Photo: Vivien Killilea/Getty
Amy McGrath, a Marine veteran and Democratic sensation during her unsuccessful Congressional run last year, hopes to change that.
Shereportedly raisedmore than $2 million in the first 24 hours after her announcement on Tuesday that she will seek to challenge McConnell in near year’s election.
Under the arcane rules of the Senate, McConnell has long wielded extensive legislative powers, often at odds with PresidentBarack Obama(and famously blocking his pick to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in an unusual breach of norms).
After she entered the race, McConnell’s campaign respondedwith its own video about herand his campaign manager labeled her an “extreme liberal who is far out of touch with Kentuckians,”according toThe New York Times. Still, McConnell isdeeply unpopularnationally, according to polling earlier this year.
Here’s what you need to know about McGrath.
Amy McGrath.
She’s a Fighter — Literally
A former fighter pilot, to be exact. McGrath was the first woman to fly an F/A-18 fighter jet in combat,according to CNN.
After studying political science at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, she spent 20 years in the Marines and flew 89 combat missions in the United States and Afghanistan, according toher website.
In 2016, she wasnamed to the Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fameand has been the recipient of numerous military awards.
Her husband,Erik Henderson, is also a retired Naval pilot.
Clockwise from top left: Erik Henderson and Amy McGrath with their children, Eleanor, Teddy and George.Amy McGrath Twitter
Mother of Three
McGrath and Henderson have two sons and one daughter: Teddy, 7, George, 5, and 3-year-old Eleanor.
On social media, McGrath often posts about the family’s escapades, which range from bakingTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesbrownies, to campaigning inHalloween costumes.
‘The Reason I Am Successful’
McGrath’s mother, a psychiatrist who contracted polio at 10, is a pioneer in her own right.
The former marine saw her mother’s struggles as a means of motivating herself.
“She’s the reason I am successful in anything,” McGrathtold theTimesduring her 2018 run for Congress.
Her mother told theTimesshe only saw her daughter become more likely to run for office since the rise of President Donald Trump: “The more I heard of it and the more I thought of it, ‘Oh, damn, she’s going to want to get caught up in doing something about this.’ ”
Her Platform
Though she said she supports the Affordable Care Act, McGrath did not embrace her more liberal colleagues in also calling for a government-backed health care system that would eliminate private insurance or in saying immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally should receive publicly subsidized health insurance.
Her website describes her message in succinct fashion: “Anti-corruption. Anti-obstruction. Anti-B.S.”
A spokesperson told theCourier-Journalshe was “ready to work with a president of any party who is willing to put the interests of working Kentucky families ahead of special interests.”
Though she has widespread Democratic support, McGrath will have to win her primary before facing off against McConnell.
source: people.com
