Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) faced off against Amy McGrath, his Democrat challenger who launched a long-shot bid against Leader McConnell, in a general election debate on Monday night.
McGrath, infamous for gaffes and flip-flopping on important issues, avoided specifics on a simple question on her support for abortion rights.
“Well I’m Catholic. And I’m the mother of three small children. This issue has been an important issue to me my whole life. I am somebody who believes the government should not be legislating my religion or my religious belief on others,” she said. “I do believe we already have reasonable restrictions on abortion in this country, as per outlined in Roe v. Wade.”
McGrath has taken extreme stances on the issue of abortion, refusing say when abortion should be deemed illegal. She even equated late-term abortions, a vile procedure that has been historically opposed on a bipartisan basis, with C-sections.
McGrath was once asked if a woman in labor, on the way to the hospital, could elect to have an abortion, and still refused to draw a line:
“So you think a woman on the way to the hospital to give birth could decide to abort it instead?”
“I don’t think that government should be involved in a woman’s right to choose what is happening to her body,” she answered.
The moderator also asked the pair of candidates about the issue of “court packing,” or expanding the size of the Supreme Court. McGrath previously said that court packing was “definitely an option” if Democrats take the majority in the Senate come November. In true McGrath fashion, she told voters that “we should be working to unpack the Senate.”
Amy McGrath, when asked during the Kentucky Senate debate whether she supports packing the courts:
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) October 12, 2020
"We should be working on unpacking the Senate right now."
Leader McConnell’s campaign took note of McGrath’s refusal to answer the straightforward question on court packing, as the Senate hopeful takes a page from Joe Biden’s playbook:
ICYMI: Amy McGrath refused to answer the court packing question. #TheKentuckyDebate #KYSen pic.twitter.com/QFJdAGfQIp
— Team Mitch (Text MITCH to 47360) (@Team_Mitch) October 12, 2020
McGrath’s bid against D.C.'s most powerful Republican lawmaker is a long-shot, to say the least. Hand-picked by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), McGrath barely fended off her progressive primary challenger, in what should have been an easy race. Leader McConnell's reelection is rated "likely Republican" by Cook Political Report.