Friday, May 30, 2014

Today's Political Headlines

Elsmere residents rally to bring bus service back to area after hardships and safety concerns

05/29/2014 08:33 PM
ELSMERE – After 13 years of no public bus service in the heart of their city, Elsmere residents are hopeful that buses will once again make stops near them. Currently, the only bus stops in the city are on on Dixie Highway, which is up to two miles away for many of the cities residents. Elsmere resident Serena Owen has collected more than 500 signatures on a petition that she presented to Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) officials requesting that they... Read more 

Better business climate at center of tax reform discussion, Thayer says

05/29/2014 01:34 PM
When looking at reforming Kentucky’s tax code, Republicans will go along with it only if they believe the changes will foster job creation, such as with lower rates, said state Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown. Thayer pointed to some smaller pieces of tax reform the legislature has passed recently but said fully revamping the state’s tax code needs to be done in the context of a governors race. “The candidates for governor, once they win their party’s nomination, talk about their vision for tax... Read more 

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul stumps for state House candidates in West Ky.; Says he still hasn't talked with Bevin

05/29/2014 01:55 AM
With U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell otherwise occupied with his re-election campaign, Republican candidates are turning to U.S. Sen. Rand Paul to help them in state House districts this fall. House Democrats have their slimmest majority in the chamber in decades — 54 to 46 seats. And it’s the only legislative chamber controlled by Democrats in the south. Western Kentucky, with its recent swing in voting habits, will feature a slew of competitive House races, and Paul made his first... Read more 

Campbell County middle schooler in exclusive company with perfect score on ACT

05/28/2014 06:05 PM
Northern Kentucky 8th grade student Mitchell Turner is the first of his age in Campbell County to get a perfect score of 36 at such a young age and one of only a handful nationwide to accomplish that in recent years. Turner, a Campbell County Middle School student, scored the perfect mark when he took the test to plan for scheduling his high school classes. Since 2010, only seven other 8th grade students in the nation have received the top score... Read more 

Thayer says horse industry should push for guaranteed revenue from casinos even with issue 'losing steam'

05/28/2014 01:27 PM
Horse race tracks should hold firm and insist on a constitutional amendment to allow casinos that designates some of the proceeds to go to the horse industry, Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said. Thayer, one of the leading Republicans who has pushed for casinos, said he primarily in favor of casinos as a way to help the industry inflate purses for races and breeding funds as incentives for horse farms to stay in Kentucky. “I believe there should be a protection... Read more 
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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Today's Political Headlines


The first 10: The initial batch of races to watch with control of Ky. House at stake

05/26/2014 10:14 PM
Outside of the U.S. Senate race, the most strategic planning and handwringing at the parties’ headquarters will be spent over the mosaic of the state House races this fall. More than half of the 100 state House Districts feature contested races with control of the lower chamber at stake in November. As Republicans like to point out, the Kentucky House is the only state legislative chamber in the south that Democrats still control. They want to change that but will... Read more 

Running mates and announcement dates: What's next politically for Adam Edelen?

05/25/2014 07:49 PM
Auditor Adam Edelen said he will announce whether he’s entering the 2015 Democratic primary for governor most likely in June and said he has not offered the position of lieutenant governor candidate on his slate to anyone yet. “I have had a couple of conversations with people who I think have a skill set that would be helpful to a governor who wants to drive organizational excellence, who have a skill set in problem solving learned in the private sector,”... Read more 

Paul moves to help McConnell shore up GOP base as Grimes courts disaffected Republicans

05/23/2014 04:35 PM
In a reversal of roles from 2010, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is looking to Sen. Rand Paul to help him reunite the GOP after Tuesday’s primary as Democratic nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes offers herself as an option to Republicans who didn’t vote for McConnell. Both McConnell and Paul are using the president as a common narrative to bring the factions of the party back together. “People say, ‘oh you’re so much different,’ We voted together 87 percent of the time we... Read more 

McConnell on VA Secretary Shinseki: 'Time for him to go'

05/23/2014 03:35 PM
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said for the first time Friday that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should clean house in its leadership, which includes Secretary Eric Shinseki. McConnell, responding to a question from Pure Politics at a news conference, said the agency needs more than just Shinseki to step down in the wake of a scandal over falsifying of data to hide long waits for many veterans to get health care. “Obviously Secretary Shinseki has not done a good... Read more 

Heiner tries to paint Comer as Frankfort establishment; Makes pitch to improve business climate

05/23/2014 10:57 AM
Republican gubernatorial candidate Hal Heiner is staying on message and touting his business roots and his time outside of Frankfort when asked about potential challengers for the GOP nomination. Heiner, a Louisville developer, is currently the lone Republican to form a slate and file to run in the 2015 race for governor, but Agriculture Commissioner James Comer has been hinting for more than a year that he might run. In a recent interview on WKYT’s Newsmakers with Bill Bryant, Comer... Read more 

Jefferson Co. schools audit also reveals disconnect on technology in classroom

05/23/2014 10:49 AM
In addition to finding “bureaucratic bloat” in Kentucky’s largest school district, state Auditor Adam Edelen discovered a disconnect between teachers and principals over their perceptions of the availability of tablet computers and other technology. Part of the 260-page audit report that came out this week included survey results of Jefferson County teachers and principals that showed that 41.7 percent of teachers said tablets and E-readers were “widely available” in the classroom, while 75 percent of principals thought that. “What... Read more 

DEA lets hemp seeds through to Ky. Ag. Dept.; Officials coordinating shipment via UPS

05/22/2014 05:39 PM
Two-hundred fifty pounds of industrial hemp seeds will soon be released to the Kentucky Agriculture Department, said Holly Harris VonLuehrte, the agency’s spokesperson. After a brief court battle the Drug Enforcement Agency has signed off on an import-export permit for the hemp seeds, which came from Italy. The seeds will be used for five pilot projects to test the growth and industrial potential of the crop in Kentucky. VonLuehrte said she the DEA signed off on the permit Thursday afternoon and... Read more 
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Thursday, May 22, 2014

Today's Political Headlines

Trey Grayson returns home to lead Northern Kentucky Chamber

05/22/2014 10:07 AM
FORT MITCHELL – Former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson is coming home to Northern Kentucky to become president of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. The 42-year-old Grayson recently resigned as director of the Harvard University Institute of Politics, a job he had held since 2011. He is scheduled to begin his new position on July 1. “This is the perfect job for me to come home to,” said Grayson. “The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has been the most important... Read more 
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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Today's Political Headlines

U.S. Senate candidates cast ballots with families without issue, well...almost

05/20/2014 01:29 PM
Like many Kentuckians, the U.S. Senate candidates went to the polls with their families Tuesday morning and cast their vote in their respective primary races and only one of them needed a re-do. Kentucky U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell entered his Louisville polling location with his wife, former U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, where they both filled out their ballots before joking with the press that it was a “tough choice” on who to vote for in the race. McConnell’s Republican challenger, Louisville... Read more 

Super PAC action in U.S. Senate race to ramp up immediately after primary

05/20/2014 12:05 PM
UPDATED: Independent expenditure groups on both sides are gearing up for the General Election and buying up airtime for the days and weeks immediately after Tuesday’s U.S. Senate primary. The Kentucky Opportunity Coalition, which is an issues based group and can’t support a candidate, is buying $4.66 million in ad time from June 5 through August 25. Kentuckians for Strong Leadership — a super PAC that is supporting Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell — also is pumping $575,000 more... Read more 

In Case You Missed It: There was a U.S. Senate Republican primary

05/20/2014 11:00 AM
Matt Bevin entered the 2014 U.S. Senate primary last July as a long shot to wrest the GOP nomination from five-term Sen. Mitch McConnell. When voting began Tuesday morning, Bevin remained a long shot. Bevin struggled to get his footing against a McConnell campaign that was prepared to exploit every possible weakness, as Politico’s James Hohmann outlined in his piece “The McConnell challenge that wasn’t” on Tuesday. But both sides made mistakes throughout the primary. It was like nine months... Read more 

UPDATED: 37 calls to attorney general about bribery, voter fraud and possible violations

05/20/2014 10:43 AM
UPDATED 4 p.m.: Kentucky’s voter hotline recieved 80 calls by Tuesday afternoon, including 37 calls about vote buying, fraud or improper electioneering, according to Attorney General Jack Conway’s office. Of the calls, 18 of them reported potential instances of vote buying or selling, including seven complaints in Breathitt County. The attorney general’s office won’t comment on specifics in ongoing investigations. Another nine calls dealt with potential election fraud and 10 more reported possible improper electioneering or disrupting voting precincts.... Read more 
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Today's Political Headlines

Even with Grimes expected to cruise to nomination, Democrats say she has something to prove

05/19/2014 07:08 PM
While most of the attention in the U.S. Senate race will be focused on the Republicans in Tuesday’s primary, Democrats say Alison Lundergan Grimes can make a statement with overwhelming support. Former Gov. Martha Layne Collins, speaking at a pre-primary campaign stop for Grimes, urged Democratic supporters to get out the vote for Grimes to show how united Democrats are in their bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell. McConnell is clearly looking past Tuesday’s primary to Grimes as... Read more 

In final hours, GOP figures like Rep. Carney and Hilda Legg picking sides in 16th Senate Distict

05/19/2014 03:30 PM
The phones are ringing off the hook in the homes of Republican voters in Adair County as GOP surrogates make one last pitch for their candidates in the 16th state Senate District. Republican Rep. Bam Carney of Campbellsville had been helping challenger Max Wise behinds the scenes but publicly endorsed Wise on Monday, including with a robocall in Adair and Taylor counties. “I’ve known him for years and can personally attest to his character and conservative principles,” Carney says in... Read more 

Even on last day before primary, McConnell sticks to influence message but doesn't take questions

05/19/2014 11:38 AM
LOUISVILLE — Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is ending his primary campaign with a familiar theme: outlining a message that hammers on his influence and then moving on to the next stop without taking questions from reporters. McConnell embarked on a seven-city fly-around on Monday, the day before the primary election. McConnell started his day in Louisville with his wife and former secretary of labor Elaine Chao. Both McConnell and Chao focused their messages on the importance of influence, and how... Read more 

Different focuses, not factions, separate 32nd House District candidates Moffett and May

05/18/2014 01:12 PM
The two Republican candidates in an open House seat in Louisville might have different factions of support but have spent most of their efforts trying to steer the conversations on porch stoops to issues and experience rather than labels. Phil Moffett, who fostered tea party support in his bid for the 2011 GOP nomination for governor, faces Shellie May, who spent more than three years as Jefferson County Republican Party chairman. Both May and Moffett have downplayed the tea party... Read more 

By the numbers: How and where Ky. GOP voters turn out in recent U.S. Senate primaries

05/17/2014 05:29 PM
Now that the time before the May 20 primary is being counted down in hours instead of days, the focus is now squarely on Tuesday’s turnout. And if Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes’ estimate of less than 30 percent turnout is correct, somewhere between 300,000 and 350,000 of the 1,196,183 Republicans will come out to vote. But two of the last three election cycles in which incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell has been on the ballot have been... Read more 
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Friday, May 16, 2014

Today's Political Headlines

Grimes planning June fundraiser with U.S. Sen. Harry Reid; McConnell hosting pre-victory fundraiser in D.C.

05/15/2014 05:50 PM
UPDATED: U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes will host a June fundraiser with one of the chief national Democrats whom Republicans have been trying to tie her to since she jumped into the race last year — U.S. Sen. Majority Floor Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada. Grimes campaign spokeswoman Charly Norton did not deny the planned fundraiser when asked by Pure Politics, but she did tout the campaign’s support within the Kentucky. “Republicans, Democrats and Independents from all of Kentucky’s 120... Read more 

Boone County judge-executive candidates finally trade jabs face to face

05/15/2014 03:30 PM
BURLINGTON – Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore and challenger Matt Dedden finally exchanged jabs in person for the first time on Thursday night at a debate sponsored by the Boone County Republican Party. Dedden, a current Boone County commissioner, had been a no-show at previous debates including one last month sponsored by the Northern Kentucky business PAC. Dedden explained to the more than 100 people in attendance his reasons for skipping previous meetings. He said he had problems both with the Kentucky... Read more 

Voter turnout might not crack 30 percent in Tuesday's primary, Grimes says

05/15/2014 02:07 PM
Fewer absentee ballots returned ahead of Tuesday’s primary indicates voter turnout could be less than 30 percent, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said Thursday. Past primaries in non-presidential years— especially with many local offices on the ballot— have seen voter turnout percentages in the low 30s. But Grimes said the number of absentee ballots county clerks have mailed out or that voters have picked up is lagging behind the totals from those previous elections. So far, clerks have received... Read more 

In competitive state Senate race, Gregory and Wise rush to out-conservative the other

05/15/2014 11:26 AM
Both candidates in the Republican primary race in southern Kentucky’s 16th state Senate District have played up their conservative credentials over issues from guns to medical lawsuit reform to casinos. First-term state Sen. Sara Beth Gregory of Monticello and challenger Max Wise, a former FBI analyst who teaches at Campbellsville University, have both run to the right in the race that will determine the next senator from that district, which includes McCreary, Wayne, Clinton, Cumberland, Russell, Adair and Taylor counties.... Read more 

Big-dollar donors who once gave to Obama now funding super PAC hitting Grimes for Obama ties

05/14/2014 04:29 PM
Some of the nation’s top investment bankers are using a similar strategy in politics as they take with the markets and are hedging their bets. That often includes giving to leaders from both parties — including efforts to help Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. Take for instance the super PAC Kentuckians for Strong Leadership that’s backing McConnell. It is airing an ad criticizing Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes for getting donations from donors who have backed President Barack Obama.... Read more 

McConnell tells colleagues that Kentucky is on precipice when it comes to heroin

05/14/2014 04:11 PM
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell suggested to his fellow senators Wednesday that states like Kentucky must rely more on federally-funded regional drug task forces and agencies to combat problems like the intensifying heroin problem in Kentucky. McConnell, addressing the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, spoke of the alarming increase of heroin deaths in Kentucky and made a pitch to work with state and federal stakeholders to save lives. McConnell said addicts have shifted away from prescription pain killers as state... Read more 

Debate over minimum wage hinges on fairness and self-sufficiency vs. potential job losses

05/14/2014 12:26 PM
Kentucky Democrats are preparing to focus on raising the minimum wage as a key argument in state House races — as well as the U.S. Senate race — this fall, especially as some prominent Republicans, such as 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney , embrace it. Proponents say the lowest wages need to go up considering someone working full time at a minimum-wage job would bring in $15,080 before taxes as a full year’s salary. That’s below the federal poverty level... Read more 
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