The Kentucky Senate Republican primary is continuing to heat up, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) officially endorsing the establishment favorite Trey Grayson — and another poll showing insurgent candidate Rand Paul way ahead in the race.
McConnell said in a statement that Grayson, the Kentucky Secretary of State, “has a track record of leading by example.” This crucial endorsement for Grayson comes just a day after James Dobson dramatically retracted his endorsement of Grayson, and claimed that senior Republicans had misled him about Paul’s views on abortion.
Meanwhile, the new survey from Public Policy Polling (D) shows Paul continuing to maintain a huge lead in the race.
The numbers: Paul 46%, Grayson 28%, practically the same as a 44%-25% result from December. The survey of likely primary voters has a ±5.1% margin of error.
From the pollster’s analysis: “Trey Grayson has made no headway in over four months, and it looks like Rand Paul is set to deliver a serious blow to the national Republican Party establishment.”
One thing that might help Grayson is this question: “Do you have a higher opinion of Mitch McConnell or Jim Bunning?” The answer among likely GOP primary voters is McConnell 67%, Bunning 16%. It should be noted that Bunning endorsed Paul in mid-April, while McConnell has just gotten behind Grayson. So the question is whether McConnell’s support will be enough to help Grayson out, or if it is too little and too late.
The TPM Poll Average has Paul leading in the primary by a margin of 42.3%-25.3%. The primary will be held on May 18.
