Mike Broihier: Fighting for economic justice, healthcare and jobs is how to beat McConnell
The fight to unseat Mitch McConnell has lasted three decades, but this year he’ll face an opponent unlike any he’s met before.
I’m running for U.S. Senate to fight for social and economic justice for all Kentuckians – not as an experienced politician, but as someone who works Kentucky land, has taught our kids, and is familiar with kitchen-table issues that concern every family here.
In 2004, my wife and I bought a 75-acre farm in Lincoln County to put down roots after we retired from the Marine Corps. You can find the food we produce at farmers markets, food co-ops and farm-to-table restaurants in the Lexington area.
Winters find me in the classroom as a substitute teacher, and for five years I edited our local paper – reporting on rural life, fiscal court, schools, agriculture, and county government.
Last year, it was time to commit to renewed service and to enter the Senate race. The goal: strip away labels that have divided us and come together – for Kentucky and for America.
We can beat Mitch McConnell in November, and we’re building a campaign around economic justice, a durable national healthcare system, and jobs through infrastructure investments. As your Senator, I’ll work to help make post-secondary education affordable, encourage public service, increase childcare options, and address the racial wealth gap. I’ll fight for gender and sexual orientation equality, collective bargaining, and for an income floor that will dramatically boost Kentucky’s economy.
Coal mining is not just a Kentucky issue, so I’ll work with contiguous states to support the Black Lung disability trust fund and the American Miners Pension Act. McConnell won’t get this done, but I’ll commit to work with other Senators to do it.
During these troubled times, the shortsightedness of linking healthcare to employment has been exposed. You can count on my support for Medicare for All, regulation of prescription drug prices, and to expand Medicaid and rural healthcare. Veterans can count on me to look out for their interests, women can count on me to help protect their right to choose, and working men and women can expect me to stop corporate welfare.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created after the Great Recession to protect consumers and hold big banks accountable. But for the last three years, McConnell has worked to defund the CFPB and strip away its enforcement powers. We need to fully fund and depoliticize the CFPB.
In July, I proudly stood with Blackjewel Coal miners ensuring no train would leave that mine carrying coal after the company stole wages, and I was the only candidate on the streets in Louisville at the March For Our Lives rally for smart gun laws. The next month found us at Fancy Farm, learning the concerns of Democratic party officials and labor leaders.
On March 5, the Northern Kentucky Indivisible group hosted a Democratic candidate forum in Newport. Post-debate internal polling favored our campaign by eight- and ten-fold against the other candidates. Then the quarantines began and campaigns cocooned, forcing all of us to end public events and personal outreach efforts.
But we continued our fight to defeat McConnell, through the wires: The Greater Hardin County Women’s Network held a candidate forum March 16, followed two days later by one hosted by the Kentucky chapter of the National Organization of Women. What’s important to note is that I was the only candidate to participate in either of these phone-in events. We take questions on my live Facebook program nightly. And I will be at the debate on KET on June 1st, with or without our opponents.
We’re not afraid of voters, and not afraid to take a stand on issues.
That’s why we earned the endorsement of Indivisible Kentucky. In the words of Co-Chair Sharon Fleck, “Mike’s policies reflect the values and interests of Indivisible Kentucky as well as, we believe, those of the majority of Kentuckians.”
Primary Election Day is June 23, and your vote matters. Kentuckians can count on me to beat Mitch McConnell, and to work on behalf of all citizens of the Commonwealth.
Mike Broihier is running for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. He is a retired Marine Corps Lt. Col., and a former teacher and journalist. He and his wife Lynn grow asparagus in Lincoln County.