Free Republic

While Democrats may be hoping to improve their numbers in Congress in the next election, political analyst Nathan Gonzales says that the Kentucky governor's race may be a bellwether election for 2016. Since losing the Senate in 2014, as well as even more seats in the House, the Democrats have been looking to 2016 with hope in light of the fact that they typically have better voter turnout during presidential election cycles, Gonzales explained in a blogpost for Roll Call. However, he contends that there is at least one race that is expected this fall that "could dampen some of...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- As Matt Bevin and Jack Conway prepare for the unofficial kickoff of the Kentucky gubernatorial campaign at Fancy Farm, the race appears to be a barnburner. Conway, Kentucky's Democratic Attorney General, holds a slim lead over Bevin, the Republican nominee and businessman, 45 percent to 42 percent, in the WHAS11/Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll released Thursday. The three percentage point margin is within pollster Survey USA's 3.8 percent margin of error. The poll surveyed likely voters between July 22 and July 28. The Bluegrass Poll also queried voters on a potential three-candidate governor's race. Fark.com founder Drew Curtis...

Describing Jack Conway as their "Perfect Candidate", the pro-abortion group JAC will be hosting an event on Monday, September 27 in Prospect. Not likely to be there are any of the 1.3 million babies aborted this year, or or any of the 50,000,000 babies who lost their lives since 1973, when Jack had survived 4 years. But Jack cozying up to pro-abortionists is not surprising really...

In their third joint appearance of the general election gubernatorial candidates Matt Bevin and Jack Conway traded barbs as policy took center stage. The forum between Bevin and Conway keynoted the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s annual business summit in Louisville on Tuesday. The forum was moderated by former Pure Politics managing editor Ryan Alessi. The next governor will assume office in December and will quickly have to produce a budget to guide the state over the next two years. A seemingly straightforward question to Bevin about what his top budgeted priority would be drew a quick rebuke. “If I told...

As Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jack Conway seeks separation between himself and an unpopular president in one of two new television ads released on Tuesday, the Republican Governors Association is attempting the opposite in a competing spot unveiled the same day. Conway’s campaign released two 30-second ads that are set to air statewide in a six-figure buy. In one, titled “Fiscal,” Conway pledges to “hold the line on taxes” and touts his office’s record of winning high-dollar judgements during his two terms while the other, called “Coal,” highlights his decision to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for proposed regulations on...

...Conway, who filed jointly with his wife Elizabeth, paid $837,700 in capital gains taxes in the sale — $644,385 to the Feds and $193,315 to the state — according to campaign spokesman Daniel Kemp. That’s 76.8 percent of his family’s $1.3 million in state and federal income taxes paid, according to the tax summary. He also reported $18,875 in charitable contributions last year. Conway, who earns $118,217 annually as attorney general, and his wife earned $233,421 in gross income in 2013 and $213,055 in 2012, and the couple paid $47,916 and $40,615 in federal and state income taxes in those...

The first “debate” between Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway and Republican gubernatorial nominee Matt Bevin Friday wasn’t an exchange of ideas, but rather a pair of broad speeches limited to 15 minutes with only Bevin, by virtue of speaking last, given an opportunity at rebuttal. The two shared the stage for the first time as their parties’ nominees at the Kentucky County Judge-Executive Association/Kentucky Magistrates and Commissioners Association Joint Summer Conference at the Galt House in Louisville. Their pre-lunch remarks drew about 300. Both Conway and Bevin did their best to present their visions for the state in the allotted...

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, had to bridge the partisan divide to win two terms in the central Kentucky 6th Congressional District, and he says that knowledge of the political terrain will be put to use for GOP governor nominee Matt Bevin. The 6th Congressional District has 1.6 times more registered Democrats than Republicans, but Barr was able to defeat incumbent U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler in 2012 and hold the seat facing a Democratic challenge in 2014. The incumbent congressman used some well-placed ads and had the benefit of President Barack Obama on the ballot, but he also credits voter...

FRANKFORT — Standing in the namesake building of his foe in last year’s U.S. Senate primary, Republican gubernatorial nominee Matt Bevin said Friday any perceived grudges in the GOP are overstated. Bevin headlined a press conference at Republican Party of Kentucky headquarters featuring other GOP candidates for constitutional office, hoping to demonstrate party unity ahead of a state Lincoln Day dinner in Lexington on Saturday. Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, who conceded the race Friday after a recanvass showed no change in Bevin’s 83-vote margin of victory, promised in a statement to “do everything I can to see that he wins...

It appears that 17.3 percent of Kentucky's registered Republicans have by 83 votes nominated Matt Bevin to be the party's candidate for governor. We will not know this for certain, however, until the recanvass requested by apparent runner-up James Comer is completed, and perhaps after that if there is an actual recount. Democrats nominated Jack Conway. His opponent, a complete unknown who did not mount a serious campaign, nonetheless got more than one out of every five votes cast. Conway supposedly wanted Bevin to win. He got his wish and will soon regret it if Bevin's well-run primary campaign and...

In some of their final pitches to voters, candidates seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination are taking softer approaches on the television airwaves as Tuesday’s primary nears. Agriculture Commissioner James Comer has tapped his wife, T.J. Comer, to stand in on his behalf in the latest ad after a tumultuous week of negative stories alleging he physically and mentally abused a college girlfriend. The campaigning got so bad, that the Washington Post declared Kentucky’s primary the “nastiest race” of 2015. In the ad T.J. says she knows, “James Comer as a loving father and proud father of three children.” “You probably...

[Kentucky] - Just seven days from the May 19 primary, state Republicans are split in their support among gubernatorial contenders. Merely 3 percentage points separates the top candidate from third place in the race, according to the latest Bluegrass Poll conducted by SurveyUSA for the Lexington Herald-Leader, Louisville Courier Journal, WKYT-TV and WHAS-TV. Louisville investment manager Matt Bevin leads the field with 27 percent, Agriculture Commissioner James Comer has 26 percent and former Louisville Metro Councilman Hal Heiner has 25 percent in the poll. Former state Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott is polling at 8 percent. The poll, conducted...

LEXINGTON — A bitter Band-Aid was ripped off at the onset, but Kentucky’s gubernatorial candidates touched on a bevy of subjects during their final debate on KET’s “Kentucky Tonight” on Monday. Bill Goodman, who moderated the debate, started the statewide broadcast by asking Agriculture Commissioner James Comer about allegations of abuse levied by a college girlfriend last week and former Louisville Metro Councilman Hal Heiner whether his campaign had any involvement in Marilyn Thomas’ decision to air the accusations that date back to 1991. Comer said he has been truthful in his denials of Thomas’ allegations of physical and mental...

The poll of 501 Republican primary voters finds James Comer leading the pack with 28 percent, Hal Heiner with 27 percent, and Matt Bevin at 25 percent. The survey has a margin or error of +/- of 4.4 percent, placing the top three candidates neck and neck.

The ex-girlfriend of Kentucky Republican gubernatorial candidate James Comer wants him to take a lie detector test over her claims that he was physically abusive and took her to an abortion clinic. On Monday, the Louisville Courier-Journal published allegations from Marilyn Thomas, Comer's ex-girlfriend from their time together at Western Kentucky University more than 20 year ago, based in part on a four-page letter she sent the paper in which she described how their relationship had been "toxic, abusive and caused me a lot of suffering." According to the paper, Thomas claimed Comer was physically and emotionally abused. The paper...

An already tense GOP gubernatorial primary grew testier Wednesday as the four candidates vying for their party’s nomination debated issues – both personal and statewide – on Kentucky Sports Radio. Allegations of abuse levied by a college girlfriend against Agriculture Commissioner James Comer overshadowed the latter half of the hourlong forum. In a one-on-one segment with KSR host Matt Jones, Comer again denied accusations of mental and physical abuse and that he drove his ex to an abortion clinic in 1991 while a student at Western Kentucky University. He blamed fellow Republican gubernatorial hopeful Hal Heiner’s campaign for pushing the...

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Republican candidate for governor James Comer has flatly denied he abused his college girlfriend and said his campaign was moving forward. Comer, one of four candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor, scheduled a news conference Tuesday at the Hilton Lexington/Downtown to address the allegations. The news conference comes one day after Marilyn Thomas outlined several accusations in a letter to the Louisville Courier-Journal and threatened to bring down his campaign two weeks before Election Day. In a letter to the Courier-Journal, Thomas said Comer hit her and drove her to a medical clinic to receive...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Hal Heiner has issued an apology after reports surfaced that the husband of his running mate had communicated with a blogger who promotes material against James Comer, one of Heiner’s GOP opponents in the May 19 primary. The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Sam Youngman reported the story on Wednesday. The newspaper obtained emails that showed Scott Crosbie, husband of Heiner’s lieutenant governor pick KC Crosbie, speaking in the fall with Lexington attorney Michael Adams, who operates a website dedicated solely to Comer. KC Crosbie was copied on some emails, according to the Herald-Leader. Comer, Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner, denied the...

[Ky.]Republican gubernatorial primary candidate James Comer announced the endorsement of a prominent tea party figure in U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Vanceburg who represents the geographically diverse 4th Congressional district Wednesday. Massie has not endorsed in other GOP primary contests, including U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s 2014 bid for re-election against primary contender Matt Bevin. “James Comer is my choice for Kentucky’s next Governor because he exhibits the leadership qualities that our Commonwealth needs,” Massie said in a statement. “I’ve seen him in the halls of Congress advocating effectively on behalf of Kentucky’s farmers and entrepreneurs. I’ve watched him restore trust...

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s decision to expand Medicaid eligibility has put the state on an unsustainable path when the federal government ratchets down its share of the bill beginning in 2017, Republican gubernatorial candidates James Comer and Hal Heiner say. Beshear’s executive order, made possible through the Affordable Care Act, has added more than 425,000 recipients to Kentucky’s Medicaid rolls, and Washington, D.C., has paid 100 percent of the costs for the newly eligible. Beshear based his decision in part on the projected $15.6 billion economic impact once the program is fully implemented in fiscal year 2021. .... “When Gov....