Third Kentucky Democrat announces challenge to McConnell

A third Kentucky Democrat announced his campaign Thursday to challenge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in 2020.

{mosads}Mike Broihier, a first-time candidate and former U.S. Marine, announced his Senate bid with a three-minute video that urges voters to “forget their labels.”

“For 35 years, Mitch McConnell has used labels to reinforce old prejudices, to divide us, to maintain his grip on power,” Broihier, 57, says in the video. “But we are more than a collection of labels. We are each unique.

“We deserve a U.S. senator who sees beyond the labels, who actually cares about us, who listens to us, who sees us and respects us as individuals,” the video continues. “Mitch McConnell doesn’t.”

The Wisconsin native moved to Kentucky in 2005 after he retired from the Marines, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. He’s served as a reporter and editor for the Interior Journal, a local newspaper.

According to his website, Broihier describes his campaign in six words: “Economic and social justice for all.” Among his priorities are to raise the federal minimum wage, secure equal pay for women and end family separations.

Broihier is the third Democrat to enter the Democratic primary. Former Marine Amy McGrath, a prominent congressional candidate during last year’s midterm elections, announced her candidacy last week.

McGrath was one of the top fundraisers of the cycle and narrowly lost her bid to unseat Rep. Andy Barr (R) in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District.

Democrat Steve Cox, a health care professional, entered the race in May, the Courier-Journal reported.