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Sunday, February 22, 2009

Talking About Jim Bunning, It Sounds As If David Williams Is Carrying The "Assassin's Knife"

Read more here, or excerpts below:

Kentucky legislator courted to face Bunning
By Reid Wilson

Kentucky state Senator David Williams (R) has met with officials at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, sources confirm to The Hill, as he begins to actively consider a bid for Sen. Jim Bunning's (R-Ken.) seat.

Williams, who was in Washington as the nation's governors met over the weekend, sat down with NRSC officials on Friday, sources in Washington and Kentucky tell The Hill. The meeting was first reported by the website KYPolitics.org.

Williams served a term in the Kentucky state House before moving to the state Senate in 1987. He is the president of the state Senate, and he has at least some statewide experience -- Williams was the GOP nominee for Senate in 1992, against Sen. Wendell Ford (D-Ken.), though he won just 36 percent.

Republican sources said Williams would be a stronger candidate than he was against Ford, calling him "extremely talented" despite some baggage after a decade atop the state Senate.

A call to Williams' home went unreturned Sunday morning.

In meeting with a potential challenger to Bunning, national Republican officials are stepping up the pressure on Bunning, who the party is trying to ease into retirement. Republican strategists believe Bunning would be a serious underdog if he runs for a third term in 2010, after winning by just two points in 2004.

"The NRSC is not and will not recruit against Sen. Bunning," said NRSC communications director Brian Walsh.

But the meeting comes as Republican strategists in Washington and Kentucky question Bunning's commitment to running for another term, as well as his ability to actually win re-election.

Bunning has defiantly proclaimed his intention to run for a third term, though several top Republicans have expressed skepticism. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) and NRSC chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) have both said publicly they do not know Bunning's plans, eliciting sharp responses in which Bunning has questioned their hearing.

Bunning's lackluster fundraising has also raised eyebrows -- his bank account actually shrank between the end of the third quarter and the end of the fourth quarter.

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