ASHLAND — Trey Grayson, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now held by the retiring Jim Bunning, said Kentucky Republicans will decide next Tuesday whether they want a U.S. senator with the ability "go to Washington and actually fix things"  or a senator who "will hold a lot of press conferences and do a lot of talking but not accomplish much."
Grayson was in Ashland early Tuesday morning to launch a statewide campaign tour that will include 38 stops in 30 counties and take him to the eve of the May 18 primary.
With a steady rain falling outside, he made stops at Bob Evans Restaurant on Carter Avenue and at Chick-fil-A on Riverhill Drive.
Among those on hand to greet him were Dr. Jack Ditty, who is challenging  Robin Webb for the 18th District State Senate seat in a repeat of the special election Webb narrowly won last August,  and former State Rep. John Vincent, an Ashland Republican.
Grayson is being challenged by Bowling Green optometrist Rand Paul, the son of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a former GOP candidate for president. While most of the polls show Paul leading in the race, Grayson said the "two polls that really matter call this race a dead heat with an unusually high number of "undecided voters.”
His goal in the closing days of the campaign is to convince the undecided voters that he is the only candidate with a track record for fulfilling promises and getting things done.
While Paul has never sought public office, Grayson said he has won two statewide races for secretary of state and has shown he can win the support of voters throughout the state, including many Democrats and Independents.
Grayson spoke just hours after Paul and he engaged in an often heated debate  on KET during which they were highly critical of each other. Despite those often harsh words, Grayson said he is confident that whoever loses the primary next Tuesday will support the winner in November.
Both candidates have pledged to attend a Republican unity rally in the
Saturday after the primary. "I am sure that whoever does not win the nomination will support the party's nominee in the fall," Grayson said. "I know I will, although I certainly hope to be the nominee."
While Paul and he disagree on a number of issues, there is broad agreement in such key areas as health care reform and reducing the deficit, which Grayson said he considers the most important issue.
"Sure, jobs are important and we need more jobs," said Grayson, "but if we don¹t reduce our spending, we are doing long-term damage to our economy and could cost jobs for generations to come."
Grayson said the budget of the secretary of state¹s office has been reduced by 15 percent since he took office, forcing the office to look for ways to cut costs while maintaining key services. "We proved that we can do with less and that is a lesson the federal government needs to learn," he said.
Grayson said he also has shown he can work with Democrats "without compromising my core beliefs." For example, Grayson said he was worked closely with State Rep. Tanya Pullin, a Democrat, in promoting more civics education.
In addition to having his name on the ballot next Tuesday, Grayson as secretary of state, is Kentucky¹s chief election officer. Since recent primaries in which county offices were on the ballot have led to widespread election violations in some rural counties, Grayson said he is working closely with Attorney General Jack Conway, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate,  and with federal officials to assure Tuesday¹s election is a fair one.
A number of successful federal prosecutions for election fraud since the last county primary four years ago has "a lot of people in some counties scared," Grayson said, and in this case being scared may prevent them from attempting to rig the election results.