ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell thinks the country is likely to know the Republican nominee for president by Tuesday night and he promises his own Democratic opponent this fall is going go have a “perfectly miserable experience.”



McConnell told about 150 Hardin County Republicans Saturday night at their Lincoln Day Dinner that the Kentucky Republican Party suffered setbacks in the past two years, but 2008 will be the year their party erects a firewall and stops Democratic momentum in Kentucky.



Afterward, he said it’s likely the Republican nomination will be determined after the “Super Tuesday” primary vote.



“If you were a betting man, you’d have to say it’ll probably be over that night,” McConnell said. While he wouldn’t say which of the Republican candidates he thinks will be strongest in November, he acknowledged Arizona Sen. John McCain is the favorite and polls show he “is running no worse than even with both (Democratic contenders) Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.”



And he believes either of those Democrats will make it easier for his own re-election campaign and Kentucky Republicans in general, including the 2nd Congressional District.



Republican 2nd District Congressman Ron Lewis, of Hardin County, abruptly withdrew on the day of the filing deadline and his chief of staff, Daniel London, and state Sen. Brett Guthrie are running in the Republican primary to succeed Lewis. Daviess County Democratic state Sen. Dave Boswell and Daviess County Judge/Executive Reid Haire are seeking the Democratic nomination.



Many Republicans are not happy with the way Lewis engineered that maneuver, but neither McConnell nor Lewis talked about it Saturday in Lewis’ home area.



“I don’t have a doubt in my mind that the 2nd Congressional District in Kentucky is still going to be represented by a Republican next year,” McConnell told the Hardin County crowd.



McConnell had them revved up, saying Democrats “over in Frankfort are feeling their oats and are coming after us.”



But Kentucky Republicans will “erect a firewall in 2008,” stopping Democratic momentum after the 2006 defeat of 3rd District Republican Congresswoman Anne Northup (who is running again to take back her seat from Democrat John Yarmuth) and Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear’s victory over Republican Ernie Fletcher in 2007.



“We will stop (Democrats) cold in November,” McConnell said. He assured them he will run an aggressive race against whichever Democrat comes out of an eight-person primary. (The Democrats running to face McConnell are Bruce Lunsford, Greg Fischer, Andrew Horne, Michael Cassaro, David Wylie, James Rice, Kenneth Stepp, and David Williams.)



“My opponent, whoever he may be, is going to have a perfectly miserable experience,” McConnell said.



McConnell said it’s clear Beshear and his administration “are going to operate politically.”



“They want to beat me and they want to take back the state Senate. And we’re ready for the fight,” McConnell vowed.



And like the Republican candidate in the 2nd District, McConnell expects to benefit from a larger than normal turnout in a presidential election year and with a Democrat at the top of the ticket who is likely to face tough prospects in Kentucky.



He said the presidential election will be not only about change – the mantra of Obama and other candidates in both parties – but about “what kind of change?” He said the war in Iraq is showing progress and Kentuckians will reject Democrats’ appetite for “taxation, regulation and litigation,” which he said they can’t help because “it’s in their DNA.”



Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort, Ky. He may be contacted by email at rellis@cnhi.com.