Mitch McConnell

===1984===
{{Main|1984 United States Senate election in Kentucky}}

In [[1984 United States Senate election in Kentucky|1984]], McConnell ran for the [[U.S. Senate]] against two-term [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] incumbent [[Walter Dee Huddleston]]. The election race was not decided until the last returns came in, when McConnell won by 3,437 votes out of more than 1.2 million votes cast, just over 0.4%.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dee upset by McConnell in close race |first=Mark R. |last=Chellgren |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XLRDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1340,2543281 |newspaper=Williamson Daily News |date=November 7, 1984 |access-date=February 13, 2012 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120195858/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XLRDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1340%2C2543281 |url-status=live }}</ref> McConnell was the only Republican Senate challenger to win that year, despite [[Ronald Reagan]]'s landslide victory in the [[United States presidential election|presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite web|orig-date=1985|title=Democrats Have Net Gain of Two Senate Seats.|url=https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/login.php?requested=%2Fcqalmanac%2Fdocument.php%3Fid%3Dcqal84-856-25733-1150757|access-date=January 6, 2022|website=Congressional Quarterly|archive-date=August 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820195341/http://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/login.php?requested=%2Fcqalmanac%2Fdocument.php%3Fid%3Dcqal84-856-25733-1150757|url-status=live}}</ref>

McConnell's campaign was noted for a series of television campaign spots called "Where's Dee", which featured a group of [[bloodhound]]s trying to find Huddleston,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4-4EPc2xvU |title=McConnell Attacks Huddleston – Part 1 |format=video |last1=kentuckyinsider |date=Oct 29, 2008 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=February 24, 2013 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120195842/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4-4EPc2xvU |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=August 2019}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K4KOhlZR9s |title=McConnell Attacks Huddleston – Part 2 |format=video |last1=kentuckyinsider |date=Oct 29, 2008 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=February 24, 2013 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120195903/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K4KOhlZR9s |url-status=live }}</ref> implying that Huddleston's attendance record in the Senate was poor.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The campaign manager: running and winning local elections|last=Shaw|first=Catherine M.|publisher=Westview Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-8133-6848-1|location=Boulder, CO|page=[https://archive.org/details/campaignmanagerr0000shaw/page/201 201]|chapter=Media--Radio and Television|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/campaignmanagerr0000shaw|url=https://archive.org/details/campaignmanagerr0000shaw/page/201}} (citing the "Switch to Mitch"/"Have you seen Dee Huddleston?" television ad as "another example of humor used in [a] negative spot" and containing images and a transcript of the campaign ad.)</ref><ref name=corny>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mitch-mcconnell-political-ads_n_3581420 |title=Mitch McConnell Likes The Corny Wordplay With His Political Opponents' Last Names |author=Linkins, Jason |work=[[HuffPost]]|date=July 11, 2013 |access-date=August 17, 2014 |archive-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804062234/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mitch-mcconnell-political-ads_n_3581420 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was the first Republican to win a statewide election in Kentucky since 1968, and benefited from the popularity of President [[Ronald Reagan]], up for re-election, who was supported by 60% of Kentucky voters in the same year.<ref name="Costa">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/americangovernme0000unse|title=American Government 12/13|last=Costa|first=Robert|publisher=McGraw-Hill Higher Education|year=2013|isbn=978-0-07-8051135|editor-last=Stinebrickner|editor-first=Bruce|edition=42nd|location=New York, NY|pages=[https://archive.org/details/americangovernme0000unse/page/100 100–103]|chapter=Master of the Senate: Mitchell McConnell gets the job done|url=https://archive.org/details/americangovernme0000unse/page/100}}</ref>