News

By Norah Lesperance

October 14, 2020

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on September 18, 2020, and suddenly, a candidate named Amy McGrath running against Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell found her campaign’s pockets full to the brim with millions of Democrat dollars.

The evening of the 18th saw mass panic on social media from those whose rights Justice Ginsburg has fought to protect, especially after McConnell stated that the Trump administration must “make decisions for the people who so proudly elected [them]” and therefore are “obligated” to fill the late justice’s seat “without delay.” Everyone’s instinct reaction? Donate. ActBlue, the online fundraising platform utilized by Democrats, reported over 30 million dollars in donations between when the news of Ginsburg’s death broke at 9 p.m. on the 18th and 9 a.m. the next morning. Over half of that amount came through in just three hours, between 9 p.m. and midnight. This number skyrocketed to 95 million by Sunday the 20th. Although Amy McGrath has not released a fundraising report from that weekend, it is safe to assume that she raised millions based on both the public outcry to vote McConnell out alongside the amount of donations given to the “Get Mitch or Die Trying” fund, which splits up its donations among Senate candidates running against incumbent Republicans.

At first glance, the spike in donations to McGrath seems well directed and helpful for Democrats. McConnell has held back progressive policies that pass through the House of Representatives by refusing to give them a fair chance in the Senate. He’s held back a stimulus check to further assist those who have struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic and held a premature vote on the Green New Deal to ensure that it did not pass. Because he has pushed against Democrat policies, the parties’ members are justified in donating to his opponents’ campaign. However, after diving into McGrath’s campaign and analyzing the Kentucky voters who have the power to elect her, it appears that most of this money would have been better spent on other down ballot races that are truly winnable.

Above all other concerns, the race is not close. As election day looms, it does not look like McGrath has a shot. This is because, despite an outpouring of support from Democrats, the support is not coming from the deeply red state in which she is running. Ninety five percent of her donations have come from out of state. Although this isn’t inherently an issue as McConnell is in a similar position (90% out of state donations), it’s not a fair representation of how capable she is of winning this race. Considering how conservative Kentucky’s voters are, she would need to win a significant amount of Republican support to carry the race, thus the support coming from out of state Democrats through portals like ActBlue does not necessarily mean imminent success. Kentucky polls show her anywhere from 10 to 15 points behind, so it does not look like she will get that much needed Republican support before election day. McConnell on the other hand is reaching for his sixth consecutive Senate term in a state that Trump carried by an almost 30-point margin in 2016, and he is highly unlikely to lose.