“Battle-tested in more ways than one, Amy McGrath ran a tremendous race to win this competitive primary and could not be in a stronger position to win in November,” said DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján. “Amy has built a formidable campaign, and voters across the district have responded to her message of leadership and standing up for affordable health care. With her inspiring record of service and all of the momentum at her back, there is no question that Amy McGrath is ready to flip this key district.”
SEE NEW DCCC KY-06 GENERAL ELECTION POLLING HERE
To: Interested Parties
From: Jacob Peters, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: May 22, 2018
RE: The Case Against Rep. Andy Barr
Amy McGrath’s life and career have been about serving our country, while Rep. Andy Barr’s time in Congress has been about serving Wall Street and his biggest donors.
After a competitive Democratic primary, first-time candidate Amy McGrath has built a strong campaign infrastructure and donor network, significantly increased her name ID and enjoys very high favorability, clearly benefiting from introducing herself to voters and sharing her incredible record of service to our country.
The first time her country called, Amy proudly answered, flying combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan during her twenty years in the Marines Corps. Today, seeing a government that doesn’t work for the people of Kentucky, McGrath is again answering the call to serve. She’s running for Congress to take on politicians and special interests that put party over country, to move the economy forward for regular people in central Kentucky, and to stand up to anyone who tries to attack affordable health care.
Andy Barr has forgotten who he works for, and is a big part of what’s broken in Washington. Barr has taken more than a million dollars in campaign cash from Wall Street in exchange for putting their priorities ahead of his own district. He voted to give a tax break to big corporations and millionaires, and has repeatedly voted to rip affordable health coverage away from working families in Kentucky and raise premiums. Whether it’s Wall Street bankers, pay day lenders, or Washington Republicans, Andy Barr is putting the interests of these groups over those of his own constituents.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Lexington Herald Leader: How Amy McGrath, a fighter pilot, is targeting the economy in race for U.S. House
“…retired Marine Lt. Col. Amy McGrath’s candidate announcement video quickly went viral and attracted the interest of Democratic donors across the country. She’s also angling for anti-establishment Republicans by introducing herself as a fighter pilot running to take out ‘Mitch McConnell’s handpicked congressman,’ Barr.” [Cook Political Report 10/13/17]
“She was the first female Marine Corps pilot to fly an F-18 into combat. She served three tours of duty abroad, was prepared to shoot down any planes on 9/11 and rose through the ranks. Through it all, she had the challenge of being a trailblazer.” [Lexington Herald Leader 5/15/18]
Lexington Herald Leader: Lexington town hall is a sea of discontent for Andy Barr
Rep. Andy Barr: Wall Street’s Favorite Congressman
Not Working for Kentucky
Rep. Andy Barr has accepted more than $1.4 million in campaign contributions from Wall Street, and in turn has pledged to repeal financial regulations designed to protect consumers and prevent another financial crisis. Barr has accepted $32,000 from the payday lending industry, and in exchange supported legislation to end efforts at the Department of Justice to crack down on banks that help payday lenders defraud consumers. Barr has taken $62,000 from Washington Republican leadership, and in exchange he votes the party line 98% of the time in Congress.
An endless threat to affordable health care
Andy Barr ran for Congress to undo the Affordable Care Act, and as long as he is there, he will never stop trying. Despite fierce constituent pressure, Barr “enthusiastically” voted for the Republican health care repeal bill that would have caused 42,600 of his own constituents to lose coverage and made addiction treatment unaffordable for millions of Americans – setting back the fight against the opioid crisis in Kentucky. After that failed, Barr declared his support for a Senate repeal plan that would strip Kentucky of $6.3 billion in federal health care funding, but said that the “hard-dollar number” wasn’t important. After that failed, Barr voted for the GOP Tax Scam that guts a key provision of the Affordable Care Act and is estimated to raise Kentucky families’ health care premiums by nearly 19%.
“a terrific piece of legislation”
The GOP Tax Scam gives more than 80% of its benefits to the wealthiest 1% of Americans. It includes a massive handout to large corporations, and is estimated to add $1.9 trillion to the debt. Washington Republicans have opened the door to cutting Social Security and Medicare in order to pay for it. Andy Barr called the GOP Tax Scam “a terrific piece of legislation” and voted for it.
THE PATH TO VICTORY
Faced with defending a disastrous record against a top tier Democratic challenger, Andy Barr is in one of the most perilous positions of any Republican incumbent running for re-election.
A poll conducted at the end of April and released today by the DCCC shows that Amy McGrath holds a fifteen point advantage over Barr in the general election, 52%-37%. In the same April DCCC poll, voters preferred voting for a Democratic candidate for Congress over a Republican candidate by twelve percentage points, 48%-36%. Unsurprisingly given her profile, this indicates that McGrath is overperforming a generic Democrat.
McGrath has run a top tier campaign focused on competing in every county in the district, and has built a formidable fundraising network that has already generated $2 million in contributions. The effectiveness of McGrath’s paid communications in the primary prove that her profile and message have the appeal needed to win this district in November. McGrath ran television ads introducing herself and her record of military service, and making a personal connection to the need to stand up for affordable health care. Not only did it carry her to victory in a competitive, energetic Democratic primary, but it set a strong foundation for the general election – McGrath is already viewed favorably by 44% of general election voters.
DCCC polling has also shown a steady decline of the district’s view of both Rep. Andy Barr and President Trump since mid-2017. A plurality of the district now views Barr unfavorably (35% favorable – 40% unfavorable), and in a district he carried by fifteen percentage points, President Trump’s job approval performance rating is ten percentage points underwater (41% positive – 51% negative).
The reality is that despite underperformance at the congressional level in the past two election cycles, KY-06 remains a favorable district for Democrats, and especially so for a Democrat with strong name ID and favorability like Amy McGrath. The district supported the Democratic nominees for Senate and Governor in 2016 and 2015. The district is evenly split between suburban and rural, and voters tend to be younger, more affluent and more likely to hold a college degree than the state as a whole, making it a prime target for Democrats this cycle.