Several candidates start with big financial edge

The three incumbent officials seeking re-election in this year's down-ticket races are starting the general election with six-figure funding leads over their challengers, campaign finance reports show.

And Democrat Jack Conway also has nearly a $150,000 advantage over Republican Stan Lee in the race for the open position of attorney general.

Meanwhile, both candidates for the open spot of state treasurer must essentially start their fund-raising from scratch for the fall race.

Here's a breakdown:

ATTORNEY GENERAL

• Conway, a Louisville lawyer and former aide to Democratic Gov. Paul Patton, raised $326,000 en route to his 44-point victory over Bob Bullock, who pulled in nearly $92,000. Conway finished the primary with $154,544 in the bank.

• Lee, a state representative from Lexington, was the top fund-raiser in his four-way GOP primary race with more than $134,000, which outpaced the $107,000 of Tim Coleman, a commonwealths attorney. Lee starts the fall campaign with $3,365.

STATE AUDITOR

• Incumbent Crit Luallen, a Democrat, faced no primary opposition and was able to stockpile $121,419 in preparation for the November election.

• Challenger Linda Greenwell, a Republican UPS employee who lost to Luallen in 2003, also ran unopposed in the spring race, allowing her to bank $15,123.

SECRETARY OF STATE

• Incumbent Trey Grayson, a Republican, wasn't opposed by anyone in his party and has $289,410 available for the fall campaign.

• Challenger Bruce Hendrickson, a former Democratic local official from Pineville, narrowly won a three-way primary race, despite the fact that runner up Dick Robinson raised $72,000 compared to less than $10,000 for Hendrickson. He finished with $4,576 for the fall.

STATE TREASURER

• Democratic nominee L. J. "Todd" Hollenbach IV, a Louisville lawyer, finished atop the four-candidate primary with $3,662 left over. The $45,000 he spent in the primary was the most of the four Democrats.

• Republican Melinda Wheeler, the former director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, narrowly won her primary over three state representatives with $1,210 to spare. She spent nearly $54,000, which was essentially the same amount as third-place finisher Ken Upchurch but half of runner-up Lonnie Napier's $109,000.

COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE

• Incumbent Richie Farmer, a Republican, has $100,841 after winning his primary.

• Challenger David L. Williams, a Democrat, raised $150 during the primary.

- Ryan Alessi

Comments

Gonna be a long year for Stan the Pringles Man.

is it just me or does Stan's 'stache look like it belongs on a porn star?

Definitely a Ron Jeremy-inspired 'stache.

stan" right to work" lee. the only fair way is stan's way.