LEXINGTON, Ky. _ U.S. Rep. Andy Barr turned back Democrat Amy McGrath and the Democratic wave she was riding Tuesday as Central Kentucky voters narrowly handed the Lexington Republican his fourth term in Congress.
In an election widely seen as a referendum on the president, Kentucky's 6th Congressional District told the country they still support Donald Trump.
The district, which spans from the foothills of Appalachia to the Bluegrass, is Kentucky's only swing congressional district. On Tuesday, voters helped Barr paint it a deeper shade of red.
"Donald Trump was the 800-pound gorilla sitting on this congressional race," said Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky. "Barr could not escape his shadow and run a local campaign because the public was going to view it as a referendum on the president."
McGrath was Barr's toughest competition yet. The first female Marine to fly into combat in an F-18, McGrath captured national attention as a political newcomer as Democrats were looking for a fresh response to Trump. She upset Lexington Mayor Jim Gray in the May Democratic primary with a message of putting the country before her political party.
But her moment stopped short on election night.
Barr went up with attack ads early in August, nationalizing the election and defining McGrath as out of touch with the district.
Almost all of his ads ended by saying McGrath was "too liberal for Kentucky," often pulling her own quote from a fundraiser in Massachusetts where she said she was more progressive than anyone in the state.
The message appeared to stick, effectively undermining her narrative of putting country over party. Her decision not to run traditional attack ads also allowed him to steer the conversation in the race.
"Barr won because the district these days leans Republican on the issues that dominate national politics," Voss said.
Both candidates had plenty of money to get their messages to voters, breaking campaign finance records in the Central Kentucky district.
McGrath raised more in just one quarter than other candidates had raised during an entire election. The two candidates spent more than $10.4 million over the course of the campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. At least $8.3 million more was spent by outside groups supporting Barr and McGrath.
More than $3 million came from the Congressional Leadership Fund, House Speaker Paul Ryan's super PAC. The group spent $2.8 million on television ads that often mimicked Barr's attacks and, by setting up a field office in the district, they redoubled his effort to make phone calls and knock on doors.
While Republicans in some competitive House districts distanced themselves from Trump, Barr went out of his way to stress his access to the president. That included bringing Trump to Richmond in early October, where he painted a stark picture of a country governed by Democrats.
Trump made the conversation about immigration, attempting to stoke fear over an approaching caravan of refugees and illegal immigration as Barr toured the district touting his support of the Republican tax reform bill.
Barr also hit on social issues that have proven reliable for Republican candidates in Kentucky, including abortion and coal regulations.
McGrath's loss leaves Democrats again scrambling in a state that at one time was firmly in their control. McGrath won just two counties in the race, the traditional Democratic strongholds of Fayette and Franklin counties, and failed to make up the margin in the more rural counties.
She tried to woo rural Democrats who had largely deserted the party by playing up her military background and stressing the need for civility, but their firm rebuke leaves Democrats without a clear strategy for winning major races in the state.
