Ky. candidates spar over fillibuster

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Jim Bunning’s filibuster against extending unemployment benefits isn’t just causing fireworks on the Senate floor. Back in Kentucky, two of the candidates looking to succeed the Republican have both scheduled events Tuesday at Bunning’s Lexington office—with Democratic Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo planning to protest Bunning’s actions while Republican Rand Paul’s supporters will rally behind the two-term senator.

Bunning began his crusade last Thursday evening, objecting to deficit spending to extend the bill to expanded benefits unemployed workers, which also included a short-term extension of the Highway Trust Fund. The Senate’s failure to fund the transportation projects resulted in 2,000 federal transportation workers being furloughed, and millions more unemployed workers will be affected if the benefits expire.

Mongiardo and his primary opponent, Attorney General Jack Conway, have both slammed Bunning’s actions. At a Saturday dinner with Fayette County Democrats, Mongiardo proposed a protest at Bunning’s state offices if he did not back down. He invited Conway to participate too, but the attorney general is in D.C. this week on state business. Conway spokesman Allison Haley said that both Democrats “are on the same side on this issue,” and said their campaign has been circulating a petition opposing Bunning’s filibuster on their web site.

Mongiardo’s campaign spokesman Kim Geveden told POLITICO that the event transcends any differences the two Democrats might have with each other in their primary contest.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33736.html

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1. Both Republican candidates agreed with Bunning

None of the Democratic candidates did - there's a third candidate, Maurice Sweeney, a black businessman from Louisville. Unfortunately, he's pretty much at the same level of meh as the other two Democratic candidates.