House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) says Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could face a surprisingly difficult reelection battle next year, pointing to his lackluster approval rating in the Bluegrass State.
In response to a question over whether McConnell would be vulnerable against likely Democrat opponent Amy McGrath in 2020, Yarmuth told Hill.TV on Monday that, “there’s a shot but it’s going to be tough.”
According to a RealClearPolitics polling average, McConnell’s approval rating currently sits at 24.3 percent, and Morning Consult poll conducted over the summer also found that he is America’s most unpopular senator with voters in their own state.
Yarmuth said McConnell’s lack of popularity in the deep-red state has partly to do with his sometimes tumultuous relationship with Trump. The two have been at odds on a number of issues, including Trump’s approach to foreign policy.
“One of the reasons why Mitch [McConnell] is so weak in polling is because there are a lot of Trump voters who don’t think he has helped Trump enough, so they’re not necessarily liberal Democrats,” he told Hill.TV.
But Yarmuth added that Kentucky voters are “not going to turn away from Trump” unless for some reason the president isn’t on the ballot.
McConnell has tied himself closely to the president as he runs for reelection in Kentucky, which voted heavily for Trump in 2016.
Last month, McConnell released Facebook ads vowing to lead Republican efforts to stop Trump from being removed from office. Trump is currently facing an impeachment inquiry being lead by House Democrats.
“Nancy Pelosi’s in the clutches of a left wing mob. They finally convinced her to impeach the president. All of you know your Constitution, the way that impeachment stops is a Senate majority with me as majority leader,” McConnell said in the ad.
—Tess Bonn
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