© 2024 WUKY
background_fid.jpg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Former President Clinton Rallies Grimes Supporters In Lexington

Josh James
/
WUKY

Former President Bill Clinton was in town to stump for U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes Wednesday.

Underneath a banner reading “Our Strength, Our People,” Clinton joined the young Senate hopeful and family friend to address the capacity crowd at the Carrick House. The trip marked his second campaign stop for Grimes in Kentucky and his first in Lexington.

Both speakers stuck close to the themes of her recent TV ads, stressing job creation, equal pay, and student loan reform.

Drawing contrasts between a cooperative leadership style of former Kentucky Senator Wendell Ford and the current gridlock in Washington, the president told the audience, "We've forgotten what made this country great."

On the recent Fancy Farm Picnic, Clinton observed, "I thought to myself, not one time did Alison's opponent even give her the dignity of mentioning her name."

Afterward, Grimes supporter Brenda Erickson said the president did not disappoint.

"Awesome, awesome. He always tell it like is," she said.

But while Grimes may have been eager to link her campaign to Clinton, Sen. Mitch McConnell's camp was quick to connect the former president and the current occupant of the Oval Office. In a statement, the campaign labeled Clinton "anti-coal," pointing to his support for President Obama's new carbon emissions rules, which critics argue will cost more Eastern Kentucky coal jobs.

Clinton was the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Kentucky in a general election.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.
Related Content