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Attorney General Jack Conway (D-Louisville) announces his investigation into Louisville's gas prices on Thursday: Politicker photo

LOUISVILLE -- At a joint press conference in Louisville today - where gas costs up to 30 cents more per gallon than in the rest of the Commonwealth - U.S. Rep John Yarmuth (D-Louisville) and state Attorney General Jack Conway (D-Louisville) elaborated on their newest proposals for confronting the energy dilemma.

In front of reporters gathered in a cul-de-sac near a noisy highway on-ramp, Yarmuth said he was pressuring President Bush to permit the usage of emergency provisions he argued would decrease speculation in the oil market. Conway, on the other hand, announced an investigation into potential anti-competitive activity by gas retailers and wholesalers leading to the price disparities between Louisville and other parts of the state.

Touting a letter he sent to President Bush on Wednesday, Yarmuth said a provision enacted by Congress in 2000 - termed the "Enron loophole" - exempted energy speculators from federal regulation and allowed speculators in the oil market to drive prices up.

"We are in the mode where the fundamentals of supply and demand don't really drive the price," said Yarmuth.

State Sen. Brett Guthrie: Campaign photoOne day after a new public poll from SurveyUSA showed it's candidate in a neck-and-neck race and two days after it released a memo warning against any public poll results, the campaign of state Senator Brett Guthrie (R-Bowling Green) reiterated today they are not worried at this point in the campaign.

"Any survey taken in June, before either candidate has begun advertising - and shows 9% undecided - has no credibility," said Guthrie's campaign manager, Brian Smith, in an e-mail to PolitickerKY.com.

In the race for the open 2nd Congressional District seat, Guthrie was shown trailing state Senator David Boswell (D-Sorgho) 47 to 44 percent in the SurveyUSA poll of 545 "likely" voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent.

Smith's comments reinforce the Guthrie camp's belief that they have an advertising advantage in the race, based on a $300,000 second quarter fundraising estimate and a total of over $700,000 raised since January.

Several weeks after launching a first batch of robocalls against U.S. Rep John Yarmuth (D-Louisville), the conservative public policy group Freedom's Watch is again hitting Yarmuth on gas prices with a new round of calls into Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District.

The robocall buy in the Louisville-based district was described as "substantial" by a Freedom's Watch spokesperson, though specific numbers and targeted recipients of the call were not released.

The call bills itself as a "gas price alert," and charges that Yarmuth voted "five times against domestic energy production."

Former U.S. Rep. Anne Northrup: Northrup for CongressFormer U.S. Rep Anne Northup (R-Louisville) will get the support of the Business Industry Political Action Committee in her bid to regain the 3rd Congressional District seat she lost in 2006 to U.S. Rep John Yarmuth (D-Louisville). Roll Call reports BIPAC included Northup among three endorsed candidates announced.

This is not the first time BIPAC has supported Northup. The group - which bills itself as enabling "more effective business participation in the political process" - contributed $16,585 to Northup between 1998 and 2004, during her tenure in Congress.

In 2006, the organization provided nearly $130,000 to candidates for federal office. 85 percent of that amount went to Republican candidates.

MURRAY -- Touted by many in the area as the second biggest western Kentucky political event for Democrats behind the legendary Fancy Farm picnic, the Purchase Area Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Murray on Monday night brought out many of the area's leading Democratic politicians, as well as some prominent statewide figures. However, it was two absent Democrats who was the object of much of theLt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo (D-Hazard) in Murray on Monday: Politicker photo evening's discussion - presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Gov. Steve Beshear (D-Lexington).

The 1st Congressional District - in which Murray is firmly entrenched - went to Obama's Democratic primary opponent, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), 71 to 22 percent in Kentucky's May 20 primary election. Statewide exit polls indicated one in five white voters said "race" played a role in their choice that election, leaving some to question whether these same white Democrats will support Obama in the general election.

"We like our primaries, but we come out stronger and unified after those primaries," Democratic Party of Kentucky Chair Jennifer Moore said in her remarks at the event. I urge you, no matter what side you were on in this presidential primaries, now is the time that we come together and we make sure we work hard to elect Barack Obama as our next president of the United States."

The first indication of the climate in Kentucky's 2nd Congressional District may offer a boost to Democrats holding out hope of picking up the seat left open by the retirement of U.S. Rep Ron Lewis (R-Cecilia).

A new poll by the New Jersey-based firm SurveyUSA gives state Senator David Boswell (D-Sorgho) a 47 to 44 percent advantage over his colleague, state Senator Brett Guthrie (R-Bowling Green).

Nine percent of the 545 "likely" voters polled indicated they were undecided in the race, while the poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4.3 percent.

The results come after Guthrie's camp dispatched a memo yesterday saying any public polling done now would be "unreliable."

Much of the noise from the open 2nd Congressional District race between state Sens. David Boswell (D-Sorgho) and Brett Guthrie (R-Bowling Green) has revolved around financial expectations, and the case remains the same, as second quarter books close today.

Today, a memo circulated by Guthrie's campaign claims their candidate has rallied $300,000 in 2Q contributions.

The authors of the memo - strategist Scott Jennings and pollster Jan van Lohuzen - say the amount raised thus far offers a media advantage to Guthrie, arguing he "is in a financial position to be on the air long before his opponent."

Reaction to the United States Supreme Court's decision in the D.C. v. Heller case emanated from prominent Republicans in Kentucky quickly today, after the high court overturned a Washington, D.C., law banning handgun ownership in a 5-4 decision.

"Today the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects the individual right of law-abiding citizens of the District of Colombia to protect themselves in their own homes," U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) said in a statement. "This landmark ruling will ensure that regardless of where citizens reside, the government will respect their rights that are guaranteed by the Second Amendment."

In the court's majority opinion, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia concluded "the District's ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense.

U.S. Rep. John YarmuthIn the next hour, U.S. Rep John Yarmuth (D-Louisville) is set to speak on the floor of the U.S. House in favor of legislation requiring oil companies to drill on leased public land.

The bill - termed the "use it or lose it" bill - was introduced by Natural Resources Committee Chair Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.). Formally calledThe Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008, it would impose fines on oil companies not drilling on federal lands currently leased to them.

Yarmuth and other supporters of the bill contend 68 million acres of land under lease, yet not currently drilled, could produce 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

State Sen. David BoswellIn the public lull before the coming storm of campaign season, the candidates vying for the open 2nd Congressional District seat are balancing fundraising and their duties as state senators during this week's special legislative session.

Both contenders for the seat are scheduled to attend to their elected duties at legislators in Frankfort this week under the auspices of hammering out a final deal on pension reform. The special session is scheduled to last just the week, with draft legislation on pensions already agreed upon by House and Senate leadership.

Aside from those efforts, state Senator David Boswell (D-Sorgho) has scheduled a series of fundraisers culminating in a June 30 event in Daviess County hosted by state Rep. Tommy Thompson (D-Owensboro).

"We are just trying to raise money right now," said Jim Cole, Boswell's campaign manager.