Commonwealth Policy Center

Kentucky is Worth Fighting For

Kentucky Democrats rode a national blue wave to some significant victories in Tuesday's election, particularly in Louisville, Lexington, and Northern Kentucky. Seven Republican incumbents with districts touching Jefferson County lost their seats, including House Majority Whip Jason Nemes and State Senator Julie Raque Adams. Republicans also suffered losses in Lexington and Northern Kentucky. But Democrats shouldn't declare victory just yet. Republicans retain commanding supermajorities in Frankfort, holding a 74-26 advantage in the House and 30-8 margin in the Senate. While Democrats made significant inroads in some of Kentucky's largest population centers, they failed to break the Republican supermajority or capture any open legislative seats. Nearly half of the legislative seats went unopposed leaving some wondering if they would've done better if credible candidates were on the ballot.

Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball’s nominees for Kentucky’s Executive Branch Ethics Commission were rejected by Gov. Andy Beshear. He called her nominations a “political stunt.” Ball proposed former Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter, attorney Christine Trout Van Tatenhove, and former Kentucky Venues CEO David Beck. Beshear’s spokesperson called the nominations a “clear political stunt,” citing the nominees’ connections to Republican leaders and past disputes with the governor. Ball countered that all three were highly qualified and warned that rejecting them undermines public trust in the ethics process. It's no secret that Governor Beshear hasn't gotten along well with Republican office holders across the state but when it comes to following procedures for commission appointments, the governor is bound to follow the rules too.

Conservative commentator and Kentucky native Scott Jennings is being sued for $72.5 million by Hasan Piker, a progressive political streamer with millions of followers on the social media platform “Twitch.” Piker filed a defamation suit against Jennings after Jennings claim that Piker pushed for the lynching of Black people in one of his podcasts. Piker says Jennings misrepresented him by pointing to a highly edited video and claims he removed crucial context from his remarks. Piker’s lawsuit argues he was sarcastically mocking another commentator. There’s a tension in this case between free speech and slanderous speech. There’s a high bar for proving slander, but that’s for the courts to decide. Jennings has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.

Republicans pulled ahead last night in KY. Learn more on this week's Election Analysis: youtu.be/MCczvsfs9zk

Attorney General Russell Coleman has joined a $664 million settlement with Snap Finance—a predatory loan company that took advantage of Kentuckians. The settlement involved 17 state attorneys general and will bring a hefty sum back to the pockets of Kentuckians. Since the settlement, Snap has cancelled over $12 million in payments owed by Kentuckians. These borrowers are also allowed to maintain possession of their purchases without further payments. The state itself is also receiving $150,000, which will be stewarded by the Legislature. The case reminds us of the necessity of protecting the consumer from predatory businesses. Snap violated consumer protection laws by withholding information about how their loans functioned. But thanks to General Coleman, they are being held accountable.

Election Results Livestream teapawt.net/i/broadcasts/2NglqejeN…

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Election Day is finally here! If you haven’t voted yet, you have until 6:00 pm today to do so. It appears that voter enthusiasm is down this mid-term election. But there are many important races on the ballot, from city council and the General Assembly to Congress and the U.S. Senate. There's also an important constitutional amendment. A free people must care enough about who leads them in order to remain free—even if they’re not enthused about their choices. So make sure you get out today and cast your vote if you haven’t already done so. If you don’t know where to vote, you can call your county clerk’s office. To learn more about candidates and the election, go to commonwealthpolicycenter.org

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Early voting began Thursday, but tomorrow is election day. Elections are about who is most capable of leading well. They're also about which candidate will work to preserve freedom and opportunity in alignment with American principles. Good leaders demonstrate virtues like honesty and integrity. They also realize the limits of government—that its primary job is to preserve our inalienable rights and freedoms. Serving in public office is a high calling, and more than ever, we need people of integrity serving in all levels of government. So if you've not gotten out to vote, please make sure you do so. Every city, county, state House, and Congressional race is on the ballot. The polls open at 6 AM tomorrow.

A recent federal investigation found that nine major banks had policies that could restrict services based on political or religious beliefs. The report by the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) found that vague “reputational risk” standards allowed subjective judgments to influence their banking decisions. This included concerns about associations with Christian conservative groups. Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould said the report provided “irrefutable evidence” of discrimination. The report also found that the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center, which brands some Christian organizations as “hate groups” had widespread influence with some of the bank’s decisions. Of course, banks have every right to manage legitimate financial risks. But when their financial power becomes a tool of discrimination, it hurts everyone.

Early voting for the midterm elections begins today. Between now and Saturday Kentucky voters can go to the polls at their convenience to vote for local, state, and federal offices on the ballot. It’s likely that turnout will be less than 50%. This is based on the last mid-term election in 2022, where the turnout was 45%. Even though many of the races were decided in the spring primary, it's still important that every Kentuckian get out to vote. It's both a privilege and a responsibility. Good citizenship requires us to show up and vote for leaders who would best work for the common good in our communities. Congressional, state, and local offices are on the ballot. For more information on the elections go to commonwealthpolicycenter.org.

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams has removed 318,918 deceased voters from Kentucky’s voter rolls since he took office. He’s also removed those who’ve moved out of state or lost voting privileges for committing a felony. This brings the overall total of removals since January 2020 to 753,181 ineligible voters. Adams said [his office has] vigorously purged voters who have moved away, passed away, or been put away”. Adams first ran on the issue of election integrity with the slogan to “make it easy to vote and harder to cheat.” And the removal of a record number of non-eligible voters should give us confidence in the Commonwealth that our elections will be fair. Adams said “Kentucky is a national success story for clean elections.”

According to a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, less than half of all U.S. voters have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence in the accuracy of the vote. Only 45% of Americans have confidence that the vote will be accurate. In 2022 that number was 50%. Democrats have more confidence than Republicans that the vote will be fair. In either case, it's troubling that a majority of Americans believe that the vote will somehow be tainted. When confidence drops in free and fair elections, it clouds the legitimacy of those who serve in office. Election integrity is a staple to our democratic republic. And it’s in the interest of both political parties to make sure our elections are fair.

More than 80,000 Kentuckians have lost their SNAP benefits and Gov. Andy Beshear is calling it a “cruel and unnecessary change” to the federal program that provides food assistance to needy families. Governor Andy Beshear told state and federal officials in a letter that “We should be fighting hunger, not causing it.” But is this a case of heartless politicians taking food out of the mouths of the needy? The SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is intended for those who truly cannot provide for themselves. The new law requires able-bodied adults without dependents (ages 18–64) to engage in work or training activities for 20 hours per week. The revision ensures those who receive the benefits are eligible. In the end, this preserves the system for the most vulnerable.

Gov. Andy Beshear has issued an executive order seeking to overhaul the board overseeing KentuckyWired, the state’s troubled broadband network. The move comes amid an ongoing legal battle between the state and a private contractor over control of the network. KentuckyWired has faced years of delays, cost overruns, and criticism over its management. Originally launched under Beshear’s father, former Gov. Steve Beshear, the project has been plagued by problems and is now projected to cost taxpayers roughly $1.5 billion over 30 years. KentuckyWired started out with good intentions, including to provide high speed internet to mountain communities, but is now a casebook example of a public program that bypassed private investment and private incentive to succeed. Now Kentucky taxpayers are paying an even higher price.

Voters will decide November 3 whether to limit the governor’s power to issue pardons and commute sentences around gubernatorial elections. State Sen. Chris McDaniel is traveling the Commonwealth to build support for Amendment One, a proposal years in the making following former Gov. Matt Bevin’s controversial pardons in 2019. If approved, the amendment would prohibit governors from issuing pardons or commuting sentences within 60 days of the governor’s election and continuing until their successor takes office. Supporters say the change would increase accountability and prevent controversial pardons during political transitions. And with Gov. Andy Beshear’s term ending in less than 14 months, the debate over gubernatorial pardon powers is once again in the spotlight. Early voting begins on October 29.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman has joined other state attorneys general in suing Character.AI. He alleges the artificial intelligence chatbot company exposes children to dangerous and harmful content. The lawsuit raises concerns about chatbots, some of which encourage self-harm and suicide while failing to adequately protect minors. This lawsuit underlines the real dangers that AI poses to children and highlights growing concerns about technology designed to simulate human relationships. Of course, AI can offer useful tools, but innovation must not come at the expense of children’s safety and well-being, which is what AG Coleman argues. Parents need to know what their children are interacting with online, and technology companies must be held accountable when their products put young users at risk.

Ky Gov. Andy Beshear recently released his book: Go and Do Likewise: How we heal a broken country—much to the consternation of conservative Christians. Beshear broadly uses the parable to the Good Samaritan to support positions that the Bible teaches are immoral, gender ideology and abortion being two of the main ones. Beshear’s faith is reduced simply to “kindness” and “loving your neighbor.” Orthodox Christianity teaches there’s much more than this. True Christianity teaches that restoration is possible and the broken human condition can be fixed—not by government action or mere “kindness as a policy prescription”, but through repentance of sins, forgiveness through Christ, and reconciliation to God in order to walk rightly with Him here and now. This is orthodox historic doctrine missing from his book.