Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) and Zina Stanley at Butler High School: Politicker photo
LOUISVILLE -- Scrubbing furniture and floors as part of the Service Employees International Union's "Walk a Day in My Shoes" program, senate candidate - and multi-millionaire businessman - Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) shadowed custodian Zina Stanley throughout her daily job of keeping Butler clean for the forthcoming school year.
"He's in better shape than I am," said Stanley. "I am amazed that he can still work like that."
Decked out in an SEIU cap and Butler High t-shirt, Lunsford spent the day with Stanley, working and then breaking for lunch with her and her daughter - a Butler student.
Near the event's conclusion, Lunsford spoke highly of the opportunity. He praised Stanley and her family and told stories about the day.
Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) and Zina Stanley at Butler High School: Politicker photo
LOUISVILLE -- Scrubbing furniture and floors as part of the Service Employees International Union's "Walk a Day in My Shoes" program, senate candidate - and multi-millionaire businessman - Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) shadowed custodian Zina Stanley throughout her daily job of keeping Butler clean for the forthcoming school year.
"He's in better shape than I am," said Stanley. "I am amazed that he can still work like that."
Decked out in an SEIU cap and Butler High t-shirt, Lunsford spent the day with Stanley, working and then breaking for lunch with her and her daughter - a Butler student.
Near the event's conclusion, Lunsford spoke highly of the opportunity. He praised Stanley and her family and told stories about the day.
"She is really a first class lady," said Lunsford.
Lunsford added that Stanley voiced concerns to him that were similar to those he heard elsewhere in the state during similar appearances.
"She speaks like everybody else - they feel disconnected," said Lunsford. "They don't feel like people are listening to what their concerns are."
Which millionaire ‘connects?'
For Lunsford, the day was another opportunity to try to highlight a connection with Kentucky's working class population several years, several campaigns, and several millions of dollars from the days when - as his early campaign advertisements claimed - he "cut tobacco" and "laid blacktop" to make a living.
Some speculated Lunsford was encouraged to jump into the U.S. Senate race against incumbent Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) because of his personal financial resources - an asset against McConnell, a 24-year incumbent adorned with all of the benefits of his role as Senate Minority Leader, including a $9 million campaign warchest.
While Lunsford's wealth is obviously beneficial in major ways to his campaign, some aspects of it have already been poked at by the McConnell campaign. McConnell's camp, itself representing a candidate with a sizeable personal fortune (though significantly smaller than Lunsford's), has referenced some of Lunsford's more visible signs of wealth thus far in its attacks, such as the Democrat's race horses and private jet.
Whether that is a concern or not for them, Lunsford's campaign seems focused on aligning their candidate with Kentucky's working class. The stop at Butler with Stanley was the latest for the Lunsford campaign that put their candidate on the ground with Kentucky workers. The candidate previously made a string of appearances across the state holding "workdays" where he loaded trucks and pumped gas as part of his so-called "On the Job" tour.
While the campaign workdays attempt to draw Lunsford as a friend of Kentucky's workers, the candidate himself has continually hammered McConnell, whom Lunsford has painted as out-of-touch with the state on numerous occasions.
Standing in the locker room reserved for Butler's custodial staff today, Lunsford suggested that McConnell's own finances should be an issue to voters. The Democrat pointed to the $15 million in campaign contributions McConnell has collected from donors thus far this election cycle and compared it to Lunsford's spending of his own money on his campaign - an amount totaling at over $3.1 million at last report.
"The difference is I have a tendency to do things with my money and he has a tendency to do things with government money and other people's money," said Lunsford. "So if the public is okay with him spending $15 million of money given to him by special interests, then they'll elect him and if they don't then they'll elect me."
Lunsford further accused McConnell of being out-of-sync with Kentucky voters by anecdote, as he discussed a July 4th parade in the western Kentucky town of Murray.
"I wasn't unable to get beside him because he was surrounded. I walked the parade and he rode in a car and waved to the public - much like in a monarchy. Sort of ‘Sir Mitchell' style," said Lunsford.
For Zina Stanley, the day with Lunsford was a unique experience, regardless of any subtext. Stanley had never previously been involved in politics beyond her handshake with Clinton. She had only volunteered to host Lunsford's visit after hearing about it from a fellow union member.
Most importantly for her, however, was that Lunsford and others had the chance to see what she and her colleagues actually do for a living.
"I'm glad he came and experienced this," said Stanley. "A lot of times, they know we do it, but they rarely see it."
