Thursday, September 11, 2014 8:59 am

Alison Lundergan Grimes made a brief stop at Kentucky Dam Village to meet and greet supporters attending the annual labor management conference.

No formal speeches - just hugs, selfies and "how ya' doin's?" as the candidate touched base with organized labor.

United Auto Workers wearing orange t-shirts prompted Grimes to joke that "Orange isn't usually my favorite color - but today it is."

UAW members at the conference told us that the union is conducting registration drives and that "it's all about turnout."

One Louisville Ford Plant employee described the senate race in Louisville as "tight."

The annual labor management conference draws management and labor away from their usual places to attend seminars, socialize and generally get ready for another round of talks. As one UAW member put it, "We get to them better before we sit across the table from them."

When asked about a recent criticism that Grimes had not spent as much time in Western Kentucky as she needed, a Grimes spokesperson said there are multiple trips planned to the western end of the state.

"We'll be back." she said. "A lot in October."

McConnell recently bragged he would get his largest vote count ever out of Western Kentuckian.

Labor has not been able to make a difference in other races against the longtime senator. Consistent endorsements of Democratic candidates have not changed the outcome of those races.

This time, unions want it to be different.