The amount raised is the most ever in a U.S. Senate race in Kentucky, beating the $5.9 million Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell raised during the 2002 election.

State Sen. Dr. Daniel Mongiardo, the Hazard Democrat running against Bunning, will likely report his fund-raising today, a campaign spokesman said Thursday.

But Mongiardo is not expected to be even close to Bunning, a Southgate Republican, in campaign contributions. Mongiardo had raised less than $1 million in the last reporting period.

"Kentucky's families aren't concerned about which candidate has the most money," said Mongiardo campaign manager Kim Geveden. "They're concerned about how much money they've got. Under Jim Bunning's watch, Kentucky families are spending more than ever on health care, college tuition, gas and just about everything else."

Bunning's campaign, meanwhile, has launched a new attack on Mongiardo over the outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries.

Mongiardo has been critical of Bunning for supporting policies that encourage employers, including the federal government, to locate jobs overseas.

"Bunning has voted for unfair trade agreements, against closing corporate tax loopholes, and against stopping outsourcing," Mongiardo said in a statement. "That is not a record Kentucky can be proud of."

But Bunning's campaign said Mongiardo is being hypocritical because he holds stock in nearly 20 American companies that have moved jobs overseas. They include Microsoft, AT&T, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Motorola and Coca-Cola.

"Mongiardo demonizes companies that outsource jobs, yet he is cashing their dividend checks," said David Young, Bunning's campaign manager. "We are only measuring Mongiardo by his own rhetoric yardstick.

"He knows he's being disingenuous by saying one thing but doing another. Daniel can't look Kentuckians straight in the face and say outsourcing is wrong while his wallet is getting fat from the profits of companies."

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com