Senator Bunning threatens to sue the NRSC if they recruit a candidate to run against him:
Kentucky's Bunning 'would have a suit' if Republicans recruit opponent
By Halimah Abdullah
The Lexington Herald-Leader
miamiherald.com
Sen. Jim Bunning is vowing to fight back as his feud with Republican leadership over his 2010 re-election bid spills into the national political scene.
If Republican campaign organizations tried to recruit another candidate to run in Bunning's stead, "I would have a suit against the (National Republican Senatorial Committee) if they did that," Bunning told reporters on Tuesday. "In their bylaws, support of the incumbents is the only reason they exist."
The 77-year-old senator says he's repeatedly told Republican leadership that he plans on running in 2010 for a third term.
This week, speculation about Bunning's seat has focused on state Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, who on Monday wouldn't rule out running for U.S. Senate. But Williams told reporters that he would be "less than candid" if he did not say "a lot of rank-and-file people" have called him about the race.
NRSC Chairman John Cornyn of Texas told The Washington Post on Monday that Williams' meeting with organization officials last week was a "courtesy visit" and that the party "would back Bunning in a contested primary."
"David Williams usually has the ability to make up his own mind," Bunning said, adding the state lawmaker "owes me $30,000 and he said he'll repay me. I was short in my FEC money and he asked me if I would help save two state senate seats… I told him if I did it I would have to have it replaced at the first of the year. So far he has not."
A Federal Election Commission report for Bunning's campaign committee, Citizens for Bunning, shows a $25,000 contribution to the Republican Party of Kentucky on Oct. 20, 2008. It was not immediately clear if this was the contribution Bunning was referencing.
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