KENTUCKY
      Nov. 4, 2014 U.S. Senate                                      

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+Mitch McConnell (R) i
806,787
 		56.19%
Alison Lundergan Grimes (D)
 		584,698
 		40.72%
David Patterson (L) 44,240
 		3.08%
write-ins (4)
 143
  

1,435,868
Voter Registration: 3,147,157.
Plurality: 222,089 votes (15.47 percentage points).
 KY Secretary of State



Notes:  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R), first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984, won a sixth term, defeating Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) and David Patterson (L).

In the May 20, 2014 Republican primary, McConnell fended off a challenge from businessman Matt Bevin by 60.19% to 35.42% out of 355,116 votes tallied,

Prior to being elected Secretary of State in 2011, Grimes worked as a attorney in Lexington.  She formally launched her challenge to McConnell in July 2013.  In the May 20 Democratic primary, Grimes won 76.47% of the vote over three other candidates out of 402,524 votes tallied.
McConnell and Grimes both appeared at the Fancy Farm Picnic on Aug. 2 (>).  They participated one debate, on "Kentucky Tonight" at KET studios in Lexington on Oct. 13 (>, +).

Grimes stated, "Washington isn't working for Kentucky and it's due to the gridlock, the obstruction and the partisanship that he champions."  McConnell stated, "My opponent has spent most of her time trying to deceive everybody about her own views.  She's been an active, partisan Democrat all along."

In the closing weeks the Grimes campaign pointed to large crowds and fundraising success, as well as some polls to argue that the race was close (+).  On Oct. 28, 2014 the campaign announced that Grimes had visited all 120 counties.

However, the end result was a comfortable double-digit win for McConnell (1, 2).  McConnnell also won big nationally; Republican pickups in the Senate put him in position to become Majority Leader in the 114th Congress.
 
According to the Center for Responsive Politics (>), the McConnell campaign spent $30.4 million and the Grimes campaign $18.8 million; outside groups spent an additional $35.3 million.

Postscript: In Sept. 2019 Jerry Lundergan, the candidate's father and a former chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party, and Dale Emmons, a consultant, were convicted of violating campaign finance laws by funneling close to $200,000 to Grimes' campaign.
Campaign Managers
Mitch McConnell:  Josh Holmes
(succeeding Jesse Benton)  Also serving as senior advisor to the NRSC.  Chief of staff to Sen. McConnell, Dec. 2010-Aug. 2013.  Staff director of the Senate Republican Communications Center-Office of the Republican Leader, Jan. 2007-Jan. 2011.  Director of rapid response at the RNC, 2005-07.  Policy director on George Nethercutt for U.S. Senate, Apr.-Dec. 2004.  Legislative correspondent to U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, Jan. 2003-Apr. 2004.  Central Minnesota field director on Norm Coleman for U.S. Senate, May-Dec. 2002.  Bachelor's degree  from Arizona State University, 2002.

>Very early on, in Sept. 2012, McConnell surprisingly named Jesse Benton, who had chaired Rand Paul's 2010 U.S. Senate campaign and managed Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign, as his campaign manager.  Benton continued on the campaign to  Aug. 29, 2014 when he resigned amid a federal investigation over a scandal that occured when he managed Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign.


Alison Lundergan Grimes:  Jonathan Hurst
"a controversial Kentucky campaign consultant"



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