John Sommers II/Reuters
Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is running against current Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell
The ad serves as Grimes' latest move to distance herself from the Environmental Protection Agency's new regulations while touting Kentucky's coal industry. Coal supplies about 92% of Kentucky's electricity. The state would need to reduce iemissions by about 18% by 2030 to meet the target established by Obama's new regulations.
Grimes also uses the spot to attack McConnell, who has attempted to link Grimes with Obama's energy policies this week. Grimes says McConnell hasn't done enough to protect coal-industry jobs in Kentucky
"Mr. President, Kentucky has lost one-third of our coal jobs in just the last three years," Grimes says in the 60-second ad, which is part of a six-figure offensive. "Now your EPA is targeting Kentucky coal with pie in the sky regulations that are impossible to achieve. It's clear you have no idea how this affects Kentucky."
Grimes also promises that, if elected, she will continue her against Obama's energy policies.
"Mr. President, you'll be hearing it a lot more when I'm in the Senate," she adds.
The radio ad's release comes two days after the Grimes campaign placed ads in newspapers throughout Kentucky's "coal country," regions that are set to be hit hardest by the new EPA regulations.
A Grimes campaign spokesperson said the new offensive is aimed at tying together an unlikely pair - Obama and McConnell. Team Grimes is attempting to use the high-profile opportunity to show Grimes could be independent from the president while also hitting McConnell. While McConnell has also opposed the EPA regulations, the Grimes is arguing he merely introduced "last-minute" legislation that doesn't go far enough.
There's an "opening," the spokesperson said, to point out "both McConnell and Obama don't get" Kentucky.
This isn't the first time Grimes has made a high-profile break from the Obama administration. She was also the first Democratic Senate candidate to call for the resignation of former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki.
YouTube is currently down, but we will update this post with video of the ad when it's available.