Amy McGrath Accuses Mitch McConnell of Ducking Debates as Polls Show Kentucky Race Tightening

U.S. Senate candidate Amy McGrath (D-KY) has accused House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of ducking debates as polls show her trailing the Republican by 9 percent. McGrath has reduced McConnell's lead significantly over the course of the race.

The McGrath is fighting a long-shot campaign against McConnell, who's represented Kentucky in the Senate since 1985. The state hasn't elected a Democrat to statewide federal office since 1992.

McGrath and McConnell had a debate on October 12 but no further debates are planned or expected. The Democrat, who is a veteran and retired marine combat pilot, took to Twitter on Wednesday to criticize McConnell.

"Mitch refuses to answer to Kentuckians. He won't to take the debate stage again or listen to his constituents," McGrath wrote.

"Thank you to the engaged Kentuckians I met in Burlington today. I will LISTEN and fight for you in the Senate."

She added two photos of herself visiting with constituents. A central part of McGrath's argument has been that McConnell doesn't help ordinary voters.

McGrath faces an uphill battle to unseat McConnell. The most recent Mason-Dixon poll conducted from October 12 to 15 shows McConnell 9 points ahead of McGrath. Poll tracker FiveThirtyEight gives Mason-Dixon a B+ rating.

McGrath's polling position has improved over the past few months. A Spry Strategies poll from July 16 showed McConnell 22 points ahead of the Democrat, while he led by 15 points on September 20, according to Morning Consult. His lead has since fallen to single digits.

Earlier on Wednesday, McGrath criticized McConnell for claiming the "far left" wanted to disqualify Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett because she is a devout Roman Catholic.

"Our Constitution forbids disqualifying people from public service due to their religious beliefs. The far left has either forgotten this or just doesn't care. It only underscores why we need well-informed jurists like Judge Barrett to protect our Constitution & Americans' rights," McConnell had tweeted.

"VP Biden is Catholic. Speaker of the House is Catholic. I'm Catholic. Just stop with this nonsense," McGrath responded.

The Kentucky Senate race has been closely watched despite the fact McGrath has significant ground to make up before November 3. Nationally, Democrats are favored to win the Senate but defeating McConnell is unlikely this year. He won re-election in 2014 by a 16-point margin, securing a sixth term.