Lunsford hits 2nd 'Millionaire's Amendment' threshold

U.S. Senate candidate Bruce LunsfordDemocratic U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford has triggered the second threshold of the so-called "millionaire's amendment," PolitickerKY.com learned over the weekend. His campaign reported on Saturday that Lunsford made a $550,000 contribution toward securing his party's nomination. Lunsford's recent expenditure of his personal funds means his opponents in the Democratic Senate primary will find the contribution limits for individuals donating to their campaign increased to $12,600.

Lunsford, a wealthy Louisville businessman, has now spent more than $1.6 million of his own funds on his bid for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader. That amount exceeds the second threshold for self-financing candidates incorporated into the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, set at about $1.1 million for candidates in Kentucky.

"We are following the plan we laid out from the very beginning and Bruce recently made an additional investment in the campaign," said Allison Haley, a spokesperson for the Lunsford campaign.

On April 12, Lunsford passed the amendment's first threshold of $559,000 for self-financing candidates when his campaign reported he spent $1,015,000 in personal funds on his campaign. Those expenditures allowed his opponents to raise up to $6,300 per cycle from individual donors.

Lunsford's campaign has a heavy television presence, running several television advertisements in recent weeks in media markets statewide.

The campaign has also been under fire from primary opponent Greg Fischer, a millionaire Louisville businessman. Fischer unveiled two ads specifically targeting Lunsford in recent weeks, including one reviving allegations of business impropriety from Lunsford's past.

Amid the television ad war, Lunsford's polling lead over Fischer has been cut from 38 points to 19 points according to SurveyUSA polls, soliciting claims from the Fischer campaign of a change in "momentum" with just over a week to go until the May 20 primary.

The news of Lunsford's third contribution to his campaign comes after he raised $95,020 from individual donors and $36,000 from political action committees during the period between April 1 to April 30, for a total of $131,020.

The Fischer campaign reported $99,598 in contributions during that same period, all from individuals.

According to the most recent FEC reports, Fischer has not spent sufficient personal funds on his campaign to trigger the first "millionaire's amendment" threshold. His expenditure of $535,766 falls $23,234 short of that level.