WASHINGTON — WHY THE AP CALLED KENTUCKY FOR MITCH MCCONNELL:
The Associated Press declared Republican Mitch McConnell, the majority leader of the U.S. Senate, the winner of Kentucky's Senate race at 7:56 p.m. EST, after an analysis of ballots statewide concluded there were not enough outstanding to allow Democrat Amy McGrath to catch up.
With 59% of the expected vote counted, McConnell led McGrath by roughly 13 percentage points.
Those results matched data from AP VoteCast and an analysis of early voting statistics. The survey found McConnell with a substantial lead in the state. VoteCast, the AP's wide-ranging survey of the American electorate, captures voters' choices and why they made them.
Results from AP VoteCast are based on interviews with more than 110,000 voters nationwide, concluding as polls close on Election Day.
McConnell has represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate since 1985.
