Mitch And Rand

Seems that Mitch McConnell is backing Trey Grayson for Junior Senator from the Bluegrass State, and not Rand Paul.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is making his candidate preferences known in two Republican primaries -- hosting a fundraiser in New York City on Dec. 7 to benefit former New Hampshire attorney general Kelly Ayotte and Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, according to a copy of the invite obtained by the Fix. Ayotte will face at least two candidates in the GOP primary -- businessmen Ovide Lamontagne and Bill Binnie -- while Grayson is being challenged by Rand Paul, the son of Texas Rep. Ron Paul. The National Republican Senatorial Committee made news last week when it made clear it would not involve itself financially in contested primaries. But, McConnell's involvement for Grayson and Ayotte make clear where the "smart money" is in these primary fights.

Yeah I know, it's Chris Cillizza, but it's still news that Mitchy is holding a fundraiser for Grayson, not Paul.  That means that the Republicans as a whole are backing Grayson (they're not going to make trouble for Mitchy in his backyard) and that could shape up into a nasty primary battle down the road, especially with this news coming just a couple of days after McConnell and Paul met in Louisville.

Clearly, Mitch didn't like what he had to hear.  And he also thinks that Rand's enough of a threat that he has to personally hold a fundraiser for Grayson in 2009.  Couple this with the fact that Grayson's already playing the Hoffman card on Paul, and things are shaping up to get truly interesting over the next couple of months.