Achieving. Persisting … …Amy McGrath https://www.amymcgrathforcongress.com/ started her campaign with a video that went viral. She is not the only one. Randy Bryce drove Paul Ryan into retirement with a video he made that went viral. McGrath got advice, hired a retired old pro to run her campaign. They hired a pro make her video.
……Amy McGrath’s dream. As a child, she wanted to fly fighter jets when she grew up. She wrote her Congressman and her Senator to urge Congress to let women fly fighter jets. Her Congressman told her that not letting women fly in combat protected them. Her Senator, Mitch McConnell, did not answer.
……Amy McGrath ‘s opponent. In 2012, the incumbent Republican in KY 06 defeated a Democratic incumbent. Andy Barr has introduced and gained passage of legislation to prevent sellers of mobile homes from being subject to the Truth in Lending Act. He has suggested that Trump’s efforts to “unite the right” were too ambiguous.
……Amy McGrath ‘s parents. Her dad was an English teacher. Her mom was a physician. Her mom was one of the first women to graduate from the University of Kentucky Medical School, one of the few post polio victims to graduate as well. She became a pediatrician until the strain on her damaged legs was too much. After additional training, she became the kind of doctor who can sit while she works — a psychiatrist.
Amy McGrath’s dad died late in the primary campaign. Amy McGrathstopped. Mourned. Continued her campaign.
……Amy McGrath ‘s husband. She retired as a Marine Lt. Colonel He retired as a Navy Lt. Commander. He supports her campaign for Congress. Not so easy, though. He is a Republican. It is great for a Democrat to have some Republican support in a Congressional campaign in Kentucky.
……Amy McGrath ‘s career. Her career really began with her childhood letters. While at the Naval Academy, the rule finally changed. She trained as a pilot and, in Afghanistan, became the first woman to fly an F-18 on a combat mission, the first of her several missions. She did a second tour flying in Iraq. Later, as a Marine Corps Congressional Fellow, she provided defense and foreign policy advice. Still later, she served as the Marine Corps liaison to the State Department.
……Amy McGrath ‘s campaign. The catalyst that drew her to politics was the 2016 election. Donald Trump’s election as President. She got advice and decided to run for Congress. She knew something about Congress and about government. She knew that the race against an incumbent who won his last election by 22 points would require resources and persistence.
……Amy McGrath ‘s up and down campaign.…She was up. Her video went viral. She got national attention and resources.
…She was down. The DCCC gave her no encouragement, then recruited Mayor Jim Gray of Lexington to run.
…She was further down. In December, 2017, she was down in polls for the primary by 47 points.
…She was down less. In March 2018 she was down by 25 points.
…She was up. In April she was leading.
…She was up at the end. In May, she won the primary 49% to 41%.
……How did Amy McGrath do that? She campaigned and campaigned some more. She campaigned in rural areas where there were Democrats who usually vote Republican. She campaigned in Louisville where Jim Gray was mayor. She placed a one minute advertisement during half time of a University of Kentucky basketball game during the NCAA tournament. She sent constituents a thirty-two page economic plan — demonstrating her departure from slick advertisements by most politicians. ……Like someone who is cured after taking a few different medications, we can’t know which of these efforts worked or whether it was the combination that worked. We do konw something worked.
……Amy Mcgrath https://www.amymcgrathforcongress.com/ has the general election campaign ahead of her. Against the incumbent whose success includes limiting those who were subject to the Truth in Lending Act. Can she win a general election in Kentucky? Help her. Campaigns run on resources. Help her win this Likely Republican seat.
|