Lauren Monaghan
Democratic nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes and Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell easily won their perspective primary, setting up one of the most anticipated senatorial races in the country this November.
McConnell, the Senate minority leader, has been a Kentucky senator for 30 years and is seeking his 6th term in November. His major opponent in the primaries, Tea Party candidate Matt Bevin, is a businessman from Louisville.
Bevin gained support from tea partiers because many believed that he was the more conservative candidate in the race. His campaign accused McConnell of not being a true conservative because of the deals he has made in the past with the Democratic Party.
Despite the support and attack ads made by the Bevin campaign, McConnell easily won the primary by winning 60 percent of the votes, compared to Bevin’s 35 percent of the votes.
In the Democratic primary, Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes easily won, gaining 77 percent of the votes. Grimes has been criticized for being too supportive of President Obama who isn’t very popular in Kentucky.
One of Obama’s environmental initiatives is to lessen coal production and find alternative energy sources. This would affect Kentucky which is one of the leading coal producing states in the country. Grimes says she does not support Obama’s coal plan.
