Republican National Convention

MINNEAPOLIS – Republicans in both the races set to be on all of Kentucky’s ballots on November 4 are showing double-digit leads over their Democratic counterparts of late, and many at the Republican National Convention expect it to stay that way.

“If any state glows red this fall, Kentucky will be one,” said U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Southgate).

Bunning’s colleague in the Senate, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) holds up to a 12 point lead over businessman Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) in public polls released last month – a margin which Bunning predicted would be at the high end of the eventual margin of victory for the incumbent.

“I’m never comfortable in any race, but I sincerely believe that Senator McConnell will win by from 8 to 12 points,” said Bunning.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The campaigns of businessman Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) have both confirmed for what will be the first proper debate of Kentucky's U.S. Senate race.

Lunsford and McConnell will meet on September 13 for a Lincoln-Douglas debate sponsored by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

The event will be an early-morning affair, starting at 8:30am on a Saturday.

The two candidates earlier appeared together for the first time at a Farm Bureau forum in Louisville last month. Then, Lunsford addressed McConnell directly, claiming the incumbent Sen. had "failed" during his four-terms in Washington - a charge McConnell countered by noting his position as U.S. Sen. Minority Leader.

MINNEAPOLIS – The last public polling in Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District contest between incumbent U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Louisville) and former U.S. Rep. Anne Northup (R-Louisville) found Northup cutting Yarmuth’s lead from 17 to 10 points. Now, a month after the latest polling, Kentucky Republicans say Northup has a tough race ahead of her to regain the seat she lost from Yarmuth in 2006

“Anne’s got a much more difficult race than (state Sen.) Brett (Guthrie) does because of Jefferson County, not because of her opponent,” said U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Southgate), briefly referencing Guthrie’s (R-Bowling Green) bid for the 2nd district.

“Its 68 percent Democrat,” said Bunning of the 3rd District. “It’s much more difficult for Anne to recapture that seat.”

MINNEAPOLIS – Over the course of both parties’ national conventions, there has been a consistent buzz among Kentucky’s delegations about the open-seat 2nd Congressional District race between state Sen. David Boswell (D-Owensboro) and state Sen. Brett Guthrie (R-Bowling Green).

In Denver - at the Democratic National Convention – Kentucky delegates lobbied the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and even U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to work on behalf of Boswell.

Here in the Twin Cities for the Republican National Convention, Kentucky Republicans were voicing their support of Guthrie as well, who was in town campaigning.

“I think everyone really wants to help Brett,” said Gail Russell, Kentucky’s RNC national committeewoman. “Brett’s been here this week working hard, getting morale up, and raising some money.”

MINNEAPOLIS -- In the wake of her Republican National Convention speech last night in Minneapolis, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) will actually be formally nominated as U.S. Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) running mate tonight.

That nomination will happen with a Kentucky connection, as U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) will be the one to formally submit Palin's name into nomination, according to McConnell's office.

The official nomination of Palin is scheduled to occur from between 6pm and 7pm CT, though the convention schedule has been fluid leading up to today's final events.

MINNEAPOLIS – U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Southgate) told PolitickerKY.com he has been hard at work fundraising for candidates for Kentucky’s state legislature.

“I’ve been going around trying to assist some of our down-ticket people so they can run a competitive race and hold their seat or win a new one,” Bunning said.

The two-term U.S. senator said he had headlined five fundraisers for state legislative candidates in the last three weeks, noting he is hopeful Republicans can make gains in a series of targeted districts.

Bunning spoke enthusiastically about the candidacy of former state Rep. Bob Heleringer, who is seeking a state Senate seat in the 19th district – part of metro Louisville.

“It’s looking a heck of a lot better than most of them do in Jefferson County,” said Bunning about Heleringer’s bid against incumbent Tim Shaughnessey (D-Louisville).

MINNEAPOLIS - Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R-Richwood) said U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) should know the campaign rhetoric he is up against when he makes his nomination acceptance speech tonight at the Republican National Convention.

"The Democratic charge for the rest of the campaign is that McCain represents a 3rd term to Bush," said Grayson on a conference call with reporters today. "He ought to be able to anticipate that."

Grayson's analysis of one plank of the Democratic charges against the presumptive Republican presidential nominee echoes a line from Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech at last week's Democratic National Convention. Obama said "eight is enough," insinuating McCain would be an extension of President Bush's two terms in the White House.

MINNEAPOLIS - State Senate President David Williams (R-Burkesville) told PolitickerKY.com that the closest thing he's seen to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's remarks before the Republican National Convention was when former President Ronald Reagan addressed previous conventions.

"I don't know whether I've ever seen anything like it before," said Williams.

Williams praised the speech's style and content, noting Palin had the "ability to deliver emotional lines."

A delegate to the RNC this year, Williams said the speech should resonate well back home because of its emphasis on certain issues.

"Kentuckians ought to be particularly pleased about what she had to say about energy," said Williams.

MINNEAPOLIS – On the heels of remarks by U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) that Republicans had little chance of seizing the upper chamber back from Democrats this election cycle, Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R-Richwood) remarked that outcome was anticipated by many.

“That’s the conventional wisdom,” said Grayson when asked what he thought of McConnell’s comments.

In Minneapolis for the Republican National Convention, Grayson said the accepted political climate for Senate races was that Republicans were on offense in just one of the 33 ongoing races – the contest in Louisiana between U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and state Treasurer John Kennedy.