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Often Dry McConnell Turns to Humor as Campaign Closes

Often stodgy Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is using the final days of the campaign to showcase his humor.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., a 30-year incumbent, greets people at a coal tipple operation, B&W Resources in Manchester, Ky., Monday, Oct. 27, 2014, during the final week before the crucial midterm election that could shift the balance of power in Congress. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., a 30-year incumbent, greets people at a coal tipple operation, B&W Resources in Manchester, Ky., Monday, Oct. 27, 2014, during the final week before the crucial midterm election that could shift the balance of power in Congress. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Often stodgy Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is using the final days of the campaign to showcase his humor in a new ad featuring a talking baby and a Jean-Claude van Damme reference.

In the ad posted late Monday, the Kentucky Republican is soliciting ideas for his next commercial -- and each of the joke suggestions are remarkably more light-hearted than most of the ads that have aired during his contentious re-election bid against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes.

It ends with McConnell surrounded by bloodhounds, a nod to a 1984 ad he ran during his first successful Senate campaign.

McConnell’s reputation on Capitol Hill is far from warm and friendly, and Kentucky voters have had to endure months of negative ads from both candidates throughout the closely watched race. The five-term incumbent, who maintains an edge in most polls, hopes ending the campaign on a positive note will resonate with voters come Nov. 4.

— Andrew Rafferty