{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=9E266722-594B-4F6B-A2C0-D27D33D7B027", "Leader McConnell Comments on Gov. Beshear's Call to Abolish Electoral College", "2024-10-31", "2024", "2024-10", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "LOUISVILLE, KY - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement regarding Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear's comments today in support of abolishing the Electoral College:\n\n\"I wish I could say I\u2019m surprised by Governor Beshear\u2019s latest calls to abolish the Electoral College \u2013 but I\u2019m not. Democrats\u2019 disregard \u2013 and borderline disdain \u2013 for the constitutional guardrails that safeguard our political system has lurked below the surface of their rhetoric for a long, long time.\n\n\"No institution is too dear if it stands between a Democrat and their progressive \u2018reforms\u2019 to \u2018preserve democracy\u2019 \u2013 the standard euphemism for partisan power grabs on the Left. Those genuinely concerned about the future of our country should call for strengthening our constitutional guardrails, not obliterating them.\n\n\"At its core, the Electoral College protects Americans from the whims of the majority, something I\u2019m familiar with in the Senate. It\u2019s what makes our democracy, and our sprawling nationwide elections, feasible. And it\u2019s what compels presidents to govern nationally rather than pandering to the interests of New York and California. Without it, no presidential candidate would ever travel to a small state in Middle America, like Kentucky.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:55:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=9E266722-594B-4F6B-A2C0-D27D33D7B027"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8771461434662342, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}