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Reid: I Won't Campaign Against Mitch McConnell

The leader of the U.S. Senate says he won’t involve himself in efforts to knock off Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is promising to stay off the campaign trail as McConnell tries to win a sixth term in Washington.

The website Politico quotes Senator Reid—a Nevada Democrat-- as saying it wouldn’t be “appropriate” for him to campaign publicly against McConnell. There is a long tradition of Senate leaders avoiding public campaigning against their counterparts, given that they have to—at least in theory—try to work together to get things done.

If the national Democratic Party believes they can knock off McConnell in 2014, the Louisville Republican would likely become the top GOP target in the nation. But if Democrats defeat McConnell, it will be without the help of Reid, who might be returning McConnell a favor from 2010. Reid was criticized that year for what many considered to be racially insensitive remarks about President Obama.

But McConnell refused to call for Reid’s ouster as Senate Majority Leader, saying it was up to Democrats alone to decide who led the party in the Senate.

Kevin is the News Director at WKU Public Radio. He has been with the station since 1999, and was previously the Assistant News Director, and also served as local host of Morning Edition.
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