Washington, DC – Public Campaign Action Fund, a national nonprofit campaign reform group, has contacted candidates running for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky to ask them to sign the Voters First Pledge in support of public financing of elections for all federal races.

“With the Senate’s most ardent opponent of Fair Elections campaign reform and supporter of the big money status quo running for re-election, this pledge ought to be an easy decision for every other candidate running in the primary,” said National Campaigns Director David Donnelly. “We won’t hold our breath waiting for a reply from Sen. McConnell, but we do believe the rest of the field should sign.”

The Voters First Pledge asks candidates to “make elections fair by supporting legislation to create a system of public financing for qualified candidates who agree to strict spending limits and to take only small donations from individuals.” That language reflects the bipartisan Fair Elections Now Act in the U.S. Senate, a bill introduced by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Arlen Specter (R-PA). The Fair Elections Now Act is modeled on the successful laws in seven states and two cities.

“Too often, money maters more than voters in American politics, and too many voters feel that Washington, DC doesn’t listen to them,” added Donnelly. “Who can blame them? By signing the Voters First Pledge, candidates in the Kentucky Senate race can tell voters that their interests come before the interests of big money donors and well heeled lobbyists in Washington, DC.”

Public Campaign Action Fund has already established a presence in Kentucky with television advertising critical of Sen. McConnell’s pay-to-play politics and opposition to comprehensive campaign reform. The ad, which recently won an award for political advertising, can be viewed at http://www.campaignmoney.org/bigmoneymitch/ad.

Public Campaign Action Fund will educate voters about whether candidates have signed the Voters First Pledge. The national group has approximately 150,000 online activists to help carry out its mission of passing full public financing of elections and holding politicians accountable for the campaign money they receive.