LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Bill Clinton has been looking to give a boost today to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky.
Grimes has had to run a campaign distancing herself from President Barack Obama — particularly his policies on coal that have angered many longtime Democrats in eastern Kentucky.
Speaking at a Grimes fundraiser today in Lexington, Clinton said Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell has been acting like Grimes is “a clone of the White House.”
Clinton said McConnell is “hoping everybody will just check their brain at the door” — and, in Clinton’s words, “forget you are hiring somebody to do something for the next six years that he has not done for the last 30.”
Grimes says she will “proudly” wear the label of a “Clinton Democrat.”
But McConnell’s campaign says there’s no difference between Clinton and Obama — pointing to a blog post that Clinton wrote applauding the EPA’s new rules restricting carbon emissions on coal-fired power plants.
A McConnell spokeswoman says Obama, Clinton and Grimes “have every intention of continuing to attack their way of life.”
%@AP Links
169-a-11-(Former President Bill Clinton, speaking at fundraiser for Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes)-“the last 30”-Former President Bill Clinton says Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell hopes voters will forget his track record. (6 Aug 2014)
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171-a-11-(Alison Lundergan Grimes, Democratic Senate candidate for Kentucky, speaking at fundraiser)-“the nation forward”-Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes of Kentucky says she’s proud to be a “Clinton Democrat.” (6 Aug 2014)
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APPHOTO KYLEL103: Former President Bill Clinton speaks during a political event for Alison Lundergan Grimes at the Carrick House in Lexington, Ky., on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014. Grimes is the Democratic challenger to Sen. Mitch McConnell. (AP Photo/The Herald-Leader, Pablo Alcala) (6 Aug 2014)
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APPHOTO KYLEL101: Gov. Steve Beshear, left welcomes Alison Lundergan Grimes and former President Bill Clinton to the stage during a campaign event for Grimes at the Carrick House in Lexington, Ky., Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014. Grimes is the Democratic challenger to Sen. Mitch McConnell. (AP Photo/The Herald-Leader, Pablo Alcala) (6 Aug 2014)
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