The 2024 U.S. Senate race is taking shape as Republican Ray McKay emerges to challenge Whitehouse
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WARWICK — More than a year-and-a-half out from the 2024 election, Republican Ray McKay has launched his "Right Direction Right Now" campaign for the U.S. Senate seat that Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse has held since his upset victory in 2006.
In a speech delivered to about three dozen supporters at The Event Factory in Warwick, McKay, 62, laid out his aims "as a concerned citizen and patriot."
He also fired off his first attack lines at Whitehouse, painting him as an out of touch elitist.
"For the record, I do not belong to, nor have I ever belonged to, an exclusive country club or all-white beach club that discriminates by race, color or religion," he said, citing an unsubstantiated claim about the makeup of the membership of Bailey's Beach Club in Newport that has made the news rounds in more than one election cycle.
"As we hear Sheldon Whitehouse complain about Justice Clarence Thomas' perceived ethical shortcomings,'' McKay said it's worth noting that he, McKay, "support(s) the congressional stock ban, unlike my opponent who has been called out twice by the New York Times for buying stock of companies that were before him on his Senate committee."
Where does McKay stand on the issues?
His top issue: "We are experiencing unprecedented loss of our personal, financial, and social freedom at the hands of the irresponsible, overreaching leftist progressives in Washington."
"These 'woke' zealots have moved so far left, they even alienate their own and leave no room for reasonable discussion with everyday people," he continued.
His aim: an America where "inflation and government spending are under control, our sovereignty and borders are secure ... families can make ends meet ... [and] our rights, freedoms, and Constitution are not under continuous attack."
"I am here before you to declare independence from the tyranny of Washington, just as our colonial forebears declared independence against a tyrannical king in 1776," he said in a prepared text of his speech.
"I need your time, I need your prayers, and, yes, I need your money so that I can get to Washington in 2024 and work together with others like me — like us — to stop the socialists that threaten our way of life for your children and grandchildren."
A second chance at seat for McKay
McKay enters the race with a microphone, a supporting cast of ever-hopeful Republicans, $7,229.80 in his campaign fund and aspirations of raising $5 million.
Whitehouse has $1,894,325 in his campaign fund and a C-Span televised platform.
For a Republican to win this seat in Democrat dominated Rhode Island may be a long shot, but this is a second chance at a race he first tried to run in 2014. Back then, the City of Warwick — his employer — and then a judge left him with this choice: his job as the city's network and telecommunications administrator or his bid for a U.S. Senate seat. He chose his job.
"At a time of uncontrolled government spending, we witness the politicians who oversee budgets, as my opponent does, worry more about protecting a partisan narrative than protecting our senior citizens and Social Security.
"Unlike Sheldon Whitehouse, who did not call out the President’s $4-trillion budget that included zero funding to shore up Social Security, I will work to ensure the viability and reliability of this program that our seniors have paid into. It must be on a strong financial footing.
"We must ensure that appropriate funding is provided and that no politician, no government agency, can raid the Social Security Trust Fund again," McKay said.
What fix does he support for Social Security? He said he is still weighing the options, including a means test which he equated to fire insurance: something everyone buys, but may not ever need to use.
"They call themselves progressives, but we see extraordinarily little progress being made," he said of the Democrats in Washington.
"In fact, we are experiencing unprecedented loss of personal, financial, and social freedom at the hands of these irresponsible, overreaching regressive socialists in Washington.
"Washington needs more Constitutional Conservatives who know and respect the Constitution to steer the ship of state on course, unfettered by ridiculous notions, outright lies, and artificial barriers to opportunities for success and the American Dream," he wrote.
Among the highlights of his political resumé:
1998: First campaign for Rhode Island state senate.
2000: vice chair of the Warwick Republican City Committee.
2001: Member of the "Carcieri for Governor" exploratory committee and election campaign team and founding member of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, Rhode Island Chapter.
2005-2014: President of the Rhode Island Republican Assembly.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse draws potential challenger in RI for 2024 election
