A former official at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) downplayed the controversy over recent comments made by Kentucky Senate candidate Amy McGrath (D), who said she would have voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh then quickly reversed her stance.
“This blunder, while bad, is not a death sentence by any means,” Molly Mitchell, a former director of Media Affairs at the DCCC, told Hill.TV on Thursday. “It’s very early.”
Mitchell said that most voters are more concerned with everyday issues like the economy and health care.
“I don’t think when it comes to the primary and election day this will be the first thing people think about,” she said.
McGrath, who is challenging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), faced backlash this week over her comments on whether or not she would have voted in favor of Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
In an interview with a Kentucky newspaper published Wednesday, McGrath initially said she would have voted in favor of Kavanaugh’s confirmation even though she said Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations of sexual assault against him were “credible.”
But later that day, she switched her stance.
“I was asked earlier today about Judge Brett Kavanaugh and I answered based upon his qualifications to be on the Supreme Court. But upon further reflection and further understanding of his record, I would have voted no,” McGrath tweeted.
Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said Thursday that “it might be helpful” for McGrath to have a primary challenger in light of her remarks.
“Whoever is going to face off against Mitch McConnell really needs to get their game in shape,” Yarmuth told the Courier Journal. “Certainly Amy would be a favorite in any kind of primary, but I think it would help her and if somebody else could beat her they would have demonstrated their strength as well.”
—Tess Bonn
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