Senate race shows signs of life as it rolls into NKY this week

by Scott Wartman , [email protected] –

The Senate race in Kentucky has come to life with about a week left.

The week started with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul calling his Democratic challenger, Lexington Mayor Jim Gray a hypocrite in the only debate between the two. Gray described Paul’s ideas as “wild-ass philosophies.”

Now both Paul and Gray will make stops in Northern Kentucky this week as a final appeal to voters.

Pundits and the media have largely ignored the Senate race.  Most see the red state of Kentucky as safe for Rand Paul. A new poll by Republican-leaning public relations firm RunSwitch PR showed Paul leading gray 52 percent to 42 percent.  (The poll of 811 likely voters was taken Oct.26 to 28; it has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.)

Beyond that, few have bothered to poll or speculate on the race.

History is also on Paul’s side, with 80-90 percent of incumbent senators winning re-election each election year on average, according to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.

Paul toured Erlanger’s Stewart Iron Works plant Tuesday. Wearing a black turtleneck tucked into blue jeans, Paul talked with hard hat-clad employees who told him of the need for more vocational training in high schools.

When the ironworks started in 1862, there were no shortage of iron workers. At its peak in 1900, Stewart Ironworks employed 3,000 people. Now it employs 30 people and struggles to fill positions, said Sherri Bomkamp, head of design for Stewart Iron Works. They’re hiring project managers, welders, machine operators, fabricators, installers. If you can weld, read blueprints and, if possible, forge metal, Stewart Iron wants you.

“We don’t have the skill level we need, or if it’s out there, they’re not coming to us, no matter how many times we advertise,” she said.

Paul suggested they reach out to local high schools and community colleges.

“The consistent theme we’ve heard across Kentucky is there are a lot of good paying jobs in Kentucky,” Paul said. “Most of the employers they need people with technical trades.”

Gray will be in Northern Kentucky on Friday evening at the Democratic headquarters in Covington for a “get-out-the-vote” effort from 6-7 p.m.

Paul will return on Monday, Nov. 7 for a rally at the airport in Northern Kentucky.