Primary election
On January 29, 2008, Lunsford announced that he would run in the Democratic primary in hopes of facing Mitch McConnell in the general election for the Senate in November 2008.
He said he had been asked to run by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and that he did not expect to spend the millions he had spent on his campaign in previous elections.

On May 20, 2008, Lunsford won the Democratic nomination for US Senate.
 He received 316,763 votes (51%), followed by Greg Fischer's 209,662 votes (34%).

General election
The general election campaign saw Lunsford start the race as a heavy underdog to Mitch McConnell, only to turn it into the race of McConnell's career as the economic crisis deepened and played to the businessman's expertise and populist policy stance.

It was this surge that led Democratic President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Clinton, and former Senators Max Cleland and Bob Kerrey to campaign for Lunsford, attempting to counter the 2-to-1 spending advantage and $20+ million war chest of incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell.

On Election Day, Lunsford was defeated but outperformed Barack Obama at the top of the ticket by 10%.
Primary election
On January 29, 2008, Lunsford announced that he would run in the Democratic primary in hopes of facing Mitch McConnell in the general election for the Senate in November 2008. He said he had been asked to run by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and that he did not expect to spend the millions he had spent on his campaign in previous elections.
On May 20, 2008, Lunsford won the Democratic nomination for US Senate.  He received 316,763 votes (51%), followed by Greg Fischer's 209,662 votes (34%).
General election
The general election campaign saw Lunsford start the race as a heavy underdog to Mitch McConnell, only to turn it into the race of McConnell's career as the economic crisis deepened and played to the businessman's expertise and populist policy stance.
It was this surge that led Democratic President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Clinton, and former Senators Max Cleland and Bob Kerrey to campaign for Lunsford, attempting to counter the 2-to-1 spending advantage and $20+ million war chest of incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell.
On Election Day, Lunsford was defeated but outperformed Barack Obama at the top of the ticket by 10%.
Bruce Lunsford