The ad says that the two-term congressman supports debt, wasteful government spending and the massive expansion of the federal government.

“John Yarmuth has supported policies that have given us more, debt, less jobs, and higher taxes,” Lally said in a news release. “The contrast between myself and Congressman Yarmuth couldn’t be clearer: I am an outsider who will stand up against the big spending policies that hurt Louisville — Yarmuth will continue supporting Nancy Pelosi’s extreme agenda.”

Check it out:

For the most party, Yarmuth has ignored Lally’s candidacy and focused on his accomplishment, but the Yarmuth campaign has shared several clips of Lally with the media, including his stance against gays serving in the military, denying the existence of gender discrimination, opposing abortion under all circumstances and questioning the existence of global warming

The last Bluegrass Poll showed that Yarmuth leads Lally by only four points, however. Meanwhile, national polls, such as The New York Times guru Nate Silver shows Yarmuth with a 96.5 percent chance of retaining his seat.

“John Yarmuth has supported policies that have given us more debt, less jobs, and higher taxes,” Lally said in a news release. “The contrast between myself and Congressman Yarmuth couldn’t be clearer: I am an outsider who will fight for more jobs, not Nancy Pelosi’s extreme liberal San Francisco agenda.”

The ad features Lally, a lieutenant colonel in the Kentucky Air National Guard, outside of a closed down business highlighting his plan to bring jobs back to Louisville.

Check it out:

From WHAS-11:

If the election was today in Kentucky’s Third Congressional District, the WHAS11/Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll says it would be a photo finish.  Two term incumbent Democrat John Yarmuth is ahead by two points, but the relative unknown Republican Todd Lally appears to be riding an anti-incumbent, conservative wave.

Yarmuth (D)  47%
Lally (R)    45%
Undecided     5%

The poll of 541 likely voters is a statistical tie and isn’t the first time Lally, a lieutenant colonel in the Kentucky Air National Guard, has surprised political observers. In July, he managed to raise $289,000 compared to Yarmuth’s $204,000 in second quarter fundraising.

Still, the two-term congressman has more cash on hand to spend in the race with a hefty $600,000 in his coffers. And in an interview with WHAS-11, Yarmuth downplayed the poll and said the community doesn’t know Lally or the full breath of his views.

But the Lally campaign should be encouraged by the recent developments, as the GOP takes an unprecedented lead in national polls heading into the fall election. According to Gallup, Republicans have a 10 percentage point advantage over Democrats on generic ballots among registered voters.

“These results confirm what we have been hearing from voters all across the district. Louisvillians are attracted to my candidacy because I believe the best way to create jobs is through lower taxes and less wasteful government spending,” Lally said in a news release. “Voters are rejecting John Yarmuth because he has voted with Nancy Pelosi 99% of the time and he continues to support her agenda over what is best for Louisville. I look forward to continuing to get this message out to voters and will work hard for every vote between now and Election Day.”

The poll shows Libertarian Ed Martin and independent Michael Hansen polling with one percent each.

From The Courier-Journal:

Lally said about 250 people attended the event, which cost each person $250 to attend or $1,000 to be listed as a sponsor. He said he didn’t know how much money it raised.

Boehner spoke for about 20 minutes, partly about his vision for the House if the Republicans can take over, Lally said.

A few weeks ago, Yarmuth’s campaign released a survey that shows the two-term congressman leading by 26 points going into November. However, the Lally campaign says it is encouraged by Boehner’s visit.

“Leader Boehner’s support and willingness to personally help our efforts is telling of national importance and commitment to this race,” Jay Hill, Lally’s campaign manager said in a news release. “His presence in our District signals an expansion of our campaigning efforts on every level to ensure Louisville gains true conservative leadership in the House.”

UPDATE:

In response to today visit, Yarmuth’s campaign manager, Elizabeth Sawyer, has issued the following statement:

Today, Todd Lally welcomed John Boehner to Louisville. The House Republican Leader has repeatedly called for cutting and privatizing Social Security, a dangerous plan that gambles seniors’ retirement in the stock market.  Fresh from meeting with Boehner, Lally followed in his footsteps, advocating the dismantling of Social Security as we know it and even calling it a “Ponzi Scheme.”

Social Security is one of our nation’s most successful programs, guaranteeing the financial security of millions of seniors every year.  Congressman  Yarmuth has a strong record of supporting Social Security and will continue fighting for Louisville seniors.

We’re not sure if this indicates the Yarmuth campaign is worried about Lally’s support from a national figure, but this isn’t the first time Yarmuth and the minority leader have jousted.

Last fall, during the debate surrounding President Obama’s health care reform Boehner asserted that he hadn’t met anyone who is in favor of the public option and Yarmuth sent him an invitation mocking the Republican leader’s assertion.

“This survey demonstrates that Louisville voters are proud of the work Congressman Yarmuth has done to revitalize the economy, bring more good jobs to Louisville, and support our veterans and military families,” said Elizabeth Sawyer, Yarmuth’s campaign manager in a press release. “Louisvillians want him to keep fighting for their priorities in Congress, and he’s right on track for another big win in November.”

The poll also shows that 67 percent of those supporting Yarmuth are “strongly committed” to their candidate compared to only 50 percent among Lally’s supporters. That’s important to remember considering that after the GOP primary, Lally had a noted boost from the Tea Party movement, which is expected to impact congressional elections nationwide.The poll has a margin of error of 4.4 percent and surveyed 566 registered voters.

Still, Lally, a lieutenant colonel in the Kentucky Air National Guard and a newcomer to politics, surprised many observers when he outraised Yarmuth in the second-quarter of the campaign. According to financial reports submitted by both campaigns, Lally managed to raise $289,000 compared to Yarmuth’s $204,000 in the same period. Still, Yarmuth, has more cash on-hand with a hefty $600,000 in his coffers.

For instance, Lally’s followers on Twitter include a who’s who in the GOP big and small, such as House Republican Leader John Boehner, Louisville Metro Councilman Doug Hawkins, R-25, and even our favorite violent Republican, J.D. Sparks. Maybe the Lally campaign is trying to build up the UPS pilots conservative credentials online too.

Considering Lally’s opponent, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd, is the founder of this publication, the passive-aggressive block is not too surprising. In some people’s narrow minds this alt-weekly is still Yarmuth’s sound board. Hopefully, Lally won’t use LEO as a prop in the campaign; it is a strategy that’s been used — unsuccessfully I might add — by his opponents before.

And though it has been said by smarter and better writers than I since the columnist turned congressman first ran for office in 2006, here it goes — again:

In 2003, Yarmuth sold his share of LEO, long before anyone on the paper’s current news staff ever worked here. As former LEO editor Cary Stemle had to tell former Congresswoman Anne Northup back in 2006, when she held a press conference in front of LEO’s offices: Mr. Yarmuth doesn’t live here anymore.

The Lally campaign was unavailable for comment.

UPDATE:

When asked about LEO being blocked from the campaign’s updates via Twitter, a Lally campaign spokesman says it was all a misunderstanding.

“If that’s the case then it was done in error, I haven’t’ blocked anybody and everybody should have open access to all of our social media,” says Jay Hill, Lally’s campaign manager. “If I did it maybe I hit block instead of follow. There’s no reason to block anybody. We’re a pretty open book. I don’t have any reason to do that to you guys.”

Besides Hill, only one other campaign staffer, Joel Adams, has access to the account. Occasionally, Lally will update the Twitter account personally, but it’s primarily a vehicle used by the campaign staff, says Hill.

“This successful fundraising effort is a clear sign that Louisville voters are ready for a change in leadership in Washington. The choice in this campaign is already apparent. Voters will have a clear alternative to the reckless big-government policies forced through Congress by John Yarmuth,” Lally said in a news release. “This strong fundraising showing is not only a sign that I will be ready and able to wage an aggressive campaign, but it’s an early indication that Yarmuth’s days in Washington are numbered.”

With a hefty $600,000 in his coffers, Yarmuth still has more cash on hand to spend in the race. That advantage will help him get his message out to voters early. However, Lally has answered the initial question of whether he can be financial competitive against the two-term congressman.

After easily beating three other Republican challengers in the GOP primary, Lally entered the general election race with only $25,000 on hand. Early in the campaign, the conservative newcomer contrasted his differences with Yarmuth on a number of issues, including abortion, gun rights and health care reform.

Being in a race that is under the radar, the Lally campaign admits it will be difficult to close the cash gap with so many other high-profiled races on the ballot, but they believe the figures show Yarmuth is vulnerable this year.

“Thanks to the support of the Louisville community, I am confident that Congressman Yarmuth will have every resource needed to discuss his fight to revitalize the economy, bring more good jobs to Louisville, and increase access to affordable, quality health care,” Elizabeth Sawyer, Yarmuth’s campaign manager, said in a press release. “Louisvillians want him to keep fighting for their priorities in Congress, and he’s right on track for another big win in November.”

Details of campaign finance report will be made available on July 15.

In November, the two-term congressman will face three challenges, Republican Todd Lally, Libertarian Ed Martin and independent Michael Hansen. And while many sense this race could go under the political radar, a few political observers noticed Lally early on. The young GOP candidate got a notable boost from the local Tea Party in this primary election and blitzed Yarmuth on job losses in the district.

However, lingering questions remain if Lally, a UPS pilot and lieutenant colonel in the Kentucky Air National Guard, will be able to catch up financially with Yarmuth. In April, he entered the race with only $25,000 on hand. If the top gun conservative can build a financial pipeline even close to Yarmuth’s hefty moneybags then expect more heads to turn.

In a telephone interview, Lally’s campaign manager told LEO Weekly that their report will be released tomorrow.

In 2008, Martin’s candidacy was challenged in court by the GOP because he was officially registered as a Republican voter at the time. The Kentucky Court of Appeals agreed and ruled that Martin couldn’t run.

In interviews with the press, Martin has said he’s socially liberal and fiscally conservative, but political observers are already speculating that his entry into the race will hurt Lally, who is solidly conservative on a number of issues.

However, unlike before, Republicans have embraced Martin’s entry into the race — for now.

From cn|2 Politics:

“At this critical junction in our country’s history, we need people with great ideas and we want to welcome Mr. Martin to the race,” said Jay Hill, Lally’s campaign manager. “Because in the long run this race is about Americas future and we need all the idea we can get.”

There is the question of money, however.

From cn|2 Politics:

But Lally must play catch-up financially. Yarmuth entered May with more than a half-million dollars in the bank, according to his most recent Federal Election Report. Lally, at that point, had just $25,811 heading into the final three weeks of the primary after raising just over $108,000.

Lally also said he expects to tap the support of the tea party movement, which was active in Louisville during the spring but didn’t formally pick sides in the four-way Republican primary for Congress.

With the election more than five months away it shouldn’t be difficult for Lally, who serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Kentucky National Guard, to contrast his differences with the two-term congressman on a number of issues, including abortion, gun rights and health care reform.

For instance, Lally has already chosen to pick a fight over gays serving in the military. The top gun conservative told cn|2 Politics that he opposed Yarmuth’s vote to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which if approved by the U.S. Senate would overturn the controversial law.

“This is not about gays in the military,” Lally told cn|2 Politics. “All they’re being asked to do is to leave their behavior quiet. So in that aspect, I would have voted no (to repeal). It’s been effective so far, with peace in the ranks and with high morale.”

By positioning himself in favor of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Lally is sure to gain support amongst the GOP conservative base and Tea Party movement. In a recent poll conducted by the University of Washington, for instance, 52 percent of Tea Party supporters believe that gays and lesbians have become too powerful.

However, in a solidly Democratic district that encompasses most of Louisville it’s a gamble that could alienate moderate Republicans, who have been generally supportive of gay rights in Louisville, where a historic Fairness Ordinance has been on the books since 1999.

“It’s incredible to me a candidate this early in the race would make statements proving that he is so incredibly out of step with Louisville,” says Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign, who also served as Yarmuth’s campaign spokesman back in 2008. “The repeal of ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ is one of the most common sense decisions that the majority of Americans agree with. And if we polled the citizens of Louisville it would be the same. These statements put Todd Lally in bed with Frank Simon, and it makes him Louisville’s last choice.”