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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (AP) Like many people in the large conservative enclave of northern Kentucky, Tanya Bartlett has voted for Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell several times over the course of his 30-year career.

But that changed in 2010, when McConnell announced his top priority was to make sure President Barack Obama did not see a second term.

"You're not actually, truly representing the people of your state when you say something like that," Bartlett said, who has since changed her voter registration to the Democratic Party.

That was the theme in northern Kentucky on Saturday as former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton campaigned for Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes in one of the country's most closely watched races. It was Clinton's second trip to Kentucky for Grimes, who most public polls show narrowly trails McConnell heading into Tuesday's election.

"This is not just a contest between a permanent Washington fixture and a fresh face. It is a contest between old thinking and new thinking," Clinton told more than 1,000 people at Northern Kentucky University. "We cannot in our country continue to reward the dividers. We need to reward the uniters, the people who care about everybody."

Calling the election "a referendum on the future," Clinton stressed Grimes' support of raising the minimum wage, protecting Kentucky's expanded health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act and fighting against wage discrimination for women themes that Grimes has focused on from the beginning of her campaign.

"The voters of Kentucky have a chance not just to send a message, but to alter the course of politics and government," Clinton said. "Ultimately this election comes down to this question: Who is on your side?"

But polls show voters like Bartlett could be in the minority. Public polls show Obama has approval ratings of as low as 30 percent in Kentucky, and McConnell has exploited those dismal ratings by making the election a referendum on Obama's presidency. At a rally in his hometown of Louisville, McConnell sounded confident as he stressed the importance of get-out-the-vote efforts.

"We've identified way more than enough people to win this election," he said. "The only remaining issue is, will they vote?"

Across the country, Republicans are making a strong push to seize control of the Senate and make McConnell the chamber's majority leader. McConnell said voters will have a chance to weigh in on Obama's policies on spending and regulations and a slow recovery from the Great Recession.

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Hillary Clinton stumps for Grimes in northern Ky.