Schumer: Kentucky race 'even or close' for Dems

WASHINGTON – Despite recent polls showing U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) with a solid lead over Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said today that Lunsford was in a strong position heading towards the fall.

Lunsford “is showing the ability to reach out to people on both sides of the aisle,” Schumer said at an afternoon press conference at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. “What we believe is that once people learn who Bruce Lunsford is…he’s going to beat Mitch McConnell. We think that this is a winnable race.”

Lunsford, a businessman who ran unsuccessful campaigns for governor in 2003 and 2007, is coming off a May 20 primary victory over businessman Greg Fischer. He faces an uphill battle in his challenge to McConnell, a fourth-term incumbent who is currently serving as Senate Minority Leader. A recent Republican-commissioned poll conducted after the primary showed McConnell with a 50 percent to 39 percent edge over Lunsford. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report currently categorizes the race as the “Likely Republican.”

But Schumer, pointing to other polling showing McConnell picking up less than 50 percent, insisted the Republican was vulnerable.

McConnell, said Schumer, has spent $3 million “on positive ads about himself and he didn’t go up one jot in the polls. He’s still below 50. That’s what bad shape he’s in.”

Schumer said the race was in the “even or close” category for Democrats.