By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff

Kentucky Democrats on Tuesday nominated Bruce Lunsford, a wealthy founder of a nursing home chain, to oppose Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in November.

Lunsford, who lost a Democratic primary for governor in 2007, won 51 percent of the vote in an seven-candidate primary in which the only other serious contender was Greg Fischer (34 percent), another affluent businessman. Five lesser-known Democrats split the remainder of the vote.

McConnell, who had 86 percent of the vote against one minor opponent in the Republican primary, is seeking a fifth six-year term and is the longest-serving Republican senator in Kentucky history.

Democrats have portrayed McConnell, the leader of the 49 Republicans in the Senate, as a knee-jerk partisan who uses his position to stonewall Democratic initiatives. Democrats also would like to exact some revenge after the loss four years ago of South Dakota Democrat Tom Daschle, one of McConnell’s predecessors as Senate Minority Leader and whom Republicans branded as an obstructionist to President Bush’s policies.

“Republicans in Washington have obstructed change in our foreign and economic policies for too long, and by electing Bruce Lunsford, Kentucky can reject that obstructionism and move the country forward,” said New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer , the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

McConnell has already aired television advertisements that tout his accomplishments for Kentucky, including securing federal funding for medical research. McConnell is preparing for a vigorous campaign and had $7.7 million in his campaign account as May began. Lunsford raised about $1.5 million and had $337,000 cash-on-hand at the end of April.

Rebecca Fisher, the communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said that McConnell’s campaign is “incredibly well-organized and ready to head into the general campaign. We look forward to his re-election in November.”

McConnell won in 2002 with 65 percent of the vote. CQ Politics rates the November race as Republican Favored, a mildly competitive category.

In the Louisville-based 3rd District, the November match up will be a rematch of a key 2006 race. Republican former Rep. Anne M. Northup was nominated to oppose Democratic Rep. John A. Yarmuth, who denied Northup’s quest for a sixth term in 2006. Northup had 78 percent of the vote against two lesser-known opponents in the Republican primary; Yarmuth was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

One notable disagreement between the two candidates is Yarmuth’s support and Northup’s opposition to a timeline to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. Republican officials say that Yarmuth’s voting record is too liberal, even for Democratic-leaning Louisville, while Democrats are portraying Northup as an also-ran following her loss last year in a primary challenge to Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who was defeated in November.

In the 2nd District, which takes in Owensboro, Bowling Green and other territory in west-central Kentucky, Republican state Sen. Brett Guthrie will face Democratic state Sen. David Boswell for the seat that retiring Republican Rep. Ron Lewis is leaving open after more than seven terms of House service. Guthrie, who was unopposed in the Republican primary, is an early favorite over Boswell, who defeated county judge-executive Reid Haire by 59 percent to 41 percent in the Democratic balloting.

CQ Politics at the moment rates the 3rd District as Leans Democratic and the 2nd as Safe Republican.

The other four incumbents in Kentucky’s congressional delegation appear secure in their bids for new terms — Republicans Ed Whitfield of the western 1st District, Geoff Davis of the northern 4th District and Harold Rogers of the eastern 5th District and Democrat Ben Chandler of the central 6th District. The Democrats are not challenging Rogers, who is the dean of the Kentucky congressional delegation. He is assured of a 15th term.