Cash-Poor Bunning Won't Run in 2010

An irate Jim Bunning said last night he won't run for a third term in the US Senate because his fellow Republicans "have done everything in their power to dry up my fundraising" amid pressure to step aside, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. Bunning, 77, has focused his ire on fellow Kentuckian Mitch McConnell, who issued a conciliatory statement befitting the apparent winner of a long-running feud.

"Jim has enjoyed two Hall-of-Fame-worthy careers, and I am honored to have worked by his side in the Senate," the Senate minority leader said of the former baseball star. "His steadfast focus on serving the people of the commonwealth has been as unwavering as his conservative ideals." The move instantly improves the GOP's chances of retaining the seat; the way is now clear for Republican secretary of state Trey Grayson, 37, reports the Los Angeles Times.
(More Jim Bunning stories.)