Geoff Davis

The campaign of U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Ft. Mitchell) says it is hitting "district-wide cable" with a new ad, amid efforts to get Davis re-elected to a third-term.

The ad, which comes from the relatively quiet 4th Congressional District race, tries to paint Davis as unique among Washington politicians.

"In a city filled with career politicians, Geoff Davis is different," says the narrator of the thirty-second spot.

The narrator then refers to Davis' military history and background in manufacturing.

"Geoff Davis took that experience to Congress and delivered new job training opportunities to Kentucky," continues the narrator.

The ad, which hit the air on Tuesday, is Davis' first of the campaign in which he is pitted against Lagrange physician Michael Kelley.

U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Hebron) released a statement following his vote against the proposed $700 million bailout claiming the legislation "did not adequately protect" taxpayers in the Commonwealth.

"It is not the taxpayer's responsibility to pay for mistakes made on Wall Street," said Davis. "While the legislation that was considered in the House today was an improvement over the unacceptable three-page proposal offered by Secretary Paulson, it still would have given the Treasury Department unprecedented authority to intervene in the private markets."

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was rejected by the U.S. House today by 23 votes. Davis said his decision was partially informed by a public outcry against the package.

"It is my responsibility to uphold the Constitution and represent the will of Kentuckians in the Fourth District," said Davis. "Over the past week, I have received an overwhelming number of calls, emails and letters from constituents who demand that I oppose the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act."

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) is scheduled to be in attendance when the Republican Party of Kentucky officially opens two campaign offices in Lexington and Florence this Saturday.

McConnell will be joined by U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Hebron) for the opening of the RPK's northern Kentucky "Victory '08 Volunteer Center" in Florence on Sept. 13. Festivities at that facility, located at 6895 Burlington Pike, will kick off at 1pm.

The four-term incumbent Senator will then be on hand for the opening of a similar facility in Lexington, for an event starting at 3:15pm. The Lexington Victory office is located at 241 Southland Drive.

One-time 4th Congressional District candidate and journalist Nick Clooney is headed to a teaching post at American University, in Washington, D.C.

Clooney will be the "distinguished journalist in residence" at American, as part of a coordinated effort between the school and Washington's Newseum.

Clooney worked as a newspaper columnist, a news anchor and a host on the American Movie Classics cable channel. At American, he will teach a course in "Opinion Writing" as well as a class on film.

In 2004, Clooney ran as a Democrat in an open seat race in the 4th District, losing to now-U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Hebron) by ten points.

According to the college-age Republicans travelling cross-country as part of the "Where is the Red?" tour, the media often gets it wrong about the youth vote.

"Mainstream media, a lot of times, is kind of deceptive because they are always talking about how young people are voting Democratic and how excited young people are for Barack Obama," said Christie Jackson, a 22 year-old recent graduate of Clemson University. "But young people are really excited for John McCain and other Republicans too."

In an effort to demonstrate Republicans have a youth movement of their own while also helping out Republicans in swing districts, Jackson and two other young Republicans have been crisscrossing the country as part of the tour since mid-June.

"We want to try to show people the Republican party is a coast-to-coast party," said Jackson. "There is a youth element of it that is active, very hardworking and that is trying very hard to get Republicans elected in the fall."

Jeremy Harrell, a Miami University graduate, and Kerry Donnelly, a student at Fordham University in New York City comprise the rest of the "Where is the Red?" group.

Their trip is a project of the College Republican National Committee, where each of the roadtrippers worked as an intern last summer.

U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in Inez, KY earlier this year: Politicker photo

The campaign of presumptive Republican presidential nominee and U.S. Sen. John McCain announced its first organizational moves in the state this afternoon, naming state Senate President David Williams (R-Burkesville) as Kentucky campaign chair.

A 22-year veteran of the state Senate, Williams has served as that body's president since 2000. He also unsuccessfully sought to unseat then-incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Wendell Ford in 1996.

"John McCain is a leader who Kentuckians can believe in. John McCain will protect our country, grow our economy, reform our government and improve America's energy security," said Williams in a statement dispatched by the McCain campaign. "We believe voters in Kentucky have a choice this November between John McCain, who will lead this nation forward, and Barack Obama who will take our country backward with his failed policies of the past. John McCain has always put our country's interest before his own; I am confident he will continue to do so as president."

This week brings mixed news for Kentucky's workforce. Unemployment is up, but Ford's announcement might bring some relief. Meanwhile, Bruce Lunsford's (D-Louisville) still not favored to win his challenge to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville), but his campaign had a good week and that makes him one our Winners & Losers. Find out who else made the list. | CLICK HERE

A recent poll conducted on Kentucky's 4th Congressional District race showed numbers very similar to the results from election night in 2006. In a late-June SurveyUSA poll, incumbent U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Ft. Mitchell) was shown leading his Democratic opponent, physician Michael Kelley of Lagrange, 54 to 41 percent among 550 likely voters.

Similarly, Davis was re-elected to the 4th District seat in 2006 by only a slightly slimmer margin, 52 to 43 percent.

The difference this year is that Davis faces a much lower-profile candidate than in 2006, when he beat former 4th District U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas (D-Richwood) in a campaign that cost the two candidates over $5 million.

For Kelley and his supporters, the new poll numbers are encouraging given their similarities to 2006 - and the fact that Kelley has spent almost nothing in the race.

"It's a lot smaller gap than most people would have believed possible," Kelley told PolitickerKY.com.

As today's filing deadline for the second fundraising quarter passes, PolitickerKY.com has provided updates as numbers from candidates across the state become available. Below are links to our complete coverage, arranged by races.

US Senate:

Lunsford brings in $600K; $1.3M on hand

$3 million quarter and $9 million on hand for McConnell 

KY-1:

Whitfield stays over $1 million into 3Q

KY-2:

Drastically different financial pictures in KY-2 as Guthrie holds large cash-on-hand advantage 

While many of Kentucky's candidates for Congress are scrambling to impress with their fundraising numbers as today's second quarter filing deadline passes, two members of the Commonwealth's Congressional delegation are evidently comfortable enough to share the wealth from their campaign warchests.

U.S. Reps Geoff Davis (R-Ft. Mitchell) and Hal Rogers (R-Somerset) have each made sizeable contributions to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) according to an article by Politico, cited by the blog Blue Grass, Red State.

Davis outlayed $200,000 to the NRCC in a fundraising drive intended to help "minimize expected losses in November," according to Politico.

Rogers contributed $150,000.