By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Kentucky’s heated Sixth District Congressional race, which has already been receiving some national attention, will soon be getting even more.
The campaigns of Republican incumbent Andy Barr and Democratic challenger Amy McGrath both announced some high-profile people who will be coming to Kentucky next week on back-to-back days to stump on behalf of their candidate.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is coming in support of McGrath on Oct. 12 in Owingsville and President Donald Trump will be coming for Barr on Oct. 13 in Richmond.
The Barr-McGrath congressional race has become one of the tightest and most watched in the nation.
Rep. Andy Barr and Col. Amy McGrath
Biden will appear on behalf of the retired Marine Lt. Colonel in Bath County on Oct. 12. The event will be a community fish fry and campaign rally at Bath County High School on Chenault Drive in Owingsville.
In a statement, Biden said: “Amy McGrath has dedicated her life to service to this country. We need more men and women of character like Amy in Congress, and I am looking forward to coming to Kentucky to campaign alongside her.”
McGrath said she is honored Biden will join her in Bath County next week and meet the hardworking people from rural central Kentucky counties.
“The Vice President is an American patriot who has dedicated his life to serving our country and bettering the lives of all Americans,” she said. “We are holding a community fish fry in his honor and all are welcome. Whether you are a Democrat, Republican or an Independent, we hope you will join us and celebrate one of our country’s most well-loved and respected citizen leaders.”
Biden, widely believed to be considering a run for President in 2020, was a U.S. Senator from Delaware between 1973 and 2009 when he began an eight-year stint as Vice President under Barack Obama.
Doors open at noon for the event, which is free, although an RSVP is required through the McGrath campaign website.
Just a few minutes after the McGrath announcement, the Barr campaign said President Trump will stump for the Lexington Republican in Madison County. He will appear at a 7 p.m. rally at Eastern Kentucky University’s Alumni Coliseum in Richmond.
Barr has been a staunch supporter of the President, with the exception of the bourbon and steel tariffs.
“Today, we learned that the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in 49 years, and the President who made that happen is coming to Kentucky,” Barr said in a statement.
“I’m honored to welcome President Trump to the Sixth District to speak to Kentuckians in advance of the Nov. 6 election. Kentuckians are better off today because of the policies I voted for and this President signed into law.
“This election offers a clear choice between conservative leadership that has delivered results and liberals who promise to take us back to the days of fewer jobs, lower wages, and a destructive war on our coal communities,” he said. “Why would we want to go back to that? President Trump’s economic policies are working for Kentucky.”
Barr, who is seeking his fourth term representing the Sixth Congressional District, said he has had “lengthy discussions with the President about issues impacting our district.”
The announcements come in the wake of a poll released Thursday by the McGrath campaign, showing her with a lead of 51-44 percent.
That poll was done by the Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group and was taken between Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, based on 500 telephone interviews done on landlines and cell phones. A poll done a month earlier by the same firm showed Barr with a 49-44 percent lead. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.5 percent.
