Below is a Youtube play list of David Boswell and Reid Haire.
Both videos are on the player below.
Special thanks to Ed. Marksberry.

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Video of KY-2 Democratic candidates Reid Haire and David Boswell is now available online. Thoughts? A Ron Lewis/Brett Guthrie supporter was recently accused of cybersquatting a Reid Haire-linked domain, so look for this to be a very exciting campaign in the fall, whoever wins the primary. (h/t: BlueGrassRoots diarist CoolerKing)

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Reid Haire’s TV spot will run in Louisville, Bowling Green, and Evansville, markets covering the 2nd congressional district.

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Why Ron Lewis Quit:

1. Mike Weaver exposed Ron Lewis during the 2006 election cycle. Weaver was effective enough to force Ron Lewis to spend $1,975,693 even though Ron only raised $1,707,710.
2. Ron’s wife Kayi defied Senator Mitch McConnell and supported Ernie Fletcher in his re election bid for governor by serving as co-chair for Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s re-election campaign.
   We all know what happens to Republicans when they cross Mitch, just ask Chris Thieneman and he’ll tell you all about that.

It’s obvious that Ron Lewis was in the dog house with Mitch so Ron devised a plan to get even with the “God Father Of Green” , by quitting at the last minute with a plan to put his choice for Kentucky’s 2nd district congressman, Daniel London, on the ballot, at the last minute, and then sit back and watch Mitch McConnell steam. It was really a dumb and dumber plan, because Mitch got wind of it and hand picked a candidate, State Sen. Brett Guthrie, at the last minute to foil the plan of, dumb and dumber.
Now that dumb (Congressman Ron Lewis) got caught, like a child with their hand in the cookie jar, he issued an apology, that can be read in its entirety below this post and dumber (Daniel London) decided to withdraw from the race after praying about it, his, dumber’s, statement can be seen below dumb’s statement at the end of this post.
Some of us knew how bad we were being represented here in Kentucky’s 2nd District and now everyone knows and that’s the rest of the story!!!!

Dumb’s Statement:
I struggled with this decision until the last possible moment. After prayer and consultation with my family, I chose to retire and encouraged a former member of my staff to launch a bid to become my potential successor.
Upholding the trust of those that I represent has always been my primary objective in public office. My decisions last week were not thought through in a fair and realistic way. The political future of the region that I represent weighed heavily on my mind and, in hindsight, clouded my good judgment. I realize now the extent to which I have disappointed my constituents, supporters, colleagues and staff.
I would like to publicly apologize for my poor judgment and humbly ask for the forgiveness of all those who I have let down. There are no excuses for how I chose to manage my announcement. I regret it deeply and want to do all that I can to put it right and restore your faith in me during my remaining time in office.
I am humbled each day by the trust you have placed in me to serve your interests in Washington, DC. I intend to finish the final year of my congressional career fighting stronger than ever for a safer, hopeful future for Kentucky families. And when the 110th Congress draws to a close, I will look forward to leaving the seat that I occupy in good and capable hands, spending more time with my loved ones, and catching up on so many things that I have missed while in public office.
Thank you for your continued understanding and support.

Dumber’s Statement:
Congressman Lewis’ decision not to run for re-election came very quickly and our decision to run came just as fast. I am quite confident we would have been successful. However, after considering all that was ahead of me and my family, we determined this wasn’t the right time for us.
I am truly honored for the overwhelming encouragement I received early in this effort from supporters across the district. I am grateful for their support and their belief in my candidacy and vision for central Kentucky.
Sen. Brett Guthrie is a good man and as a Republican I intend to get behind him and support him for election and will encourage all my supporters to do the same.
I want to again thank Congressman Lewis for his great service to our country and the district and for his support and friendship.”

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Ron Lewis won’t be running for reelection in KY-2. Reid Haire will join David Boswell in the Democratic primary for the seat.

Bruce Lunsford is in, joining a ton of Democrats who want to DITCH MITCH!

(h/t: PolWatchers, who will continue to have coverage on today’s filings.)

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Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer’s Owen Covington reports the following (no link; subscription only):

When state Sen. David Boswell wanted to test the waters this summer for a possible run for Congress, he distributed 1,000 bumper stickers with “Boswell ‘08″ around Kentucky’s 2nd District.

Boswell, a Sorgho Democrat who serves in the Kentucky Senate, was looking to “kick up the dust,” and some of the stickers made their way to bumpers as voters voiced their support for his potential candidacy.

…

But in recent weeks, “Boswell ‘08″ bumper stickers of a different breed have been appearing in Daviess County.

Yellow and black stickers containing eight different messages questioning Boswell’s possible candidacy have been sent by mail to local elected officials, business leaders and the Messenger-Inquirer.

The bumper stickers have arrived in a plain white envelope with no return address and no indication from where or by whom they have been sent.

The mock campaign stickers peg Boswell as a frequent candidate for different offices despite the fact Boswell has not run for any other office since joining the state Senate in 1991.

…

Boswell said he has not seen the bumper stickers but has heard about them and has decided that someone must be trying to scare him away from running for Congress next year.

“That is an underhanded campaign tactic,” Boswell said. “Apparently someone’s afraid of what I’m looking at doing here.”

…

If Boswell puts his hat in the ring with a congressional run next spring, he would be challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis, a Cecilia Republican first elected to Congress in 1994.

Daniel London, the congressman’s chief of staff, said Lewis had nothing to do with the bumper stickers being made or circulated but had heard about them.

The Kentucky Republican Party is not behind the bumper stickers, according to state party President Steve Robertson, who said he hadn’t heard about the stickers until he was contacted by a reporter.

Joe Lowe, chairman of the Daviess County Republican Party, also said the stickers were not produced or distributed by the county party.

The fact that the stickers were sent without any indication of who sent them or where they were coming from makes it “kind of a chicken way to do things,” Lowe said.

…

The stickers appear to have been sent primarily to Daviess County residents, but Jeremy Edge, an Owensboro resident who is active in Democratic politics, said he had heard they were sent to people in Bowling Green, too.

Seriously. Don’t people have better things to do, like pass notes in study hall or something?

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Matt mentioned this back in April, and Ryan Alessi confirms:

Democratic State Sen. David Boswell of Owensboro said he is planning a press conference “in the very, very near future” to officially announce his candidacy to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis of Cecilia.

“I do plan to run for the U.S. Congress in the 2nd District,” Boswell said yesterday. “I think people, overall, are ready for change. They’re ready for a new guard.”

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The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer’s Keith Lawrence reports today [the M-I is subscription only, so no link] that state Senator and former state Commissioner of Agriculture David Boswell is considering a 2008 run against Congressman Ron Lewis, who is the “cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs” member of Kentucky’s Republican congressional delegation (and there’s some stiff competition for that title, especially if you throw dementia-suffering Senator Jim Bunning in the mix).

Lewis has the intellect and personality of a brick, so he’s just the sort of sycophant that Senator Mitch McConnell admires and finds most useful. If Mitch McConnell says jump, Ron Lewis asks over which cliff. For instance, to show you how subservient Lewis is to McConnell, consider that Ron Lewis, who is about as proud a bigoted, sexist, homophobic, anti-science politician as they come, endorsed the pro-gay rights, pro-abortion rights, pro-gun regulation Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney because Mitch McConnell told him to. McConnell absolutely hates Senator John McCain and will do anything it take to deny him the Republican presidential nomination.

Boswell would make for a strong candidate. He’s won statewide office before, and he’s taken some tough and progressive stands against a generally regressive majority in the state senate. He’s also, from my experience, a friendly man and a tough and excellent campaigner. In 2002, Mitch McConnell’s Republican smear machine went full force after Boswell, who himself insisted on running a clean and positive campaign. Boswell won reelection by a wide margin.

Kentucky’s Second Congressional District is a tough nut to crack, however; it’s home to three dispersed and very different metro areas: Owensboro, Bowling Green, and Elizabethtown, and is thus in the Evansville, Nashville, and Louisville television markets.

Here’s Lawrence’s article:

Boswell taking ’serious look’ at run for Congress in 2008

State Sen. David Boswell hasn’t thrown his hat into the ring yet for a run for Congress next year.

But his hand is on the hat brim.

Boswell, a Sorgho Democrat, said U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, a Missouri Democrat, called him recently to talk to him about the race.

“I’m going to take a serious look at it,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis hadn’t faced serious competition from Democrats for a decade. But last year, he was challenged by state Rep. Mike Weaver, a Vietnam veteran and conservative Democrat.

Lewis won with 55 percent of the vote. But Democrats were encouraged that that was the smallest victory margin the Cecilia Republican had enjoyed since his first election in 1994.

Boswell said the fact that Democrats retook control of the House last fall gives him encouragement about the race.

He considered a race against Lewis in 2000, but decided against it.

Boswell served in the state House from 1978-83, then was agriculture commissioner from 1984-87. After working as a Frankfort lobbyist for a few years, he was elected in 1990 to replace the retiring Delbert Murphy in the state Senate.

He has held that post since 1990.

Boswell lost a race for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in 1987. He considered running for governor this year or being the running mate of another candidate but decided against it.

He said he decided to talk publicly about a possible race for Congress to let him gauge public reaction.

And Jim Pence has this to add:

The “Most Reverend” Rep. Ron Lewis of Kentucky’s Second Congressional District with the “Most Toothless” Sen. Mitch McConnell.

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