Politics & Government
In debate, what did Gray, McGrath, Thomas do to win over 6th District voters?
Jim Gray pitched experience. Amy McGrath pitched a new generation of leadership. Reggie Thomas pitched a progressive future.
With a little more than a month to go before the May 22nd primary, the hourlong Hey Kentucky! Debate at Transylvania University Wednesday marked the first time the three major candidates in the Democratic primary for the Sixth Congressional District took the stage in front of a television audience.
Those three candidates — Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, retired Lt. Col. Amy McGrath and State Sen. Reggie Thomas — largely agree on the issues. All of them said health care was a top priority. They’re for increasing the minimum wage, changing gun laws and each of them added that they had supported Hillary Clinton in the last presidential race and primary.
That general consensus has forced the candidates to focus on the traits that define them, namely their backgrounds, to separate themselves from the pack and make their case for why they think they’ll beat U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, in November.
It wasn’t until the end of the debate, when the candidates were free to challenge another candidate on the slate, that they openly criticized each other.
Thomas, saying people have been calling McGrath a “carpetbagger,” asked her to name the counties of three small towns in the District: Bybee, Clay City and Sharpsburg (Madison, Powell and Bath respectively).
McGrath, who moved to the district in 2017 after 20 years in the Marine Corps, could not.
“I served my country,” she responded, saying she doesn’t think most people in the district could name those counties. “I can’t do both. I can’t live here for 20 years and also be a United States Marine serving the people of Kentucky.”
McGrath challenged Gray on his decision not to pull ads from a television station in the district after news stories that the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest broadcaster in the country, asked their news anchors to give a scripted speech criticizing the media.
“What Sinclair was doing was really, really bad stuff, grievous stuff against democracy,” Gray said. “Yet they still represent a free press, as despicable as that message represents.”
Gray pushed back on McGrath’s decision to pull her ads, saying it highlighted the hyper-partisan nature of the country. McGrath received a refund of $5,000 from the station after her decision.
“You also have to take a stand,” McGrath said, saying she didn’t want her Democratic donors’ money going to a far-right news organization.
Gray decided not to ask a question of McGrath, who has criticized him for entering the race after she received national media attention, instead asking a “softball” to Thomas about how he feels about the governor’s comments on teachers.
While the candidates agree on the big picture philosophy of the Democratic Party, Thomas firmly planted his flag to the left of the other candidates throughout the debate.
When McGrath and Gray talked about steps toward eliminating gun violence, through universal background checks and banning bump stocks, Thomas talked about buying back assault rifles. When McGrath and Gray talked about making continuous improvements to the Affordable Care Act, Thomas said he supported a single payer health care system.
The difference instead came down to what each candidate said they would bring to Congress.
McGrath painted herself as a change agent, a member of the next generation of political leaders. She pointed to her foreign policy credentials — she has served as military liaison in the Pentagon and a foreign policy adviser in Congress — as a important asset for a representative.
“Who is going to be the person that is a new generation of leaders?” McGrath asked.
Gray highlighted his experience. He helped build his family’s business, Gray Construction, and served as a member of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government before becoming mayor.
“Performance and results, experience matters,” Gray said. “We look at Washington today and you can see what the absence in government represents.”
Thomas when asked if he was “unelectable” said he has spent a lot of time in the rural parts of the district throughout his life.
“When I go out to these counties, I’m very well received,” he said.
The other Democratic candidates in the primary, Daniel Kemph, Ted Green, Geoff Young were not invited to participate.
Daniel Desrochers: 502-875-3793, @drdesrochers, @BGPolitics
This story was originally published April 18, 2018 9:34 PM.
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