Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) acknowledged Wednesday that the top Republican in the Senate is in a fight for his career.
As such, Corker praised Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for voting to advance a clean debt ceiling hike. Corker told Bloomberg Businessweek he hopes others appreciate that McConnell is in “the toughest Republican race in the country, [and] had the courage to vote the way the vast majority of everybody understood the vote needed to occur.”
McConnell is facing a Republican primary against tea party businessman Matt Bevin, but the incumbent is still a huge favorite to claim the party’s nomination. A general election showdown against Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, the expected Democratic nominee, could be a different story.
Polls show Grimes running neck-and-neck with McConnell, who is deeply unpopular in Kentucky.
The Republican establishment might be growing pessimistic about McConnell’s chances, too. Christian Whiton, a former State Department adviser under President George W. Bush, predicted earlier this week that McConnell will lose his seat.
