Justin Brasell

Shortly after Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Bruce Lunsford hit the airwaves with a new ad painting U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) as an entrenched Washington politician, McConnell's campaign fired back by resurrecting a controversial aspect of Lunsford's business history that has been campaign fodder for the Democrat's opponents in previous campaigns.

"Here is how it works in Washington: the politicians get millions in campaign cash, the special interests get what they want, and we get the short end of the stick," saidU.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville): Politicker photo Lunsford in his new ad. "Mitch McConnell is the master of this system."

An e-mailed statement from McConnell's campaign manager, Justin Brasell, mimicked the structure of Lunsford's words and targeted Lunsford's tenure as CEO of Vencor and Ventas - a nursing home chain and a healthcare investment trust, respectively.

"At least Lunsford is consistent, going back to the primary every ad he has run has been full of baseless negative attacks," said Brasell. "Here is how it works in Lunsford's world: you run a nursing home business that takes millions from the federal government and then are forced to pay record fines for poor treatment of senior citizens. Then you bankrupt the business but make sure that you walk away with millions. That's how it works in Lunsford's world."

On the most eventful day in the race in weeks, the candidates for Kentucky's U.S. Senate seat continue to jab at each other today in the wake of incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Louisville) release of the first television ad of the general election campaign.

This afternoon, McConnell's campaign dispatched a retaliatory response to Lunsford's earlier critique of the ad.

The ad attacks Lunsford for his work in 1980, supporting a restructuring of Kentucky's gas tax system that tied tax rates to wholesale prices. The ad also accuses Lunsford of wanting to "pump taxpayers for even more," but bases that accusation on an article referencing Lunsford's support of the windfall profits tax on oil companies.

After Lunsford's campaign levelled a series of charges about McConnell's energy policy in response, the McConnell campaign questioned why the substance of the ad wasn't addressed.

"I have read the Lunsford campaign's response to our ad three times. Nowhere do they deny that Bruce Lunsford fought for an ever-increasing gas tax, which is remarkable," said McConnell's campaign manager, Justin Brasell, in an afternoon statement.

Democratic Senate nominee Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville): Politicker photo

After a second quarter fundraising period split in half by the May 20 Democratic primary, U.S. Senate candidate and multi-millionaire businessman Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) will report $600K in contributions and $1.3 million on hand. Lunsford's 2Q receipts will total just short of $3.1 million, with $2.5 million of that amount coming from Lunsford's own pocket.

The numbers provide a contrast to last week's news from the camp of Lunsford's opponent, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville). Then, McConnell touted $9 million on hand and a $3 million second quarter.

Though official FEC reports are not yet available, if reports from both side are accurate, McConnell now holds $7.7 million more than Lunsford in cash-on-hand and outraised Lunsford by $2.4 million in the second quarter.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville): Getty Images PhotoWhile official numbers have not yet been released by the re-election campaign of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville), a statement sent today to PolitickerKY.com says McConnell has set a fundraising record in the second quarter of 2008.

Responding to the news that opponent Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) injected $1 million of his personal funds into his campaign in late June, McConnell's campaign manager argued the self-financing would not benefit Lunsford's chances.

"No amount of personal resources can cover up Bruce Lunsford's out-of-touch positions," said McConnell's campaign manager, Justin Brasell.

"Senator McConnell's campaign set a fundraising record in the Second Quarter and will have enough resources to win this November," he added, in the statement.

Few things are sacred in Kentucky politics. A man's horse is evidently not among them.

In a novel turn of events today in the continuing back-and-forth over energy policy between incumbent U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) and Democratic Senate nominee Bruce Lunsford, of Louisville, the McConnell camp has cited Lunsford's race horse named "Drilling for Oil" in the latest hit on their opponent.

"It's funny that a guy who owns a race horse called ‘Drilling for Oil' supports policies that in fact would decrease domestic energy production and increase the pain Kentuckians feel at the pump," said McConnell's campaign manager, Justin Brasell in a statement released today.

While his horse was being used against him, Lunsford made the third stop of his "On the Job" tour today by working at a gas station in Richmond, hoping to highlight the high gas prices his campaign has been associating with McConnell's terms in office.

The U.S. Senate race predicted to be "a war" by the Democrat and "the most negative campaign Kentuckians have ever seen" by the Republican is thus far looking more like a civil tennis match, as the campaigns again participated in another roundabout serve-and-volley exchange early this week.

This time the issue was climate change, with four-term Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) lobbing a policy question at his Democratic opponent and Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford.

"Where does Lunsford stand on climate change?" was the question asked by the latest release from the McConnell campaign.

Senator Mitch McConnell's re-election campaign will report $7,741,241 on hand at the end of the first fundraising quarter of 2008, a release announced today. This election cycle, the McConnell campaign has raised $12,199,516, as of the March 31 1Q deadline. The campaign says this figure is a "Kentucky record."

Included in that figure are 1Q receipts totaling $1,315,967 in contributions to the four-term incumbent.  read more »

Introducing her husband to an assembled crowd of fellow Republicans in Northern Kentucky on Saturday night, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao said Senator and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was playing a crucial role in preventing the “Europeanization” of American labor law.  read more »

The campaign team seeking to re-elect four-term Republican Senator Mitch McConnell features some familiar names from the Senator's past races as well as Republican operatives with success elsewhere in Kentucky.