Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) announced Monday that he will not seek re-election. Here's what led up to his decision.
Created by RollCall on Jul 27, 2009
Last updated: 03/12/10 at 04:31 AM
Tags: Jim Bunning Roll Call Senate elections
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Bunning announces he will not run for re-election in 2010. “Some of the leaders of the Republican Party in the Senate have done everything in their power to dry up my fundraising,” he charges.
Bunning files his second-quarter fundraising report that shows he raised just $302,000 from April through June. He reports having $596,000 in cash on hand and has raised $1.2 million toward his goal of raising $2 million by the end of the second quarter.
Grayson announces raising more than $600,000 in the less than two months since filing his exploratory committee.
Rand Paul (R), an eye surgeon and son of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), announces his Senate exploratory effort, noting that there have been “mixed signals” regarding Bunning’s future.
At a fundraiser in Corbin, Ky., Grayson tells a local Kentucky paper that he has “no plans to run against [Bunning] right now” but also says he doesn’t expect that running against Bunning “would be a problem.”
Bunning is criticized by government watchdog groups after his personal financial records show he augments his salary through a side business that charges baseball memorabilia companies for his appearances.
Cornyn says he’ll support Bunning “if he runs for re-election,” but he also points to Grayson’s exploratory committee when noting that the race may not be fully formed. “Maybe that means that Sen. Bunning is going to look and see what his election prospects look like ... how his fundraising goes and make a decision at a later date,” Cornyn says. “But until he does, we will be supporting Sen. Bunning.”
Bunning calls McConnell a “control freak” in his weekly conference call with local reporters and claims that he would be better served if McConnell didn’t back him for a third term. “If Mitch McConnell doesn’t endorse me, it could be the best thing that ever happened to me in Kentucky,” Bunning says. Bunning reveals he and McConnell have been at odds since December when the Minority Leader told Bunning he was “too old” to run for re-election.
In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” McConnell refuses to endorse Bunning. “What’s happening in Kentucky, obviously, is the race is not yet formed,” McConnell says, noting that Bunning gave his blessing to Grayson’s exploratory committee. “It’s just not clear who the players are going to be yet.”
At the state GOP’s annual Lincoln Day dinner, Bunning insists, “I am running for a third term to the United States Senate. I hope and pray I have your support in the coming months.” At the same dinner McConnell praises Grayson. “Trey got 57 percent of the vote in 2007. ... So that was extraordinary. Trey we expect to see more of you in the future,” McConnell says.
Bunning insists on a conference call with Kentucky reporters that he’s still in the race; however, he leaves open the possibility that he might reassess the race later in the year. “I have set certain goals that I intend to meet. ... We’re working like the devil to make those goals. [If not,] we’re going to take another look at the race. I’m not going to walk into 2010 with less than $1 million when I know it’s going to cost $7 million minimally, probably $10 [million], somewhere in that area, to run against the winner of the Democratic primary.”
Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) announces he has formed a Senate exploratory committee but insists he has “no plans to run against Senator Bunning in 2010.” When it is revealed that Bunning actually gave Grayson his blessing to form the committee, GOP insiders begin to speculate that Bunning may be just days away from a retirement announcement.
Bunning reports raising $263,000 in the first quarter and just has $376,000 in the bank on March 31. Mongiardo reports raising $430,000 in just over two months of campaigning.
Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway (D) announces his 2010 Senate bid just one day after an automated survey by a Democratic firm showed Bunning with a 28 percent approval rating and 54 percent disapproval rating.
Just hours before the first-quarter filing deadline, Bunning admits that his fundraising has been “lousy” over the first three months of the year.
Bunning admits he has had difficulty raising money in the first quarter of the year but lays the blame on McConnell and Cornyn, who he says are working to fuel doubts about his re-election prospects in the minds of possible donors and actively working to undermine his campaign.
Bunning apologizes. “After 59 years of dealing with the media, sometimes they get under your skin, but that is no excuse,” Bunning says.
After acknowledging on a conference call with reporters that he has conducted polling on his 2010 re-election prospects, Bunning declines — in no uncertain terms — to release the results of the survey. “It’s none of your goddamned business,” Bunning says.
After Kentucky Senate President David Williams meets with National Republican Senatorial Committee officials about a possible 2010 Senate bid, Bunning lashes out at NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (Texas). “I don’t believe anything John Cornyn says. I’ve had miscommunications with John Cornyn from, I guess, the first week of this current session of the Senate,” Bunning says. “He either doesn’t understand English or he doesn’t understand direct: ‘I’m going to run.’” Bunning says that if the NRSC were involved in recruiting a candidate to run against him in a primary, he would sue the committee for violating its bylaws.
After Kentucky Senate President David Williams meets with National Republican Senatorial Committee officials about a possible 2010 Senate bid, Bunning lashes out at NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (Texas). “I don’t believe anything John Cornyn says. I’ve had miscommunications with John Cornyn from, I guess, the first week of this current session of the Senate,” Bunning says. “He either doesn’t understand English or he doesn’t understand direct: ‘I’m going to run.’” Bunning says that if the NRSC were involved in recruiting a candidate to run against him in a primary, he would sue the committee for violating its bylaws.
After Kentucky Senate President David Williams meets with National Republican Senatorial Committee officials about a possible 2010 Senate bid, Bunning lashes out at NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (Texas). “I don’t believe anything John Cornyn says. I’ve had miscommunications with John Cornyn from, I guess, the first week of this current session of the Senate,” Bunning says. “He either doesn’t understand English or he doesn’t understand direct: ‘I’m going to run.’” Bunning says that if the NRSC were involved in recruiting a candidate to run against him in a primary, he would sue the committee for violating its bylaws.
Bunning apologizes for his cancer remark, saying he did not intend to offend Ginsburg.
During a speech at the Hardin County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner, Bunning said a judicial nomination fight would occur this year in the Senate “because [Supreme Court Justice] Ruth Bader Ginsburg ... has cancer ... bad cancer. The kind that you don’t get better from.”
Facing criticism over his cash-on-hand numbers, Bunning sets a fundraising goal of $2 million by the end of June.
Bunning lashes out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for indicating that he wasn’t aware of Bunning’s re-election plans. “He either had a lapse of memory or something. ... He knew very well what my intentions were,” Bunning says.
Mongiardo, who was elected Kentucky’s lieutenant governor in 2007, announces he will run against Bunning again in 2010.
Bunning ends the year with a mere $150,000 in his campaign account, a figure that will haunt him as both parties turn their attention toward the 2010 elections.
Bunning attempts to remove any doubt that he will run again in 2010, when he will be 79 years old. “Barring an unusual occurrence ... like death ... I’ll run,” he says.
In a year when President George W. Bush carries Kentucky by 20 points, Bunning wins a second term over then-state Sen. Daniel Mongiardo (D) by less than 23,000 votes. Bunning spent $6.1 million on the race to Mongiardo’s $3.1. million.
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