Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning said Tuesday he doesn’t expect to match Secretary of State Trey Grayson’s second quarter fundraising total of $602,699, but he expects to have more cash on hand than Grayson.

He also said he doesn’t expect the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) to “contribute one penny” to his general election campaign and does not expect Grayson to challenge him in a primary. In fact, Bunning offered congratulations to Grayson on his Monday announcement of how much money he’d raised.

Bunning wanted to use his weekly teleconference with Kentucky reporters to criticize energy legislation — popularly known as Cap and Trade — and health care reform, but reporters persisted in asking him about his campaign plans and fundraising.

Bunning, 77, wants a third term but is considered perhaps the most vulnerable Republican Senator on the 2010 ballot. Two high profile Democrats — Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, who narrowly lost to Bunning in 2004, and Attorney General Jack Conway — have announced they will run and Grayson formed an exploratory committee to raise money. A lesser-known Democrat, former U.S. Customs special agent Darlene Fitzgerald Price of Whitley City, is running as well. On the Republican side, Elkton businessman Bill Johnson and Bowling Green eye surgeon Rand Paul are running and former ambassador to Latvia, Cathy Bailey of Louisville, is considering the race.

Bunning said at the end of the first quarter — when he raised $263,000 and had about $375,000 cash on hand — that he might re-evaluate the race at the end of the second quarter. But he gave his blessing to Grayson to form the exploratory committee and Republicans have been anxiously watching to see if Grayson could outperform Bunning in the second quarter, thinking Bunning might withdraw if he did. July 15 is the reporting deadline for the second quarter.

Bunning said Tuesday he is in the race. And he said cash on hand is a better measurement of strength than how much one raises in a single quarter.

“I think the important thing is how much cash you have on hand and are you going to be able to run a successful race in the primary, which I don’t have any problems with, and in the general election,” Bunning said.

He said he doesn’t care what Mongiardo and Conway raise because “they’re going to have to spend it all in their primary.”

Bunning said he expects the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) to contribute up to $10 million to whichever Democrat wins his party’s primary.

“I don’t expect the Republican Senatorial Committee to contribute one penny, so I have to be able to compete with that,” Bunning said. He said he’s looking at whether he can raise $7.5 million to be competitive. But if he stays in the race, he doesn’t expect Grayson to challenge him.

“If I’m capable of staying in the race, Trey Grayson will not run,” Bunning said.

Grayson began the year saying he would not challenge Bunning and repeated that statement when he formed his exploratory committee. But lately he’s hedged by saying he has no plans at this time to challenge Bunning. His campaign treasurer, Kevin Broghamer, declined to comment on Bunning’s statements Tuesday.

On policy matters, Bunning continued to criticize President Barack Obama for “socializing” the banking industry, some insurance firms, and the auto industry. He said the cap-and-trade energy bill, which would set carbon emission standards but allow those who emit amounts below the standard to sell credits to those who are over them, will socialize energy and represent a hidden tax on small businesses, calling the bill “reckless and irresponsible.”

But Bunning doesn’t think the bill will pass the Senate in its present form because it’s opposed by some Democrats as well as most Republicans.

RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com.