And it’s coming from the only announced candidate (other than Darlene or whatever).
From Roll Call today:
A source close to Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said this week that the Democrat will run for Senate in 2010 and that he is expected to announce his candidacy as soon as early April.
-SNIP-
With Conway set to throw his hat in the ring, it appears that the other top Bluegrass Democrats who have considered challenging Bunning will stay on the sidelines. Conway, state Auditor Crit Luallen (D) and Rep. Ben Chandler (D) are all close allies, and party insiders don’t believe any of the three would challenge the others in a primary race.
-SNIP-
“The attorney general is staying in constant communications with Auditor Luallen, Congressman Chandler and [Democratic Rep. John] Yarmuth and they are in the process of sorting out this important election,” Riddle said. “Obviously Jack is very humbled that people are talking about his candidacy and encouraging him to run.”
We’ve said it all along – Jack is going to run. We’re not much for divulging secrets, but we’ll be meeting with Jack before he announces. (Other candidates are also welcome to meet with us, on-the-record.)
The Roll Call story gets better. We couldn’t agree more with the following excerpt:
Pointing to the hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign debt — much of which he owes to himself — that Mongiardo continues to carry from that 2004 campaign, the Democratic source said, “If he is such a good fundraiser, why hasn’t he cleared that up?”
But what really takes the cake are Kim Geveden’s comments. Make sure you take a pee break before reading them:
Mongiardo campaign spokesman Kim Geveden said the lieutenant governor proved his fundraising prowess in his 2004 race, noting that during that contest Mongiardo raised more money than any Democratic Senate challenger in Kentucky has before or since. And over the past four years, after going through another statewide contest, Mongiardo has only expanded his donor base and gained more experience, Geveden said.
Despite the continued talk of a Conway candidacy over the past few months, Geveden said he’s not convinced that Conway is really going to take the plunge anytime soon.
Oh, the hilarity!
And, really, are the Mongiardo people right about him having raised more than any other Democratic challenger in Kentucky history?
From the Federal Election Commission:
- Bruce Lunsford: $10.8 million
- Daniel Mongiardo $3.1 million
- Lois Combs Weinberg $2.3 million
Before you say Bruce Lunsford dropped some of his own cash? So did Daniel Mongiardo– several hundred thousand dollars. $706,000, in fact. Something like 22.5/22.6% of his entire campaign haul.
Politico thinks he’s got bigger problems to worry about:
Mongiardo’s bigger concern is the money he’ll be reporting in his campaign account at the end of the month. He needs a strong first quarter of fundraising to demonstrate he will have the resources to mount a formidable campaign.
Mongiardo is facing the likelihood of a tough Democratic primary, with the state’s young, up-and-coming attorney general Jack Conway expected to challenge him for the nomination.
Attention Mongiardo crew: If you’ve really raised substantial money, send us some some documentation to back it up. We’d love to know where you stand before the reporting deadline.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Angry! // Mar 26, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Jake – I am very upset with you right now! You have put me in the position of defending Kim Geveden. It never ceases to amaze me that this guy continues to find gainful employment in politics – Everyday he is on the Mongairdo payroll it makes Conway look like a stronger candidate – but that’s a post for another day.
By my calculations Bruce Lunsford “raised” $10,883,172 but $8,580,000 was his own money – that is a WHAPPING 78.8% or $2,303,172 – I don’t call $8.5 million or almost 79% of the entire campaign just “some of his own cash.”
Daniel Mongiardo raised $3,127,490 with $706,000 of his own money or 22.6% that’s $2,421,490. That is after never having needed to raise more than $228,000 for a campaign before. In 2007, he was part of a record setting ticket that raised $9,672,109 – Granted he was not at the head of the ticket and Governor Fletcher helped a lot, but he deserves some credit for that and the benefit of the doubt on having learned a thing or two.
So when Kim says (Ohhh God, forgive me I am quoting Kim Geveden) “Mongiardo raised more money than any Democratic Senate challenger in Kentucky has before or since.” He is not lying for once .
Not including loans:
1. Daniel Mongiardo – $2,421,490
2. Bruce Lunsford – $2,303,172
3. Lois Combs Weinberg – $2,243,595
And the last time I checked Alice Forgy Kerr was a Republican not a Democratic.
Look, Lt. Dan has problems, no denying that, and I fully respect you slamming him on the issues you disagree with him on, but this post makes you and the (potential) Conway campaign look like the desperate ones. Especially coming minutes after the results of the DSCC poll showing Lt. Dan beating Senator Screwball by 27-points and beating Conway by 10-points. (They say double digits, but let’s face it, if it was more than 11 they wouldn’t just be saying double digits)
With post like this (and your other recent Dr. Dan posts) why on Earth would you think that they would give you the time of day let alone inside information? They will leak to Brett Hall before they’ll give anything to you.
2 jake // Mar 26, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Woops – You’re right about Kerr. Didn’t delete her from my big copy & paste session.
And if Kim Geveden meant funds not invested by the candidate, he should have said so. Because candidate contributions are still raised/received by the campaign and are considered contributions by the FEC.
My point was that Mongiardo contributed a huge amount to his campaign and isn’t some everyday Joe Schmoe on the street like he’d have you believe. The average Kentuckian barely earns what Mongiardo personally contributed in a lifetime of working.
And desperate? Desperation is Kim Geveden saying Jack Conway won’t run. Desperation is a Mongiardo lackey in Frankfort attempting to tie me to the Conway campaign. Regular readers of this site know quite well that I don’t bother to involve myself directly with campaigns. Didn’t with the Lunsford campaign as the manager was a douche 90% of the time. And won’t be involving myself with the Conway campaign because Mark Riddle is too far up the asses of corrupt Jerry Abramson and Jim Newberry. But nice try.
3 Angry! Part Duex // Mar 26, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Jake – First you need to check your paranoia at the door. Not everyone, who disagrees with you, about something, is a Mongiardo plant/lackey/stooge or employee. I don’t work for, volunteer for, have not contributed to or even have been asked to contribute to Lt. Dan’s campaign for senate.
I have in the past contributed to Lt. Dan, Jack Conway and Bruce Lunsford (wasted money on that one-but the girl who asked was cute) as well as Steve Beshear, Barack Obama, Howard Dean and many other Democrats.
I do however enjoy good political sparing, and I have come to expect more from you than this weak post… So enguard!
You said: “My point was that Mongiardo contributed a huge amount to his campaign and isn’t some everyday Joe Schmoe on the street like he’d have you believe. The average Kentuckian barely earns what Mongiardo personally contributed in a lifetime of working.”
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2001, Kentucky had a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $24,878. It would in fact take 28.37 years for the average Kentuckian to make $706,000 – On the other hand it would take the everyday Joe Schmoe 344.88 – years to make the $8.58 million that Bruce Lunsford gave to his campaign.
No one who plays at this level is an everyday Joe – but compared to Bruce Lunsford, Daniel Mongiardo is Joe the Plumber.
You said: “And if Kim Geveden meant funds not invested by the candidate, he should have said so.”
We both know that most “everyday Joe Schmoes on the street” do not count loaned money from the candidate as “raised” money.
The media only wants short quotes not long detailed analysis and explanations and as I made quite clear in my earlier post I think Kim is an idiot and should be prohibit by law from speaking to the media.
You said: “Desperation is Kim Geveden saying Jack Conway won’t run.”
I personally wouldn’t call it desperate as much as incredibly dishonest or completely out of touch – Refer back to “Kim is an idiot and should be prohibit by law from speaking to the media.”
You said: “Desperation is a Mongiardo lackey in Frankfort attempting to tie me to the Conway campaign. Regular readers of this site know quite well that I don’t bother to involve myself directly with campaigns.”
See above… Not lackey (except maybe to my wife)– Yes, Yes as a regular reader we are all impressed with your I.P. tracing abilities and knowing that I am in Frankfort. I am also sitting in a black leather chair and drinking a rum and coke.
And as a regular reader I/we also know that once you get it in for someone you get a little obsessed, to the point of losing objectivity. Don’t get me wrong some of your rants against Jennifer “the now disgraced chair” Moore have been highly entertaining and is one of the reasons I read POKY.
I did imply that you were part of, or tied to the Conway campaign. Sorry about that – I guess it would be more accurate to describe it as your anti-Mongiardo campaign. I would also guess that that you would promote/encourage anyone who ran against Lt. Dan that agreed with you on civil rights issues.
You said: “…Lunsford campaign as the manager was a douche 90% of the time.”
I would go as far as 99% but let’s spit the difference and say 95%
You said: “And won’t be involving myself with the Conway campaign because Mark Riddle…”
For what it is worth… I hear Jim Cauley will soon be at the helm of the Conway campaign and that will make for some GREAT political theatre!
THANKS! I had a rough day at work and this has been a great stress release!
4 Forks of Elkhorn // Mar 26, 2009 at 10:48 pm
The best part of Angry II’s rant above is his reference to Jennifer “the now disgraced chair” Moore. Forever more in my mind, I will not be able to just say Jennifer Moore. I doubt I’ll ever see her, but I know when I will I will say to myself, “self, there’s Jennifer “the now disgraced chair” Moore. Even Jerry Lundergan doesn’t get such billing.
5 jake // Mar 26, 2009 at 11:21 pm
I’m not paranoid about Daniel Mongiardo or any of his (potential) supporters. That’s for sure. And let’s face it– you’re just saying you’re not a supporter, without an identity to stand behind.
Bruce Lunsford doesn’t bill himself as an everyday man. Daniel Mongiardo does.
You’re right – most Joe Schmoes on the street don’t count loaned money from a candidate as “raised” money. Kim Geveden isn’t Joe Schmoe on the street. He’s someone who does nothing but work in politics. And he refers to himself as a campaign expert.
Kim attempted to spin things as, “Oh, Dan is the everyday man working hard, yadda yadda.” When reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
And… Jennifer has so disgraced the Party that it’s STILL in the midst of a clusterfuck. I’ll have more on that tomorrow.
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