Grayson raises $600K for Bunning seat

Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) has pulled in more than $600,000 in just under two months as he contemplates a Senate bid against — or in place of — Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.).

Grayson’s exploratory committee will report raising more than $602,000 since he announced his potential candidacy on May 6. His burn rate has been low so far, and he finished the quarter with $572,000 in the bank.

National Republicans would much prefer Grayson at the head of the ticket as Bunning, who has been vocal about running for a third term, continues to exhibit behavior that worries GOP strategists.

So far this year, Bunning has lashed out at National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) and seatmate Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for questioning the two-term Republican’s intentions to run. He has banned reporters from weekly conference calls and threatened to resign to give Kentucky’s Democratic governor a chance to name his replacement, spiting his own party.

Bunning, who gave Grayson permission to open an exploratory committee during a face-to-face meeting earlier this year, has had his own troubles collecting cash. Bunning raised just $262,000 in the first quarter of the year and retained $375,000 in the bank as of the end of March.

Bunning’s first quarter haul fell far short of his lone rival at the time, Kentucky Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo (D). Mongiardo raised nearly $430,000 in about half the time it took Bunning to pull in his money.

Mongiardo has his own primary to worry about. Attorney General Jack Conway (D) joined the race in the second quarter, and sources tell The Hill he will file an impressive report this month as well.

Filings with the Federal Election Commission are due July 15.

–Reid Wilson