“There’s no Washington more destructive than Mitch McConnell – he’s the architect of the dysfunction that hurts Kentuckians,” Kanninen said in a statement. “Amy has served her country for more than 20 years, and she will continue to fight for Kentucky as a senator. I’m honored to be a part of that fight. ”
Nickolas will continue the campaign as a senior advisor overseeing paid media.
The McConnell campaign was quick to mark the move, tweeting the McGrath campaign “needed to find someone with better expertise in lighting millions on fire.”
The change is the latest sign of trouble for McGrath, who has raised huge sums of money in her bid to take McConnell out, but has struggled to reach out effectively to long-term GOP lawmakers.
McGrath, which raised $ 17.4 million in the second quarter, stood for a smarter than expected primary against Democratic State Rep. Charles Booker, who was endorsed by sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) And rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.). Booker eventually lost by less than three percentage points after McGrath spent nearly 10 to 1 in television commercials.
A recent poll by the University of Quinnipiac led McConnell by 49 percent to 44 percent, with 5 percent of voters undecided. But another Morning Consult poller had McConnell defeated McGrath 53 percent to 36 percent.
