Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as someone who champions partisan gridlock in a policy speech Thursday evening in Prestonburg, Kentucky.
“We must rise above the partisan bickering and the Washington gridlock that Mitch McConnell champions,” Grimes said in prepared remarks. “What I recognize, and what Mitch McConnell lost sight of long ago, is that this tragedy – and it is a tragedy – is not a set of numbers. These are the heartbreaking stories of real people, of our fellow Kentuckians, good people, hard-working people, unable to support themselves and their families because of devastating circumstances beyond their control.”
Her speech goes on to say that there is no “silver bullet” for Kentucky’s economic woes but proposes ” commonsense solutions” like investing in infrastructure, pushing greater training in math and science for the workforce, offering affordable child care and eliminating the gender pay gap.
“Eastern Kentucky and similar regions are still largely left behind economically: Coal jobs have disappeared and not been replaced. Families struggle to make ends meet on minimum-wage jobs. Schools and infrastructure lag behind. Good Americans, who work hard and have served their country, lack opportunity. We can do better,” she said.
Grimes’ policy proposal can be read in full below:
