MSNBC criticized Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes on Wednesday for refusing to answer whether she voted for President Obama.
The Kentucky Democrat said she refused on basis of principle, but in a documentary out next week, Grimes names other politicians she has voted for in the past.
Twice this week Grimes was asked to identify whom she voted for in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. But she kept quiet, referencing her constitutional right to a secret ballot.
However, she later enthusiastically announced she voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary.
"I think the constitutional right only works when she likes it," said Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Democratic strategists including David Axelrod said Grimes’ tight-lipped answers on Obama have killed her campaign in a state where the president lost by 23 points.
Grimes, like many Democratic candidates, are distancing themselves from the president, a move that has failed in most states. Obama’s strategy on issues like foreign policy have increasingly become a problem for Democrats seeking office.
"The fact is that foreign policy has mattered this fall when President Obama said foreign policy, whether it's golfing right after beheadings, are now seemingly lost if figuring out how to respond to ISIS," Joe Scarborough said Wednesday. "That has been a drag on Democrats."
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pulled its funding from Grimes’ campaign earlier this week, choosing instead on Senate races deemed more "winnable."
Grimes trails her opponent, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) by three points.