A Southgate Republican seeking a second term, Bunning still holds a commanding fund-raising advantage. His campaign manager expressed confidence the baseball Hall of Famer will notch another victory Nov. 2.

Mongiardo's campaign has gotten a financial boost in recent days, when it received $466,000 in "coordinated" dollars from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee - the maximum allowed by federal law.

Mongiardo spokesman Eric Niloff said the money will help bankroll television advertising in the closing days of the campaign.

The cash infusion reflected a sudden show of confidence among national Democrats looking to pick up a seat long viewed by many as a virtual lock for Republicans. The DSCC had about $8 million on hand at the end of September.

A Bluegrass Poll that appeared last month in the Courier-Journal of Louisville showed Bunning with a double-digit lead. Mongiardo's campaign claims the race has tightened significantly since then.

"We have a shot at this race," Brad Woodhouse, a DSCC spokesman, said Tuesday. Bunning's clear fund-raising advantage "has not hidden his erratic behavior."

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, Bunning's Republican colleague from Kentucky, said such Democratic hopes are off base.

"There is a natural tightening as you move toward Election Day, but I think Senator Bunning is still comfortably ahead and I think will be re-elected," McConnell said.

Meanwhile, the DSCC also is urging donors to back Mongiardo, but the group has yet to make any independent expenditures to boost the Democratic challenger, who is a surgeon and state senator from Hazard.

Asked whether the DSCC would enter the fray with its own TV ads in Kentucky, Woodhouse replied, "Stay tuned."

Bunning can tap his own bulging campaign treasury to run an advertising blitz leading up to the election. The senator had more than $3 million on hand at the end of September, compared with just $345,000 for Mongiardo.

Bunning campaign manager David Young said the senator remains "very comfortable with where he stands with his fellow Kentuckians. Senator Bunning is going to win re-election."

Bunning announced Tuesday that he would begin a five-day, statewide bus tour next Monday as the campaign heads into the final stretch. Bunning's campaign said the tour will start in Northern Kentucky and will go from Ashland to Paducah, but no other stops were immediately announced.