McConnell in Pre-emptive Battle to Keep Senate Seat

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is still awaiting a challenger in his bid for re-election next year, but the campaign is in full swing as supporters of both parties throw tons of ads at Kentucky voters.

The McConnell campaign launched a three-minute web video called "Off the Hook" parodying Democrats as begging Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes to run.

President Barack Obama, Gov. Steve Beshear, non-candidate Ashley Judd, former President Bill Clinton, and Rep. John Yarmuth all ask Grimes to throw her hat in the ring, but she ignores their calls.

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More McConnell support came in a TV ad from Kentuckians for Strong Leadership. It also goes after Lundergan Grimes, who is touted as the most likely Democratic challenger to the GOP leader but has yet to declare her intentions.

The ad, broadcast begining Tuesday in the Lexington, Louisville, and Paducah markets, paints Grimes as Obama's "cheerleader in Kentucky" who would support big government spending, Obamacare, and "the war on coal." It also declares that she held "secret meetings" to plan campaign strategy with McConnell's nemesis in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid.

But while the McConnell team tries to weaken any potential challenger, the Democrats are firing back with a new round of Internet and social media ads declaring that McConnell's five terms in office is more than enough.

The "30 Years is Too Long" campaign headed by two Democratic groups — the Senate Majority PAC and Patriot Majority USA — is costing only about $10,000. Ads are running on Google, Pandora, and Facebook, reports Politico.

It is part of larger a $250,000 television ad campaign the groups launched last week against McConnell.

Even though Grimes has yet to  declare her candidacy, she told a Louisville television station Monday that she is "very watchful" of the issues currently before the Senate and how McConnell is voting on and addressing them.