Lunsford was the Democratic nominee for Kentucky's United States Senate seat in 2008, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Mitch McConnell.

When he enrolled at University of Kentucky in 1965, he worked as an intramural adviser on campus and joined the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

In 1997, the US Government drastically reduced Medicare reimbursement rates with the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which had a significant impact on the nursing home industry.

The New York Times business writer Kenneth Gilpin wrote that "The drop in payments was so dramatic that the financial structures of many of these companies were not flexible enough to adjust."

Lunsford has raced several graded stakes winners, including Madcap Escapade, First Samurai, Tessa Blue and Bel Air Beauty.

Through Hart-Lunsford Pictures, he has co-produced several acclaimed independent films, including Grace is Gone, Diminished Capacity, Dedication, Birds of America, and Me and Orson Welles.

In that post, Lunsford marketed the state as a business destination and helped land more than 55,000 new jobs and $4.6 billion in new manufacturing investment.

Lunsford also led the effort to reach out to Japan by establishing a Kentucky office there, still in existence today, which has been instrumental in attracting substantial Japanese investment to the state.

Late in the primary, Chandler ran television ads alleging abuse at facilities operated by Lunsford's company.

Lunsford dropped out of the race, blaming these ads, just days before the primary, endorsing Democratic candidate Jody Richards, who lost narrowly to Chandler.

[4] 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.

[3] 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.