The Hill: Rand Paul Is "Ascendant" in Kentucky As He Meets With McConnell

The Hill is the latest media outlet to pick up on Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell's meeting with Dr. Rand Paul, in the aftermath of Rand Paul surging past RINO Trey Grayson:

Ascendant Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul will meet with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday.

BREAKING: WHAS Reports Sen. Mitch McConnell To Meet With Rand Paul on Friday

WHAS is now reporting that Senator Mitch McConnell will meet with Rand Paul on Friday. With Rand Paul raising over $1 million, about double what former Bill Clinton-supporter Trey Grayson raised last quarter, and now with Paul leading Grayson in the polls, it appears that McConnell is paying attention to the Conservatives around Kentucky that have been lining up beihnd the Paul campaign. WHAS reported days ago that Cathy Bailey, a McConnell friend, was potentially polling and considering entering the race, but now the Republican Senate leader is ready to meet with Dr. Paul!

Be sure to thank Senator McConnell for supporting the Commonwealth's Conservative grassroots! WHAS reports:

(WHAS11) - The surprise candidate in Kentucky's Republican U.S. Senate primary tells WHAS11 News he is reaching out to senior Senator, Mitch McConnell.

Rand Paul is a Bowling Green eye surgeon. His campaign's poll numbers and fundraising success have stunned party leaders and it is early in the game...

The party can't ignore Paul now. He was leading in the last week's WHAS11/Survey USA poll.

Paul's campaign derides some politicians as "Rino's" or Republicans in name only who are not true to the party platform.

“Republicans do not believe of government ownership of business and yet we voted for it, we voted for a bank bailout where for the first time government is owning private business in our country....

“I'm a physician. I do eye surgery in Bowling Green. I've been active for many years in Kentucky with Kentucky taxpayers united,” says Paul...

Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans had hosted a fundraiser for Trey Grayson in August.

But Rand Paul is now scheduled to meet face to face with McConnell in Kentucky this Friday.

Fox News Features Rand Paul on the Glenn Beck Show

Rand Paul is still racking up the national TV coverage, as he was on the Glenn Beck show talking about how the Republican Party needs to coalesce around Conservative candidates in primaries and fight for true Conservative values:

RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: We're doing quite well, but I like to call myself a constitutional conservative. And I think that resonates in the Republican primary. I think what we're finding is as we get our message out -- is that the message is actually popular.

I think there is a disconnect between the Republican primary voter who does believe, like myself, in limited constitutional government, in our leaders who have sometimes let us down. It is like the bank bailout. I said I have yet to meet a Republican primary voter who would have voted for it.

And yet our leaders did vote for it. So I think there is a disconnect between leadership and the primary voter. But I think the primary voter and the platform in the Republican Party are very conservative. And I think as we get our message out, and as we're rising in the polls, it shows that the message is popular in the Republican primary

Gerth: Rand Paul "Zoomed Past Secretary of State Trey Grayson"

The Courier-Journal's Joe Gerth has a new article illustrating what other local and national reporters all seem to be agreeing about: Rand Paul is surging past the liberal former Bill Clinton supporter Trey Grayson:

Just when Gov. Steve Beshear was reversing himself on his plan to call a decorated evergreen tree on the Capitol lawn a “holiday tree,” two early favorites in next year’s U.S. Senate race were getting lumps of coal in their stockings — in the form of a WHAS Survey USA poll.

The poll showed that Bowling Green ophthalmologist Rand Paul had zoomed past Secretary of State Trey Grayson in public opinion among Republicans, while Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo posted a growing lead over Attorney General Jack Conway among Democrats...

Paul has been able to use his father’s extensive network of national contributors — his dad is U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, a former presidential candidate — to post a huge fundraising number in the third quarter of the year. And the son has made all the right moves to become a player in the Republican primary — despite indications that the national party is backing Grayson.

He’s more visible than Grayson — traveling the state and speaking to groups from east to west.

The Hill: Top 10 conservative conundrums of 2010

The Hill is now writing that Rand Paul and Marco Rubio of Florida may be the focus of the national Conservative movement, in the aftermath of the national GOP endorsing Democrat Dede Scozzafava, only for her to be forced out of the race by grassroots activists in favor of Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman. The Hill writes:

1. Florida Senate -- Marco Rubio vs. Gov. Charlie Crist

If conservative activists had their chance to take down one frontrunner, it would be Crist. And they might get their chance, as Crist has shown some chinks in his armor of late. If and when Rubio gets the support of the Club for Growth, look for this race to shift into an even higher gear. Rubio will benefit from New York conservative candidate Doug Hoffman’s momentum in the new conservative cause célèbre.

2. Kentucky Senate – Rand Paul vs. Trey Grayson

Grayson’s Senate candidacy has yet to light the world on fire, and he has now been both outraised and outpolled. A SurveyUSA poll this week showed Paul overtaking Grayson 35-32, with much yet to be decided in their race. When you look at the national map, Paul’s candidacy is the real test of whether the movement of his father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), can succeed at the statewide level.

Congressional Quarterly: Grayson's "Moderation" Forcing Him To Battle Conservative Rand Paul

CQ has picked up on what everyone in the Commonwealth already knows. When Mitch McConnell flew up to DC from Louisville and brought Trey Grayson around to strong-arm our Conservative Senator Jim Bunning out of the race, they cast aside the feelings of the real Conservative base at home in the Commonwealth, which is now rallying around Rand Paul. CQ writes:

Another Cornyn tactic paid off in July when Jim Bunning announced that he would retire: He was shown polling by Cornyn that made clear a third term would be tough to get. Cornyn ceded the job of anointing a GOP candidate to his close friend and boss, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , who settled on an ally back home, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson. But Grayson’s moderation — he conceded that he cast his first presidential vote for Bill Clinton in 1992 — is forcing him to fight for the nomination against a well-funded conservative, Rand Paul.

The American Spectator: "Rand Paul Rising"

The buzz from the national press keeps coming in and the national consensus is Rand Paul is storming by faux-Republican Trey Grayson on his way to the U.S. Senate. This from the American Spectator:

Yesterday I somehow missed this: for the first time Rand Paul leads Secretary of State Trey Grayson in a poll of Kentucky Republican primary voters. Paul and Grayson are running to succeed Sen. Jim Bunning. According to Survey USA, Paul's 35 percent to 32 percent lead is within the margin of error but combined with his fundraising success -- he has hauled in more money than Grayson -- Ron Paul's son is looking like a very competitive candidate.

Time Magazine Lists Trey Grayson as One of The Most Vulnerable "Republicans in the Nation"

The entire nation is now focused on Kentucky, where conservative activists are lining up to stop the former Democrat and now faux Republican Trey "Slick Willie" Grayson from fooling the Commonwealth. Time takes notice of Trey Grayson's support of Bill Clinton:

The endorsement isn't official, but Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson has received fundraising help from some of the top Republican Senators, including Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, the senior Senator from Kentucky. Which is why it's surprising that antitax activist Rand Paul managed to outraise Grayson by more than $350,000 last quarter. Both men are running for the seat being vacated by Republican Senator Jim Bunning. Paul benefits from a famous last name: his father Ron Paul is the Libertarian darling of the right. Paul the younger has been attacking Grayson for once voting for Bill Clinton for President and for accepting money from GOP Senators who voted for the stimulus.

Will A New Candidate Get In the Race Now That Trey Grayson Has Collapsed?

Joe Arnold of WHAS is reporting that former Ambassador Cathy Bailey may be entering the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate following Trey Grayson's recent collapse in fundraising and polling.

It appears that Mitch McConnell is turning to his friend from Louisville to try and get her to replace former Democrat Trey Grayson, as the establishment scrambles to keep pace with Rand Paul and the Conservative grassroots.

Joe Arnold reports:

Will a third candidate enter GOP Senate primary?

The Bluegrass Bulletin blog beat me to the punch.

Click here for the Bluegrass Bulletin Blog

I also have heard about a telephone poll in recent days regarding the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, a poll that - if establishment candidate Trey Grayson is not gaining steam against upstart Rand Paul - might encourage another Republican to enter the race. The Bluegrass Bulletin suggests philanthropist and former ambassador Cathy Bailey as the likely Republican to write one check and become an immediate contender.

Rand Paul Takes the Lead Over Trey Grayson in New Poll

The new WHAS Survey USA poll is out and shows that Rand Paul has taken a 35-32 percent lead over Trey "Slick Willie" Grayson. Political observers are already taking note the the days of the liberal Grayson's political career may be numbered. The Northern Kentucky Enquirer writes:

Secretary of State Trey Grayson of Boone County and Rand Paul, a Bowling Green eye surgeon, are now running neck-and-neck.

Grayson has lost 9 percentage points and Paul has gained five since the most recent poll in early August.

It's still early: The primary isn't for six months, and 18 percent of primary voters say they're undecided. Still, political observers say the results are a bad sign for Grayson.

"I think Grayson is definitely in trouble. A few months ago, I thought he'd breeze to the nomination. But now, it's clear that he's got a fight on his hands," said Northern Kentucky University political science professor Dr. Michael Baranowski.

The Enquirer notes that the poll clearly shows Kentucky's Conservatives are rallying around Dr. Paul and are not fooled by Grayson's attempts to flip-flop:

Paul, who has embraced the Tea Party movement, also won among likely GOP primary voters who consider themselves conservative. Grayson won by wide margins among those who identify themselves as moderate or liberal.

"The battle between Paul and Grayson might be seen as a microcosm of the larger battle for the soul of the GOP," Baranowski said. "At present, the conservative, Tea Party, Palin wing are riding high. But while this group may win the intra-party battle, they could be hurting their chances against the Democrats."