Amy McGrath, a former fighter pilot and the first woman to fly in an F/A-18 in a combat mission for the U.S. Marines, announced on July 9 that she is mounting a challenge for the Senate seat held for decades by the powerful incumbent Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

In a February 2018 "Salon Talks" interview, McGrath, who, at the time, was running for a House seat in Kentucky's 6th district against Rep. Andy Barr, expressed her frustration with McConnell's leadership.

"I'm continually disappointed in Mitch McConnell," McGrath explained. "I mean, I think there's a pattern when he wasn't in the leadership, when he was in the minority, of obstructing in our country and just basically doing things that hurt people in our country for purely political reasons. And now that he's in the leadership, it's scary to me that - the priorities are what we really throw me."

McGrath goes on to cite McConnell's role in the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and tax cuts for wealthy Americans. Watch SalonTV's full episode with McGrath to learn more about her military background and what motivated her to run for office.