ELECTION SECTION

• Election 2004 page

BUS TOUR

U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning will embark Monday on a five-day, 25-county campaign bus tour of Kentucky. The tour kicks off at 8:15 a.m. Monday at the Marquis Banquet Center near Licking Pike and Interstate 275 in Wilder. More details will be announced this week.

"People who know me know the truth," Bunning, a Republican, told reporters after delivering $10 million in federal money to local officials for the reconstruction of Industrial Road through Boone and Kenton counties. "Here I am, take a look.

"The rumors that have been spread by my opponent about my health are disgusting. What kind of a doctor would spread rumors about another Kentuckian's health?"

But Mongiardo's campaign manager said Bunning's statements are groundless.

"This is another in a long series of outlandish statements that have no basis in fact," said Kim Geveden, Mongiardo's campaign manager.

It is Geveden who is conducting the smear campaign, Bunning said.

"That is absolutely, unequivocally, categorically not true," Geveden said.

Geveden pointed out that Wednesday, Mongiardo unveiled a 62-page plan to improve health care, job opportunities and education.

"Daniel Mongiardo continues to talk about the issues while "Bunning continues to try and make news by smearing Daniel Mongiardo's good name," Geveden said.

Bunning also said he was campaigning Tuesday and he had indicated more than a month ago he would not be available for a debate that night.

The Enquirer reported Sept. 24 that Bunning told Kentucky Educational Television that he would not attend. The same report stated that Mongiardo would appear on KET for an abbreviated 30-minute program.

Rumors about Bunning's health have attracted state and national media attention. Reporters from The Washington Post, the Associated Press, the Lexington Herald-Leader and Cincinnati and Louisville TV stations attended the check presentation.

In an impromptu news conference, Bunning accused Mongiardo and the Democrats of conducting a "push poll," in which voters are called ostensibly to answer polling questions but then are encouraged to vote against a candidate.

Bunning said voters across the state are being called and told, "Jim Bunning is mentally incompetent to run for the U.S. Senate."

"That is the lowest of the low," he said.

Penny Carroll, a Larue County Republican whose name and contact information were provided by the Bunning campaign, said she received the call and verified that what first sounded like a reputable poll turned out to be an attack on Bunning. She did not, however, remember the name of the individual making the call or whom they were representing.

"It's very disturbing," Carroll said in a phone interview.

Bunning picked up the endorsements of two Democrats Wednesday: Covington Mayor Butch Callery and Edgewood attorney Mark Guilfoyle, a longtime Democratic operative.

Callery said Bunning has helped Covington secure funding for improvements on Pike Street and for the replacement of the Interstate 275 bridge over the Ohio River.

"Jim Bunning has always been there for us," Callery said.

Guilfoyle said his father grew up with Bunning in Southgate.

"We don't always agree on issues, but I always know where he stands, and I respect that," Guilfoyle said.

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com