LEXINGTON, Ky. _ The debate Monday between U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and his Democratic challenger Amy McGrath was an unusual sight in the 2020 campaign season. It remained civil.
The day before polls open in Kentucky, both McGrath and McConnell calmly argued over the reason their opponent shouldn't win _ with McGrath painting the picture of an ineffective senator who has been in Washington too long and McConnell painting the picture of someone who would go to Washington and hand over control to the national Democratic Party.
The debate, which will likely be the only one of the campaign, was largely an exchange of talking points _ much of what both candidates said has been repeated over and over on the campaign trail this year _ but McConnell was on the defensive through much of the night as McGrath criticized a lack of legislation to address the pressing issues of the day from a divided Congress.
For the first quarter the candidates stayed fixed on the COVID-19 pandemic, with McGrath criticizing McConnell for not compromising on an additional COVID-19 package as some of the $3 trillion injection from the CARES Act, which passed in March, has started to run out.
"He's basically saying that's too hard for him," McGrath said. "That's not hard. I'll tell you what's hard. Strap on a $70 million jet to your back. Land it on an aircraft carrier. 150 miles an hour, at night, in bad weather, with no navigational tools. That's hard. Doing what's right for the American public, in the middle of a national crisis is not hard."
McConnell pointed the finger at Democrats in the House of Representatives, while tying McGrath to the national Democratic Party, saying McGrath is supporting a bill that would give more money to Puerto Rico than to Kentucky.
Toward the end of the debate, McConnell pushed back on McGrath's references to the military, which she made repeatedly throughout the debate when talking about being "a leader," saying it seemed it was the entire focus of her campaign.
"I think her entire campaign is: she's a Marine, she's a mom and I've been there too long," McConnell said. "What we need to see are specifically what she has in mind to fix the issues that need fixing."
McGrath is still a longshot candidate in the race _ public polling in September had her down double digits in the race _ and McConnell tried to lean into the state's general distaste for the national Democratic Party.
McConnell repeatedly tried to make the discussion about influence in Congress, repeating his talking point that he is the only party leader in Washington that's not from New York or California, saying McGrath's first vote would be to name Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the majority leader of the Senate.
"Do you want somebody from New York to be setting the agenda for America and not terribly interested in Kentucky?" McConnell said. "Or do you want to continue to have one of the four congressional leaders from our state, looking out for Kentucky, giving Kentucky an opportunity to punch above its weight."
When he made that point earlier in the debate, McGrath tried to spin the answer on McConnell, saying he wasn't using his clout to benefit Kentucky enough.
"Sen. McConnell likes to talk about Kentucky punching above its weight, but here in Kentucky, we know we feel like we've been sucker punched," McGrath said, citing cancer rates, diabetes rates and the opioid epidemic.
When the discussion turned to the Supreme Court hearings, McConnell dismissed McGrath's attempt to focus the discussion on the Supreme Court striking down the Affordable Care Act, which has been a talking point for national Democrats, saying "no one believes" the Supreme Court will strike down the Affordable Care Act.
He then made reference to the discussion over whether Democrats will try to add more members to the Supreme Court, a question Republicans have used to hammer former Vice President Joe Biden. McGrath, like Biden, refused to answer directly whether she supported adding more members to the Supreme Court.
While protests over the killing of Breonna Taylor have taken place in Kentucky's two largest cities over the past six months, both candidates spent relatively little time on the topic. McConnell made a point to say he supported law enforcement and brought up a push among activists to "defund the police."
"I do not want to defund the police," McGrath said after condemning looting and rioting. She then went on to say that there is systemic racism and that Congress needs to address inequity and inequality.
The debate ran on Gray Television stations throughout the state and will likely be the only time the two candidates meet head to head. The two sides grappled over the terms of this debate before McGrath ultimately acquiesced to many of the McConnell campaign's conditions. McGrath is slated to appear on KET with Libertarian candidate Brad Barron on Oct. 26.
McGrath told the media afterward that she hoped that McConnell would agree to another.
"We in Kentucky deserve another debate," she said. "Because there was a lot that we didn't cover tonight."
