Mitch McConnell’s Nightmare Gets Real: Democrat Alison Grimes Sets Fundraising Record

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Mitch McConnell’s worst nightmares are coming true as Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes announced today that her campaign led the nation in fundraising with over $4 million donated in the second quarter of 2014.

In a statement, the Grimes campaign announced that they led the nation and set a new Kentucky fundraising record by raising $4 million in the second quarter of 2014, “Over 100,000 of our campaign’s contributions thus far have been under $50, highlighting the strong and growing momentum behind Alison’s focus on Kentucky’s middle-class families. To date, the Grimes campaign has raised nearly $11.3 million – an impressive fundraising effort fueled by almost 84,000 individual grassroots supporters and a median contribution of $25. Our campaign has built a war chest of $6.2 million, equipping us with the resources needed to win this race.”

While it’s nice to have a well-funded Democratic challenger going up against a weak incumbent like Sen. McConnell, the bigger message isn’t the dollars. It’s the engagement. Getting donations from every county in the state is big. A donor base of 84,000 is even better, and the median contribution being $25 is great.

The fundraising breakdown for the Grimes campaign is looking similar to the donor base that was built by President Obama in 2008 and 2012. As we all know, those small donors didn’t just give Obama money. They came out to vote. The problem for the Republican Party is that their reliance on individual donors giving lots of money hasn’t translated to winning federal elections.

Thanks to Citizens United, Republicans have the dollars, but Democrats have the numbers. Democrats around the country are successfully implementing the Obama fundraising model, but the victory isn’t in the dollars. The win comes from making sure that donors become voters who help to get other voters to the polls.

The Senate election in Kentucky will be won by voters going to the polls to reject Mitch McConnell’s obstruction. Alison Lundergan Grimes is an outstanding candidate who would make a great senator. The added bonus of electing Grimes is that it would rid Kentucky and the nation of the obstructionist in chief, Mitch McConnell. The Senate will be a more productive place when Mitch McConnell is no longer in it.

It is unfathomable, but Sen. McConnell still doesn’t seem to be taking Alison Grimes seriously. Thirty years of incumbency and entitlement have isolated him from the reality that is unfolding in the Bluegrass State. Mitch McConnell is in deep trouble. Democrats are ready to speak with their wallets and their votes. Each day that passes with Grimes still running strong is one day that the nation gets closer to Mitch being ditched.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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