U.S. Senate majority whip in town for Kennedy

Posted at 1:00 PM on August 22, 2006 by Tom Scheck

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is in Minnesota today to raise money for Congressman Mark Kennedy's U.S. Senate campaign. McConnell currently serves as the Senate Majority Whip and is line to be majority leader if Republicans keep control of the U.S. Senate. He says Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat is the best opportunity for a GOP pickup this election and could be key in determining which party controls the Senate.

I don't see any way that Democrats can gain control of the Senate if Mark Kennedy is successful.

Democrats have been quick to point out that Kennedy votes with President Bush more than 90 percent of the time. Kennedy says he doesn't understand the Democrats' obsession with the president.

If you're with him 100 percent of the time then you are a lap dog of the president. If you in any way shape or form distance yourself from him, you're running away from the president. I'm not running away from the president, but this race is not about President Bush. It's my name on the ballot. Call me old-fashioned, but I think we ought to be talking about the issues and the issue differences that there is and exists between myself and my opponent.

Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat is receiving national attention from both parties. Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar has the DFL endorsement. Robert Fitzgerald is the endorsed Independence Party candidate. You can listen to the Kennedy/McConnell news conference here. The DFL Party and Amy Klobuchar's campaign have not issued any kind of statement on McConnell's visit. The DFL Party just released this statement on McConnell's visit:

Perhaps no Democrats, Independents or Republicans with a bi-partisan track record were available to testify on behalf of Congressman Mark Kennedy's "independence" from his party and President. So instead, Congressman Kennedy held a joint press conference with Senator Mitch McConnell, a likely contender to replace Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and one of the most loyal Bush Republicans, to discuss the importance of bi-partisanship in the Senate.

Only a Washington insider like Congressman Kennedy would think that having another loyal Bush Republican call him 'bi-partisan' could somehow make his loyal party voting record disappear," said DFL spokesperson Jess McIntosh.

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