama. (Correlation or causation? You decide!)

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DHfromKY's avatar

What you see as "quick" may be the end result of a long, slow process. For example, Democratic control of the KY legislature had been gradually eroding for *decades* before the Senate flipped, and it took another 15-16 years for control of the House to slip away. Obama's Presidency overlapped with the final years of Democratic control in the House, but that very gradual loss of control started when he was in his 20s.

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Mike in MD's avatar

The idea that KY-Sen in 2014 was seen as competitive and our best potential pickup (except perhaps Maine where Collins basically got a bye) reflects how slim the pickings were that year. But actually winning it always seemed like a stretch at best and would have been under different circumstances, like McConnell retiring or the year being less red. Grimes didn't exactly help herself with episodes like her convenient amnesia about her presidential vote. (Applicable lesson for next year is don't let Republicans in competitive states and districts get away with any "Donald Who?" routines.)

KY-06 is potentially gettable as we did nearly win it in 2018, though a fresher face than McGrath or Grimes would probably be best.

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DHfromKY's avatar

In 2018, Barr was running as a 3-term incumbent. In 2026, the seat will be open unless Barr does the Chicken Dance between now and January. Open seats don't happen very often, so we had best take the chance while it's there. I'm glad the DCCC has made an early commitment, especially since one of their co-chairs for recruitment is Louisville's Morgan McGarvey, who was a state senator before he succeeded John Yarmuth.

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michaelflutist's avatar

Not having a good answer for who she supported for president was an idiotic own goal that hurt her with everybody. It was a lousy campaign.

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