Well, this stinks: Kentucky Democrat Andrew Horne announced today in an email to supporters that he would be dropping out of the race to challenge Sen. Mitch McConnell:
I'm writing you today with some disappointing news. This afternoon I informed Governor Steve Beshear of my decision to withdraw from the United States Senate race.
This decision was difficult for many reasons, not least because of the major challenges facing our Commonwealth and Country. Millions of Americans live without quality health care, we have shamefully disregarded the needs of our veterans, our education system is deeply flawed, and we remain embroiled in a mismanaged and ill-conceived war. Through it all, Mitch McConnell is more interested in expanding the scope of his own power than using his office to benefit the hardworking families who make our country great.
Horne was probably our best chance in the current pool of candidates at waging a serious race against McConnell.
Horne's departure from the race leaves businessman Greg Fischer and two-time gubernatorial loser Bruce Lunsford as the remaining candidates in the race. I've written about my dissatisfaction with Lunsford here: although Lunsford has shown questionable party loyalty in the past, endorsing the now-disgraced Republican Ernie Fletcher in the 2003 governor's race, he nevertheless seems to be the choice of the Democratic establishment both in Kentucky and in Washington.
Perhaps they're counting on the fact that the wealthy Lunsford can raise and spend enough to wage a kind of kamikaze campaign against McConnell, forcing him to at least spend on his own race and campaign in Kentucky rather than raising funds and campaigning for other Republicans.
In any case, our already-slim chances of beating Mitch McConnell just took another hit.