The Kentucky Republican Party offered to cover meals, lodging, and transportation if volunteers joined Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on his re-election campaign bus tour and contributed to an “enthusiastic” atmosphere, according to an email obtained by The Hill.
In the email, sent earlier in the month, Kentucky Republican Party regional political director Taylor Bumgardner wrote that volunteers would essentially get an all-expenses-paid trip for joining the tour.
“Senator McConnell is seeking volunteers to join him on a 3-day campaign bus tour around the state on October 20-22 to show our support for Kentucky coal. You would join local supporters in contributing to an enthusiastic atmosphere at each of his events,” Bumgardner wrote.
Democrats were quick to make fun of the email.
“It should surprise no one that Mitch McConnell is left to purchase grassroots support after he and his allies have spent more than $50 million running from his failed 30-year record in Washington,” Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Dan Logsdon said. “Momentum is clearly on [Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes’] side as she draws record-breaking crowds of Kentuckians and runs laps around McConnell’s rusted DC-based campaign.”
The TPM Polltracker average gives McConnell a 2.7 point lead over Grimes.
