State GOP files FEC complaint against Lunsford over TV appearance

A still from Senate Candidate Bruce Lunsford's (D-Louisville) appearance on the CW program "Louisville Live this Morning."

The Republican Party of Kentucky's (RPK) Chairman Steve Robertson will file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against the campaign of Democratic Senate primary frontrunner and Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford.

According to a release from the RPK, the complaint will charge that Lunsford's April 21 appearance on the television program "Louisville Live this Morning" on the CW network did include the necessary legal disclaimer, given that Lunsford paid for the airtime.

The complaint comes on the heels of a similar intra-party battle on the Democratic side. Yesterday, lawyers representing the Lunsford campaign fired off a letter to Kentucky's television stations, alleging the campaign of Lunsford's primary opponent Greg Fischer did not include appropriate disclaimers in it's recent attack ad.

The RPK's release concerning their complaint against Lunsford acknowledged the timing. They also suggested - as the Lunsford camp did regarding Fischer's allegedly flawed ads - that Lunsford should be ineligible to receive the "lowest unit" advertisting rate due to the disclaimer issues.

"It is ironic that Bruce Lunsford is complaining about Greg Fischer's inability to follow the law when Lunsford himself is violating the same requirements," said Robertson in the RPK release. "Based on the recent actions of Bruce Lunsford and his attorneys with regard to Greg Fischer's illegal ads, this is clearly a willful and knowing violation of federal law that should result in Lunsford not being eligible for lowest unit rate advertising under FCC regulations, not to mention the penalties that could be imposed by the FEC."

During his April 21 appearance, Lunsford participated in a seven-minute interview on the CW program to discuss a handful of issues with the show's host, Dan Spangler.

During Spangler's interview with Lunsford, a banner is displayed listing the name of the program, a telephone number offering "Campaign Info," and the address to the Lunsford campaign's website.

At the close of the segment, a full-screen graphic is shown listing the address of Lunsford's Louisville headquarters and the same website and phone number.

The full screen graphic displayed at the conclusion of Lunsford's segment on the CW Program "Louisville Live this Morning."

Then, Spangler notes that Lunsford's campaign sponsored the segment.

"The Lunsford for Senate Campaign today paid for the extended segment to be able to discuss the important issues beyond the 30-second commercial or 10-second soundbyte," said Spangler. "The same opportunity has been made available to all candidates in the Kentucky primary."

The full text of the RPK complaint will be available tomorrow, according to the party's release.

The RPK also notes it will file a complaint against the CW itself "for airing the illegal advertisement."

Also: Lunsford camp responds to GOP's disclaimer charge