Sources: Bunning threatens to resign

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., says if he is hindered from raising money for his re-election campaign he will resign from office, sources say.

The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal reported Friday that Bunning, who is at odds with his party's leadership, would allow Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear to appoint his replacement if the GOP blocks his fundraising efforts, he said at a campaign event this week in Washington.

"I would get the last laugh. Don't forget Kentucky has a Democrat governor," one of the sources quoted Bunning as saying. "The only logical extension of that comment is, '(Make me mad) … enough and I'll resign, and then you've got 60 Democrats,'" said another source who was present at the event.

Bunning said in a statement that the sources' accounts are inaccurate.

"I intend to fulfill my obligation to the people of Kentucky. If you are going to write something like this, you better make your sources known, because they are lying," Bunning said.

Bunning has been in a political battle with Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, over the 2010 Kentucky Senate race.

Bunning wants to run for a third term, but McConnell and Cornyn have sent clear messages that they don't believe Bunning can win re-election.