KyKurmudgeon

We’re still a bit short-handed on the H-L editorial staff this week, so I’ll still be helping out some with the routine of putting out the daily editorial and oped pages. But there’s at least time for a couple of quick observations.

1. Secretary of State Trey Grayson passed his first test as a potential U.S. Senate candidate by raising a little more than $600,000 during the first quarter his exploratory committee was in the field. That surpassed the bar set by Cathy Bailey, a prolific Republican fund-raiser and former ambassador to Latvia, when she said in early May that a candidate’s exploratory committee ought to generate at least $500,000 in its first quarter. Bailey’s name has also been mentioned as a potential candidate for the seat now held by Sen. Jim Bunning, and some viewed her $500,000 remark as something of a challenge to Grayson. No word yet on how much Bunning raised during the quarter that ended July 1. No word either on the efforts of the two major Democratic candidates, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo and Attorney General Jack Conway, although hallway chatter suggests Conway had a very successful quarter.

2. With the special General Assembly session and the Fourth of July behind us, it’s time to look ahead to all that yummy food and entertaining political oratory and shenanigans at the Aug. 1 Fancy Farm Picnic. Mark Wilson, who handles the political program for the St. Jerome Parish’s annual fund-raising event, says the speaking commitments received so far include four announced U.S. Senate candidates: Mongiardo; fellow D candidate Darlene Fitzgerald Price, a former U.S. Customs agent from McCreary County; Rand Paul, a Bowling Green ophthalmologist who has formed an exploratory committee for the R nomination; and Bill Johnson, a Todd County businessman who is another R candidate. State Sen. Ken Winters and state Rep. Fred Nesler have also committed to speak. Although Bunning hasn’t responded to the invitation from the picnic committee, he previously said he planned to attend.  You can expect most statewide constitutional officers - including Grayson and Conway - to be there as well, although Wilson indicated Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer has declined.