Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is already facing on-air attacks, just days after opening his 2014 campaign headquarters in Louisville.
The television spots targeting the Kentucky Republican for his opposition to new gun control measures are going up earlier against McConnell than any other incumbent GOP candidate in the nation, reports
the Hill newspaper.
The ads by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), features Kentucky resident Rodney Kendrick addressing the camera with his grandson on his lap and saying its “unthinkable that guns meant for war could be used on civilians and children.”
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The ad, costing $27,000, will run for a week on broadcast and cable channels in Louisville and Lexington, and on cable in Washington, D.C., according to the Hill.
Gun control is a hot-button issue in Kentucky, as it is in the rest of the United States. According to a public opinion survey by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, which was commissioned by the PCCC, 82 percent of likely Kentucky voters support background checks, while 13 percent oppose them.
Kentuckians, however, are almost evenly divided on whether military-style assault weapons should be banned.
McConnell staunchly opposes gun control, and PCCC co-founder Adam Green said polling indicates a split between the senator's views and what his constituents want.
McConnell’s campaign struck back at the PCCC, labeling the group a far left organization that's "so liberal it attacks Obama from the Left."
In addition to facing challenges from the left, tea party groups in Kentucky also have suggested that McConnell, who is struggling to overcome low approval ratings, could face a primary challenge from the right. But the senator still leads in polls pitting him against other potential challengers, including actress Ashley Judd, who has been mentioned as a potential Democratic contender.
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