Chamber Taking on Tea Party in Kentucky Senate Primary

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-27/chamber-taking-on-tea-party-in-kentucky-senate-primary.html

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pouring money into a television advertising campaign defending Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, whose primary fight against a Tea Party-backed rival is shaping up as a test of establishment efforts to reclaim the Republican Party.

The business lobby will spend about $180,000 on a 10-day statewide blitz beginning Dec. 2 on behalf of McConnell, a five-term Republican, said a person familiar with the plans who asked not be identified because the ad buy hasn’t been announced.

McConnell faces twin challenges next year in his re-election bid. He is competing against Matt Bevin, a Louisville businessman backed by the small-government movement, in the May 20 Republican primary contest. The winner of that race will square off with Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes in the November general election.

The Chamber, which spent $36 million to influence last year’s congressional races, is wading into Republican primary fights to back candidates focused on economic issues.