Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell is
now tied, 48% to 48%, with his Democratic opponent, Bruce Lunsford. That's bad news for Senate Republicans: Knocking out their leader could toss them into a bit of chaos, particularly given that their whip, John Kyl, isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and tends to have an impolitic and harshly conservative streak. Meanwhile, McConnell is
running a campaign sure to make John McCain cry:
McConnell has a legendary stature in Kentucky because of his meticulous attention to constituent services and his ability to deliver federal dollars to a poor state that badly needs cash from any quarter...McConnell supporters clearly buy his argument. “I think everybody understands the case for keeping Mitch is that we have a 24-year senator that knows how to bring home the bacon,” said Bob Gilles, a military veteran and McConnell backer. “As long as they have earmarks, we need to know how we get our fair share. And we’re not going to do that with a freshman senator.”
Republipork!Lunsford, meanwhile, is an interesting guy. His
web site evinces none of the ostentatious moderation you sometimes see among red state Democrats. He's for withdrawal from Iraq and universal health care (his energy page, however, is terrible). The word "Democrat" appears frequently. His background is in the for-profit hospital business, but his health care issue page is pretty good. Now, I'm part of a 501(c)3 and couldn't be less interested in who wins actual elections ("issue education" is all I care about), but as an analytical point, folks trying to impact the race in the final days might want to cease pumping money into Obama's already flush organization and begin pushing some last-minute dollars into these marginal, but possibly very important, Senate races. If Lunsford beats McConnell, that will mean much more for a progressive agenda than the size of Obama's winning margin.
