New pro-Bevin super PAC launches fundraising effort

Lexington Herald Leader ^ | September 2, 2015 | Sam Youngman

[Republican Wildcat]

A new outside group has kicked off a fundraising effort to help Republican gubernatorial nominee Matt Bevin win in November.

Fighting for Kentucky, a super PAC run by two Kentucky Republicans and one from Texas, said it has $100,000 in pledges and hopes to raise $1 million by Sept. 15.

In a fundraising email sent to Republican donors Wednesday afternoon, the group's founders said they are not bound by state laws that ban corporate donations to candidates and limit other contributors to $1,000.

"To win, this campaign will cost millions of dollars, so our super PAC is raising unlimited contributions to level the playing field against the Democratic machine," the group's founders said in the email message. "Our super PAC has no limit for individual contributions and can take corporate contributions."

Since the primary election, only the Republican Governors Association has run television ads on Bevin's behalf. Bevin's campaign hasn't gone on the air even though his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Jack Conway, and a pro-Conway super PAC have run ads for weeks.

In Wednesday's email, Matt Mackowiak, a Republican operative who works in Texas and Washington, D.C. and is the group's treasurer, wrote that the $1 million budget will enable the super PAC to "effectively use TV, radio and mail advertising in the final six weeks and help Matt Bevin win."

When told of the new group's efforts, Daniel Kemp, a Conway spokesman, said Wednesday that "no amount of misinformation from Matt Bevin or his allies can distract from his lies about his failure to pay taxes and his positions on critical issues like early childhood education — and his refusal to release his taxes, a long and bipartisan tradition in Kentucky."

[Republican Wildcat]

When told of the new group's efforts, Daniel Kemp, a Conway spokesman, said Wednesday that "no amount of misinformation from Matt Bevin or his allies can distract from his lies about his failure to pay taxes and his positions on critical issues like early childhood education

Actually those things have been confirmed to be lies on the part of Conway. Matt Bevin never stated that "early childhood education serves no purpose", but Conway and the Democrats have repeatedly stated that he did. Lying. Conway's attacks on the taxes have also been shown to be false, but they keep repeating them. Lying.

FWIW, the super pac's website is www.fightforkentucky.com

[Theodore R.]

Hard to see how Bevin wins considering the gubernatorial history of KY

[Republican Wildcat]

it includes a history of nominating only nominal candidates that are not competitive at all. This time is different. The RGA is spending a lot of money here so apparently their polling indicates it is winnable. They haven’t done that since 2003. AFP is now pouring in more than a half million in ads themselves.