Democratic Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes will do anything she can to avoid being directly associated with Barack Obama — going so far as to repeatedly dodge questions from the Kentucky's Courier-Journal about if she voted for the president.
"You know this election isn't about the president. It's about making sure we put Kentuckians back to work," Grimes said when first asked if she voted for the president.
"I was actually in '08 a delegate for Hillary Clinton and I think that Kentuckians know I'm a Clinton Democratic through and through," Grimes said when asked a second time. "I respect the sanctity of the ballot box and I know the members of this editorial board do as well."
Asked a third time, Grimes again refused to say if she voted for Obama.
"Again, I don't think that the president is on the ballot as much as Mitch McConnell might want him to be. It's my my name and it's going to be me holding him accountable for the failed decisions and votes that he has made against the people of Kentucky."
In 2012, Grimes was asked about the political risk of supporting Obama, and said she wasn't running away from the president.
"I'm a lifelong Democrat. I'm very proud of that and the values our party stands for. My support of our party and our nominee is well known," she said in an interview. "It's no secret that I will be in North Carolina to support our nominee and party" at the Democratic presidential convention.