DSCC paints McConnell as self-dealing insider in new television ad

Senate Democrats on Tuesday launched a new television ad in Kentucky slamming Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) for spending much of his time raising money and “catering to lobbyists.”

{mosads}The hard-hitting ad is an attempt to keep his Democratic opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes, within striking distance, after recent polls showed her falling behind.

The ad criticizes McConnell for being an insider who has attended “thousands of fundraisers,” “protecting his special perks” and “voting himself six pay raises” during his three-decade career in the Senate.

“The longer he’s there, the more Washington’s changed him,” a narrator intones. “After 30 years, it’s just inevitable.”

Recent polls show McConnell leading Grimes by an average of 5 points with a month left in the campaign.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s (DSCC) independent-expenditure arm has bought $1.4 million worth of airtime, according to a source familiar with its scope.

Before this week, the DSCC had invested $500,000 in the Kentucky Senate race, substantially less than it put into battlegrounds where Senate Democratic incumbents are fighting for reelection.

— This story was updated at 12:13 p.m.