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Republican Elliot Polach is disenchanted with his party's leaders inWashington, many of whom voted for a bank bailout and other big-ticketspending bills in the past year.These days, he'd rather be called a conservative than a Republican.Polach, the 18-year-old founder of the TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party inPaducah, is emblematic of deep and widespread frustration that has surfacedin Republican primaries nationwide.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Representative Ron Paul proved to be a surprising presence in the presidential race in 2008. Now his son, Dr. Rand Paul, has become an unexpected contender in the 2010 Senate race in Kentucky. Dr. Paul — an ophthalmologist and a son of the congressman, a Texas Republican and former presidential candidate — has become a serious challenger in the race to succeed Senator Jim Bunning. Capitalizing on a hearty distrust of government and an anti-Republican-establishment fervor among conservatives, he has used the Internet to raise more than $1.3 million since he began his campaign in August. “This...

(snip) Trey Grayson, a Republican candidate for US Senate, was the keynote speaker on the issue of global warming last year at Eastern Kentucky University as part of the National Focus the Nation event. Now, why is that such a big deal? Well, the Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for Focus the Nation is none other than Van Jones. Yes, that's right, the self-proclaimed communist Obama hired to be the Green Jobs Czar that had to tuck tail and resign at midnight. WHOA Now, let's back up a bit. Here's a bit of history on Focus the...

Rand Paul, the son of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), has surprised a lot of people by surging in polls and fundraising to quasi-frontrunner status in next year’s U.S. Senate race in Kentucky. But Chris Cillizza reports that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is weighing in against Paul and hosting a fundraiser for Trey Grayson, the young secretary of state, whose “establishment” candidate credentials have been a little banged up by Paul’s campaign.

Rand Paul, a candidate in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Kentucky revealed in an interview Thursday for the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog that his campaign has asked 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to campaign for him: Washington Wire: Do you want Sarah Palin to campaign for you?Paul: We’d love to have her come. We’ve made some overtures to her.But the son of Texas congressman Ron Paul did not seem too excited about two other potential Republican presidential candidates: Washington Wire: What about Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney?Paul: I don’t know much about Tim Pawlenty....

(WHAS11) - The surprise candidate in Kentucky's Republican U.S. Senate primary tells WHAS11 News he is reaching out to senior Senator, Mitch McConnell. Rand Paul is a Bowling Green eye surgeon. His campaign's poll numbers and fundraising success have stunned party leaders and it is early in the game.

It’s still early to be thinking about 2010 elections, but the Republican Liberty Caucus National Board has approved several endorsements for 2010 already. Liberty fans across the country will be pleased to note that the RLC endorsed Rand Paul in his bid to become U.S. Senator in Kentucky, and Peter Schiff in his bid to represent Connecticut in the Senate. The RLC has also endorsed Jason Shepherd for State Representative in Georgia, Shane Schoeller (Incumbent) for State Representative in Missouri, and Bill Hunt for Orange County Sheriff in California. Our endorsements process has just begun, so please stay tuned for...

Dr. Rand Paul, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, explained his position on taxes, government spending, the drug abuse epidemic, welfare and other government benefits during an exclusive interview with the Times-Tribune, just hours before his appearance at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg. Initially, Dr. Paul addressed drug abuse in rural Kentucky. As a doctor, he immediately zeroed in on more vigilant policing of doctors who recklessly write prescriptions. He asked, “Are they being disciplined? I’m a doctor and occasionally I’ll get notification from the medical licensure board of people who are having their licenses suspended.” Referencing a recent...

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Josh Kraushaar catches a surprising poll in the 2010 primary for U.S. Senate in Kentucky. In the GOP race, Rand Paul, the son of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and a first-time candidate, has jumped out to a small lead over Secretary of State Trey Grayson. The trends: Rand Paul – 35 (+9)Trey Grayson – 32 (-4) Paul has an eight-point lead among “conservative” voters who make up about 70 percent of the GOP primary electorate.

The Republican party in Kentucky has never seen anything like it. Bowling Green eye doctor Rand Paul has no political experience, but with the support of the same people who backed his Dad - Texas Congressman Ron Paul when he ran for president,, Rand Paul has now at least pulled even with Secretary of State Trey Grayon in the GOP U.S. Senate primary. 32% Grayson 35% Paul 2% Johnson 1% Oerther 3% Thoney 10% Other 18% Undecided In fact, the WHAS11/Survey USA poll has Paul ahead of Grayson by three percentage points - with a 4.1 percent margin of error....

Kentucky could be the next state to host a race where the GOP's grassroots rebels against the party establishment. Rand Paul, the son of former presidential candidate Ron Paul, has pulled into the lead in the Kentucky Senate race in a new SurveyUSA poll, ahead of the establishment favorite, Secretary of State Trey Grayson. Paul now leads Grayson by three points, 35 to 32 percent, the first time he’s led any poll in the Kentucky race so far. It’s not the first sign that Paul stands a credible chance at an upset: Paul raised over $1 million in the last...

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Republican Rand Paul has raised more than $1 million for his U.S. Senate campaign, largely from Internet fundraisers that have proven especially lucrative for him. The son of former presidential candidate Ron Paul eclipsed all other major candidates in the third quarter.

Republicans look like they’re in for a tough fight in Kentucky to maintain the seat of retiring U.S. Senator Jim Bunning. The first Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 survey in the state finds the two leading GOP candidates beating one top Democratic contender but struggling against the other. Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson beats Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo by seven points 44% to 37%. Four percent (4%) of Kentucky voters like some other candidate, and 14% are undecided. Both men have announced their candidacies. Mongiardo was the unsuccessful Democratic challenger to Bunning in 2004. Grayson runs dead-even 40% to 40%...

Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson beats Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo by seven points 44% to 37%. Four percent (4%) of Kentucky voters like some other candidate, and 14% are undecided. Both men have announced their candidacies. Mongiardo was the unsuccessful Democratic challenger to Bunning in 2004. Grayson runs dead-even 40% to 40% against another announced Democratic candidate, state Attorney General Jack Conway, with just three percent (3%) opting for some other candidate. Seventeen percent (17%) are undecided. Rand Paul, an opthamologist and the son of Congressman Ron Paul, also has announced his bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in...

The Rand Paul Senate campaign is beating its collective chest after raising $1 million in the third quarter of 2009. While other campaigns may take a while to release 3rd quarter reports, the Paul campaign routinely posts its day to day totals. "The good news is we raised $55,000 the last two days with just a few phone calls and emails. The great news is that with this million dollar quarter behind us, Rand Paul can continue to shift the focus away from the power brokers' protection of the status quo to instead talking about balanced budgets, term limits, and...

Candidate for KY US Senate Dr. Rand Paul held a "Town Hall" meeting on the topic of Health Care. Although some questions from the audience delved into other unrelated topics. In the meeting he tried to get across his ideas for free-martket solutions to reforming Healthcare. Video of the event can be found here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2231277

In an interview with POLITICO, Paul painted Grayson as a soft conservative, slamming him for once voting for President Bill Clinton and questioning why he accepted donations from senators who had voted in support of the Troubled Asset Relief Program bailout. “I just don’t think he has a lot of hard or strong beliefs,” said Paul.

Over the last few months, there has been a growing movement to bring transparency and new levels of accountability to the US Federal Reserve. Congressman Ron Paul has been leading the fight in the House of Representatives. There’s no champion fighting in the US Senate to bring accountability to the Federal Reserve, but that might change if one Kentucky senatorial candidate gets elected. Currently in the U.S. Senate, there’s a piece of legislation similar to Ron Paul’s H.R. 1207 which would bring new levels of accountability to the Federal Reserve by allowing the GAO to audit the Fed. The legislation,...

Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) leads both of his Democratic opponents in the battle to replace retiring Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), according to a new independent poll. Though he is known by fewer Bluegrass voters than either Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo (D) or Attorney General Jack Conway (D), Grayson leads both by slim margins. Grayson outpaces Mongiardo by a 45-41 percent margin, while he leads Conway 46 percent to 40, according to the Research 2000 survey taken for the liberal Daily Kos website.

Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-Texas) presidential campaign will live on in 2010 in the form of two of his closest devotees running in key Senate races. And they are starting to have a real impact. Paul’s libertarian-leaning presidential bid, while notable for its novelty and the amount of money he raised, was never given a chance. By contrast, his son Rand Paul and adviser Peter Schiff are starting to be seen and felt in two of the biggest Senate races in the country.

RAYSON, Ky. (WSAZ) -- Democrat Robin Webb has won by a narrow margin the Kentucky 18th District Senate seat in Tuesday's special election. Webb was challenged by Republican Jack Ditty and Independent candidate Guy Gibbons Jr. Webb pulled in 48.1% of the vote, only 282 votes more than Ditty. In all, more than 18,000 votes were cast in the election, which was held in six Kentucky counties: Lewis, Robertson, Greenup, Bracken, Mason, and Carter. Here is a breakdown of the vote in each county:

He is in charge of keeping our statewide elections fair and orderly, but now Kentucky's Secretary of State is in a contest of his own. Trey Grayson is officially entering the U.S. Senate race in Kentucky. When Senator Jim Bunning recently announced he would not be seeking re-election, that paved the way for Grayson to run in the republican primary. He's making that official by announcing his candidacy through several stops around the state this week, including several visits in eastern Kentucky. At the London-Corbin Airport Wednesday afternoon, Trey Grayson wasted no time in jumping into the health care debate....

Rand Paul, the son of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), is touting the first public poll on the GOP primary for next year’s U.S. Senate race. According to the survey, conducted for WHAS11, Paul trails GOP frontrunner Trey Grayson by only 11 points, 37-26. Among “conservative” Republican voters, he only trails by 7 points. And Paul only trails the two potential Democratic nominees by single digits. (Grayson leads both candidates, Attorney General Jack Conway and Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo.) “Great news for Rand Paul ahead of his scheduled ‘moneybomb’ internet fundraiser on August 20,” writes Joe Arnold in an analysis of...

Rand Paul's Birthday Present to Dad Ron Paul By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers What do you give a congressman for his birthday? If you're Senate candidate Rand Paul and you're choosing presents for dad, Rep. Ron Paul, whose birthday was yesterday, you go for gifts that scream politics. "I gave him an original copy of Barry Goldwater's Conscience of a Conservative that was given to me by the publisher," Rand Paul tells Whispers, adding that it was published in Kentucky, where he's running for U.S. Senate. He also gave his pop, who's a big fan of economics, some early 20th-century...

U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul of Kentucky is reaping an online fundraising bonanza today, as a “money bomb” for his campaign efforts exploded from supporters of his father's 2008 presidential campaign. Organized by music promoter Trevor Lyman, the man who organized multimillion-dollar online fundraising efforts for the 2008 Ron Paul for President campaign, the campaign hopes to raise as much as $1 million during the day. Rand Paul is running as a Republican for the open U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky being vacated by retiring Republican Senator Jim Bunning. The official Rand Paul for Senate website, http://www.RandPaul2010.com, reported as of...

Attorney General Jack Conway is the fundraising frontrunner, but the WHAS11 Survey USA poll of Kentuckians over the last three days shows Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo with an eight point advantage over Conway in the Democratic primary, 39% to 31% -- a lead that Mongiardo will certainly trumpet in his fundraising efforts. For the republicans, Secretary of State Trey Grayson has been considered the presumptive nominee. But -- Bowling Green opthamologist Rand Paul is a wild card -- especially if he can tap into the national fundraising support of his father, former presidential candidate Ron Paul. So far -- Grayson...

On the primary contest vs. Sec. of State Trey Grayson: "I think he'll be a challenge." Paul says Grayson is "harder to pigeonhole" because he's in a non-partisan positon. "A large percentage of the time, he's been out shaking hands to run for the next office." "He really wants to stay in government and he will do, I think, what it takes But I don't think he has the fire in his belly that I have to change things. I don't really care to go up there forever. I want to go up there and throttle a few people and...

on with Cavuto now.

Rand Paul, a son of Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul, is making official his 2010 campaign for a Senate seat in Kentucky. Paul, an eye surgeon from Bowling Green, had referred to his Senate campaign as an "exploratory" effort. "Dr. Paul will now transition his exploratory committee to a full election committee," his campaign said in a release Wednesday. Paul initiated his campaign in mid-May, when Republican Sen. Jim Bunning was still saying he planned to seek re-election. Paul is declaring his candidacy for Bunning's seat less than two weeks after Bunning said July 27 that he would not run....

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A Kentucky ophthalmologist who has been eyeing a U.S. Senate campaign says he will run for the seat now held by Jim Bunning. Republican Rand Paul of Bowling Green ended months of speculation Wednesday when he told The Associated Press in an interview that he is entering the race. Paul told the AP of his decision in advance of a series of planned media events, including an appearance on national television Wednesday evening. Paul had been considering running even before the 77-year-old Bunning announced last week that he intends to retire when his second term ends next...

With Bunning out, the stage is set for a classic confrontation between the establishment: Grayson with McConnell’s backing, either overtly or covertly -- and Dr. Rand Paul of Bowling Green, son of Rep. Ron Paul (R.-Tex.). Young Paul is a cinch to have the backing of his father’s nationwide network of donors who were the force behind Paul, Sr.’s abortive bid for the Republican presidential nomination last year. In addition, a number of party workers who loved Jim Bunning are likely to roll up their sleeves on behalf of first-time candidate Paul.

Another republican senate seat up the republicans have to hold onto. Jim Bunning was getting to old to be able to carry this seat any longer. Can the repulicans hold it? Are the odds against them? Who knows.

A possible bid for the 2010 Republican Senate nomination in Kentucky certainly won't enable eye surgeon Rand Paul to rake in the mega-millions in campaign donations procured by his much better-known father -- Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul -- when he campaigned for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination on his strongly libertarian-tinged platform.

Dr. Ron Paul’s son, Rand Paul, has formed an exploratory campaign for U.S. Senate from Kentucky. Rand Paul is similar to his father in ideology; he favors a strict application of the Constitution to federal government matters, thus opposes the Federal Reserve Bank and the U.S. Department of Education and supports lower taxes and less spending. A grass-roots movement formed several months ago to draft Dr. Rand Paul to run for the U.S. Senate after incumbent Republican Senator Jim Bunning. Bunning has left hints he may not run for reelection. Bunning, who had a career spanning 15 years in Major...

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jim Bunning acknowledged Tuesday that during a meeting in December, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told him that "I was too old and I couldn't win" a re-election battle in 2010. Bunning, 77, went on to call McConnell a "control freak." He also said he'll fare well in Kentucky without McConnell's endorsement in the Republican primary, since during the senior senator's tenure as a member of the GOP leadership the Republicans have lost several seats and could lose more in 2010. "If Mitch McConnell doesn't endorse me that may be the best thing that could happen to...

During an appearance in Paducah on Friday evening, Dr. Rand Paul told a crowd of about 50 people that they could expect to hear something definitive regarding his candidacy for the US Senate by this Thursday, May 14th. Moments later, Paul used langauge that was a bit more straighforward:"I'm going to give this a go...It's a long shot at this piont, but I wouldn't do this unless I think it was a possibility."  After Paul's speech, Christopher Hightower, Paul's right-hand man, confirmed that national media coverage has already been scheduled for next Thursday. Paul, who considers himself an "outsider" from...

Rand Paul, son of Congressman Ron Paul, gauges support for Senate run in Bowling Green & Paducah! Some politicians feel the need to travel to Washington, DC to ask permission to run for office or to obtain some regal blessing. Rand Paul, this week, will travel to Teresa's Diner at 509 Gordon Ave Bowling Green to gauge support for a possible US Senate Run. Dr. Paul will be there for breakfast at 7AM Thursday May 7th.

When it comes to Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning, everyone’s a critic. With the formation of Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson’s exploratory committee, national media has started a “Bunning Campaign Death Watch” of sorts: outlets everywhere have cranked up the speculation on when Bunning will drop out of the race, even though the Senator says he has no plans to retire. Now, the snarky political blog Wonkette has weighed in. The editors are no fan of Ron Paul, and the story focuses on the possible candidacy of the Texas Congressman and former Republican Presidential Candidate’s son, Bowling Green eye doctor...

Rand Paul, son of former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, says he is poised to enter the race for U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning's seat. Paul, who has been stumping across Kentucky, told The Associated Press that "every bone in my body says there is going to be a race." But the Bowling Green physician said he won't run unless Bunning opts out. Paul is a fan of Bunning's conservative fiscal philosophy and said he simply wants to be ready to jump into the race quickly if the 77-year-old senator decides to retire instead of seeking re-election next year. Bunning has...

Kentucky Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson is making preparations to seek the Senate seat of GOP incumbent Jim Bunning — a sign that Bunning will forgo what would be a very difficult re-election campaign. In a statement Thursday, Grayson said, “I have formed an exploratory committee to allow me to formally raise and spend funds as I seek support for a bid for U.S. Senate.” Yet Grayson added that he has “no plans to run against Sen. Bunning,” immediately raising speculation that the senator will not seek a third term next year amid poor approval ratings and weak fundraising....

Kentucky Secretary of State Forms Senate Exploratory Committee By John McArdle Roll Call Staff Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) has formed an exploratory committee to run for Senate, a move that would appear to indicate that a retirement announcement from Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) is imminent.

It’s been a tough year so far for two-term Republican Sen. Jim Bunning and a new survey by Public Policy Polling conducted April 2-3 has some more bad news with Kentucky voters disapproving of his job performance by 54 percent to 28 percent with 18 percent undecided. In trial heats against four Democrats, Bunning trails them all. It’s also cause for concern for his fellow Republicans who have made no secret of their concern that he is in danger of losing his seat), not only because of poll numbers, but his anemic fundraising numbers. To make matters worse, he has...

U.S. Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky says he won’t release the results of a statewide poll he commissioned last month to guage support for his re-election bid next year. Bunning was asked about the poll numbers during his weekly conference call with reporters Tuesday. The Republican would say only that the poll was indeed conducted. He didn’t mince words when asked what that means. “That means it’s none of your g**d*** business,” he said, laughing. Bunning has repeatedly said he plans to seek a third term in 2010, even though he has raised relatively little campaign cash. He’s considered by...

KENTUCKY. US Senator Jim Bunning (R) is already expected to face a tough fight for reelection next year, as leading Bluegrass State Democrats are lining up to run. Over the weekend, Bunning helped to contribute to his reputation for making erratic comments. Speaking at a Lincoln Day event over the weekend, Bunning said that US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg will be dead from pancreatic cancer within the next nine months. Bunning also complained the NRSC isn't doing enough financially to help him and other embattled conservative incumbents. In related news, The Hill reports that State Senate President David...