Democrat Amy McGrath raises more money than Mitch McConnell in 1st quarter

Democrat Amy McGrath is hoping she'll be the one to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in November, and when it comes to campaign cash, she's already ahead.

McGrath, a retired Marine fighter pilot who narrowly lost a 2018 congressional race, is the favorite to win the Democratic primary, which was moved to June because of the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, McGrath's campaign reported bringing in $12.8 million over the first three months of 2020, while McConnell's campaign reported raising close to $7.5 million over the same time period.

This was McConnell's most successful fundraising haul since becoming a senator in the mid-1980s, his campaign said. "Kentuckians know that at a time of great consequence, there is no substitute for the proven leadership of Mitch McConnell," campaign manager Kevin Golden told The Associated Press.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

McGrath entered the Democratic primary race last summer, and has so far received $29.8 million in contributions for the 2020 election cycle, with McConnell raising $25.6 million; she has $14.7 million on hand, while McConnell has almost $14.9 million. McGrath campaign spokesman Terry Sebastian told AP her numbers show "voters are fed up with Mitch McConnell continually putting corporate handouts ahead of working people" and "working Americans don't trust his leadership and are demanding new leaders like Amy McGrath who they know will have their back."