Lt. Col. Amy McGrath (Ret.) has stirred up a lot of commotion in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, which contains Lexington, Richmond and Frankfort. McGrath, a Democrat, is hoping to unseat incumbent Rep. Andy Barr, whose low approval ratings have made him vulnerable.

McGrath heavily uses her military experience to support her viability as a serious congressional candidate. She knows that both sides of the aisle love to vote for veterans, especially conservatives. McGrath also realizes people’s disdain for career politicians. 

For the past 40 years, Kentucky’s 6th Congressional seat has been alternating between Democrats and Republicans. McGrath, though, has an impressive resume. She attended the U.S. Naval Academy and later on joined the Marines. From there, she eventually became an F/A-18 pilot and flew 89 combat missions, including some against the Taliban.

In her campaign video, she describes how when she was 12, she wanted to become a military fighter jet pilot. However, at the time, it was against the law for women to be in combat roles. McGrath describes writing to Sen. Mitch McConnell at the time, and receiving an unsatisfactory response.

McGrath also attacked Barr’s vote on the Republican’s American Healthcare Act, citing that over 200,000 Kentuckians would have lost their insurance. She is committed to insuring Kentuckian’s healthcare, referencing her own mother’s battle with polio. She takes advantage of the Republican’s highly unpopular American Healthcare Act and uses it to her own benefit.

McGrath knows Barr’s weak points and understands many of the frustrations of Kentuckians, but she may not be able to provide the adequate solutions for them, as she has not posted any of her platforms on her website. As the 2018 congressional race nears, surely McGrath will be letting everyone know where she stands on key policy issues.

With President Donald Trump’s declining approval ratings, along with many Congressional Republicans’, it will be interesting to see how Democrats will fare in the upcoming midterms, and it is especially exciting to see one such race unfold in Kentucky.