It was a small and happy crowd that talked amongst themselves as they waited, a larger crowd than his opponent had garnered at his first rally in Russell County.

The Republican Party faithful talked and laughed and waited until Secretary of State Trey Grayson arrived nearly 30 minutes late. Grayson then spent close to 30 minutes talking with each person in the room before addressing them all.

He asked the less-than 30 people in the room, “Who do you trust to fix Washington?”

The candidate for US Sen. Jim Bunning's seat told them he was committed to the state and would do the job voters needed him to for this part, and all of Kentucky.

The rally at 'The Cove' in Russell Springs lasted less than an hour last Thursday afternoon.

By the early evening this Tuesday it was clear that Grayson's visit was too-little too-late for Russell County, the candidate garnered over 30 percent of the county vote, with anti-establishment Republican candidate Rand Paul taking the race here and across the commonwealth.

Across Kentucky the result was 58 percent for Paul to 35 percent for Grayson and locally it was 56-37.

The race was followed nationally in the media as one of a few test-cases for how the “Tea Party,” and other candidates from outside the party mainstream would fare against the incumbent candidates.

In most cases the observers have declared this to not be a year for the incumbent to celebrate.