Al Mayo: Senator Miss America?

Amidst all the speculation of who will run against Mitch McConnell next year, a new name has risen to the forefront. As if being Miss America isn’t a big enough accomplishment, Heather French Henry may be considering a run at Mitch’s seat. My first piece of advice? She should ride the Miss America horse for all it’s worth!

Now for Kentucky Democrats, this has good news-bad news written all over it. It’s bad news if Alison Lundergan-Grimes decides to run. If the two end up in a primary fight, it’s terrible because there could be serious divisions within the party. It would also take big money away from whichever candidate wins the nomination. No one wants to be spending money on a Democratic Primary when you’ll need everything you can muster just to compete with McConnell. In fact, if Democrats can avoid ANY primary before a nominee takes on McConnell, it’s a plus.

On the other hand, there are some in the Democratic Party of Kentucky who quietly concede that NO candidate will have what it takes to defeat McConnell. If that is true, then in a convoluted way, Henry entering the race could be just what Democrats really need. She would be strong enough and visible enough not to embarrass the party, but would still likely get hammered by Team Mitch. I’m not saying she’d be a sacrificial lamb, but that’s about as accurate as anything else I can think of.

If Henry runs, and Grimes remains out of the race, then it could preserve Grimes for any future winnable General Elections. Grimes is seen as THE rising star of the Kentucky Democrats, and it would be better for the party and Grimes if she could avoid a beat-down from McConnell. Grimes could likely run for her choice of statewide offices in 2015. She could run for reelection, for Attorney General, even Governor, and expect to do very well if not win by a landslide.

HFH brings several things to the table. Miss America is the obvious attribute, not to mention her activism in Veteran’s rights. BUT, and this is a big BUT…..she also has to contend with the baggage from her husband Steve Henry. Steve Henry, of course, was Lt. Governor under the Paul Patton Administration, and ran his own disastrous campaign for Governor in 2007, which culminated in his settling over several violations of campaign finance laws. He entered guilty pleas in December 2009 to criminal charges related to those violations. The plea agreement called for him to be fined $500 and sentenced to 12 months in jail, which was conditionally discharged after two years of no further criminal conduct.

Steve Henry is also an Orthopedic Surgeon of some renown, but even that has baggage for his wife’s potential run. In June 2007 it was reported that Henry was dismissed from the University of Louisville hospital faculty because of concerns about his attendance and performance and related liability concerns. This came after his campaign for governor falsely claimed that Henry still performed surgery at the hospital. Henry had claimed that he was donating his salary from the university, but Henry had not been paid a salary since 1996. There are frankly several other things Steve Henry has been connected to that I could write about, but this isn’t about him, so let’s move on.

While I agree Heather French Henry should not be tarred and scarred with her husband’s past transgressions, she still has to be alert to these problems. Could that sway her not to run? Yes. . But as a Democratic stand-in to keep Grimes from essentially being forced into a Senate run, she could be the answer.

There is a slight upside for Grimes if that happens. It could foster the perception of her as a candidate who is so formidable, that even Miss America wants no part of her in a primary.