Hillary Clinton to campaign for Grimes in Kentucky
U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes has already shared a stage with President Bill Clinton, and now she will be in the spotlight with another member of the family when the former secretary of state joins her on the campaign trail.
Former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will try to boost Democrat Grimes' campaign to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is seeking a sixth term. Clinton's appearance is set for Wednesday night at the Kentucky International Convention in Louisville, Grimes' campaign said Friday.
"Alison has been a long-time supporter and admirer of Clinton's leadership and independence, and is humbled that she will be in Kentucky to endorse her campaign and her plan to get Washington working for Kentucky," Grimes campaign manager Jonathan Hurst said.
The event is open to the public, and free tickets will be available at all 120 county Democratic headquarters statewide, the campaign said.
Bill Clinton has made two trips to Kentucky this year to promote Grimes' campaign. He carried Kentucky both times he won the White House in the 1990s.
The Clintons' connection to Grimes goes back a generation: Her father, Jerry Lundergan, is a former state Democratic Party chairman and longtime Clinton friend. In 1993, as a 14-year-old, Grimes handed the president-elect a bouquet of roses while attending his inaugural festivities.
In 2008, both Clintons campaigned for Democrat Bruce Lunsford, who lost to McConnell in that year's Senate race.
McConnell's campaign on Friday dismissed the latest Clinton effort for a rival.
"Alison Grimes' entire campaign is designed to distract voters with shiny objects and celebrity appearances to conceal her inexperience and deceive voters from her true beliefs in the Obama agenda," said McConnell campaign spokeswoman Allison Moore.
Grimes was in Northern Kentucky earlier in the week. She addressed voters in Newport and spoke about the advertisements that have been running on TV.
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Hillary Clinton to campaign for Grimes in Kentucky