Greg Fischer

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Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) in Radcliff today

RADCLIFF -- Former Democratic U.S. Sen. and Nebraska Gov. Bob Kerrey took to the trail today along with a slate of high-profile Democrats to campaign for Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville), 2nd Congressional District candidate and state Sen. David Boswell (D-Owensboro), and other local Democratic candidates.

Kerrey ripped Lunsford's opponent - U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) - for a vote against the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act - or Webb G.I. Bill - of 2008. That legislation was an effort to provide funding for college costs to Iraq War veterans.

"I thought that bill would pass 100-0 in the Senate. Mitch McConnell was one of 22 that voted ‘no,'" said Kerrey at a rally in Radcliff. "I would not support Mitch McConnell just on that basis."

Calling Lunsford's race against McConnell the "most important election" in the country behind the Presidential election, Kerrey's appearance in a school gymnasium in Radcliff was one of several on the day he was making with Lunsford and Boswell and other local Democrats.

Kerrey also was one of several speakers in Radcliff to praise Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. At one instance, Kerrey said he had to "respectfully disagree" with comments made by Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.).

Along with the news that its candidate was added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Red-to-Blue list, State Sen. David Boswell's (D-Ky.) campaign team announced it was expanding to incorporate some veterans of Kentucky and national politics. Boswell was added to the DCCC's Red-to-Blue list as a candidate in a Republican-held district targeted for Democratic takeover. Boswell is facing state Sen. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) for the 2nd Congressional District, which is open following the retirement of U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis (R-Ky.).

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is planning a late-August visit to Louisville to headline a fundraiser for 2nd Congressional District candidate and state Sen. Brett Guthrie (R-Bowling Green).

Blunt will be in Kentucky on August 27 for the event, though specific details are not yet confirmed. He is the latest high-profile national Republican to visit in support of Guthrie.

Earlier this year, both Vice President Cheney and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) appeared at seperate fundraising events for Guthrie.

Blunt's appearance will likely provide a further fundraising boost to Guthrie's 2nd District effort against fellow state Sen. David Boswell (D-Owensboro). Guthrie already showed a significant advantage over Boswell at the close of second quarter reports, showing over $660,000 in cash on-hand to Boswell's $45,000.

Former U.S. Sen. Candidate Greg Fischer (D-Louisville) will stay involved in Kentucky politics through the general election after all, following his announcement yesterday that he will serve as volunteer finance chair for state Senator David Boswell's (D-Owensboro) bid for the open 2nd Congressional District seat.

"David and I were doing a lot of campaigning in the same places during the Senate race," Fischer told PolitickerKY.com. "He has a great reputation and is a stand-up guy."Senate candidate Greg Fischer (D-Louisville): PolitickerKy.com photo

Fischer comes on board after Boswell has struggled in his fundraising battle against opponent and state Senator Brett Guthrie (R-Bowling Green).

At the close of the second fundraising quarter on June 30, Boswell had just $45,000 in cash on-hand compared to $661,000 for Guthrie.

Boswell was also outraised by his Democratic primary rival, Daviess County Judge/Executive Reid Haire (D-Owensboro).

Fischer, meanwhile, had some fundraising success in his own Democratic primary effort this year. His campaign rallied more contributions than that of the eventual Senate nominee, Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford, with Fischer collecting over $800,000 in funds.

Louisville businessman Greg Fischer mounted the most formidable campaign from among the six challengers to Bruce Lunsford’s ultimately successful Democratic U.S. Senate primary bid. Fischer took second in the primary race, garnering 34 percent of the May 20 vote to Lunsford’s 51 percent.

Fischer’s fight to gain a foothold against Lunsford was a contentious one that featured its fair share of negativity.

Fischer’s camp launched a series of attack ads targeting allegations of business impropriety in Lunsford’s past and highlighting Lunsford’s past financial and political support for Republicans.

While Fischer’s attacks were criticized in a letter signed by prominent Kentucky Democrats, including Attorney General Jack Conway (D-Louisville) and U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Louisville), Lunsford returned fire, essentially turning the same charges against Fischer, in his own statewide advertising campaign.

Shortly after Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Bruce Lunsford hit the airwaves with a new ad painting U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) as an entrenched Washington politician, McConnell's campaign fired back by resurrecting a controversial aspect of Lunsford's business history that has been campaign fodder for the Democrat's opponents in previous campaigns.

"Here is how it works in Washington: the politicians get millions in campaign cash, the special interests get what they want, and we get the short end of the stick," saidU.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville): Politicker photo Lunsford in his new ad. "Mitch McConnell is the master of this system."

An e-mailed statement from McConnell's campaign manager, Justin Brasell, mimicked the structure of Lunsford's words and targeted Lunsford's tenure as CEO of Vencor and Ventas - a nursing home chain and a healthcare investment trust, respectively.

"At least Lunsford is consistent, going back to the primary every ad he has run has been full of baseless negative attacks," said Brasell. "Here is how it works in Lunsford's world: you run a nursing home business that takes millions from the federal government and then are forced to pay record fines for poor treatment of senior citizens. Then you bankrupt the business but make sure that you walk away with millions. That's how it works in Lunsford's world."

WASHINGTON – Former U.S. Senate candidate Steve Novick was the recipient of kind words today from an unlikely source: U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Rewind to the Democratic primary when Novick was facing off against state House Speaker Jeff Merkley (D-Portland). The DSCC threw its support behind Merkley, airing a television advertisement in the final days of the campaign that attacked Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Pendleton) and defended Merkley. Merkley would go on to narrowly win the hard-fought primary.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Steve Novick, who ran very strong, stronger than we thought. And to Novick’s credit, the day after the primary he went out there complimenting Merkley and has been helping Merkley ever since, which I just wanted to thank him for that,” Schumer said at a press conference at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee this afternoon.

FRANKFORT -- Following his defeat in a hard-fought Democratic Senate primary campaign against ultimate nominee Bruce Lunsford, Louisville businessman Greg Fischer has been encouraged by both his former opponent and other top Kentucky Democrats to stay involved in politics.

"I'm here to say this is not the last step for Greg Fischer," said Kentucky Democratic Party Chairwoman Jennifer Moore, introducing Fischer at today's ‘unity' press conference in Frankfort.

Fischer, who ran a combative campaign against Lunsford and positioned himself as an "outsider" at times, told PolitickerKY.com today that this year's race meant a lot to him, but he couldn't say what the future held.

"I've had a lot of inquiries the past several days in terms of what my next steps are. I really am gratified and humbled. We got a lot of votes. People embraced my message and got a feeling of community and family around my campaign. I think people would like to see more of that in terms of what we can do in Kentucky," said Fischer.

Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) at today's KDP unity press conference: Politicker photo

FRANKFORT- At a press conference held at the Kentucky Democratic Party's headquarters this morning, top state Democrats rallied around their Senate nominee Bruce Lunsford and promoted the message of party unity going into a general election season acknowledged for its potential in no uncertain terms by participants.

"Everybody here should recognize this is going to be a war," said Lunsford. "This is going to be a war for the future of Kentucky and the future of the United States."

After securing the Democratic nomination on Tuesday by beating Louisville businessman Greg Fischer - and five other opponents - Lunsford is already embroiled in a general election campaign against four-term incumbent Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville).

The two opponents each have extensive resources to wage what is expected to be a vicious campaign. McConnell's campaign war chest sits at over $7 million, while Lunsford is a multi-millionaire capable of extensive self-financing.

At today's press conference, it was obvious defeating McConnell was of a foremost concern of all the party figures present.

Democratic Senate nominee Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville): Politicker photo

LOUISVILLE -- After topping a seven-candidate field in a contentious Democratic primary race, Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford reached out to his most outspoken Democratic opponent and looked forward to what should be a heated general election bid against incumbent Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) in his victory speech tonight.

"I'm going to run against someone in November who is going to spend millions of dollars trying to destroy my reputation," said Lunsford of McConnell. "He's going to say a lot of things about me and he is going to call me a lot of names. But, I don't care how many names he is going to call me, because in February he is going to call me ‘Senator.'"

Lunsford was effusive in his praise of the labor unions that supported him in his primary effort, and took a portion of his speech tonight to name each one individually to the cheers of members in the crowd.