Beshear, Cameron face finance questions; Cameron gets FOP endorsement | Trail to ’23

This is part of an occasional Herald-Leader series, Trail to ‘23, to catch readers up on all the latest from this year’s Kentucky elections, most notably the governor’s race. There are fewer than 100 days until the November 7 general election in which Kentuckians will decide the commonwealth’s next governor: incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear or Republican challenger Daniel Cameron.

An economic development agency is refunding a sizable donation to the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) after questions were raised about its propriety.

The DGA is the primary group funding a political action committee (PAC) currently airing pro-Beshear television ads in his race against GOP nominee Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Republicans are concerned about the reported involvement of a Beshear official in solicitation of the donation.

According to multiple news reports, an official in the Beshear administration informed one of the members of the Barren County Economic Authority (BCEA) that a sizable donation – $12,500 –to the DGA was required to attend a gala and a Kentucky Derby event co-hosted by the governor.

The board member, Larry Glass, did not go to the events but paid for the tickets through BCEA so that the authority’s executive director could go for networking purposes. Glass told the Herald-Leader that it was “100% a mistake” on his part for funneling the funds through BCEA instead of just paying DGA himself and that he was “in no way pressured or coerced into making this contribution.”

He also stated that he could not remember which Beshear official told him about the events.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s team is calling what occurred a “shakedown” on the Beshear camp’s part.

“Under Andy Beshear, it’s becoming clear his office pressures people and sells off government to the highest bidder,” Cameron campaign spokesperson Sean Southard said in a statement.

The donation is now being refunded, according to DGA spokesperson Sam Newton. Newton also emphasized that the Kentucky Derby event has been hosted by the DGA “for many years now.”

Robin Kolodny, a campaign finance expert and political science professor at Temple University, said the issue here is primarily that the funds were funneled through the BCEA.

“The parties were political events. If someone wants to go to the galas, they have to buy a ticket. No problems here with the DGA at all. The issue is why the BCEA wanted their executive director at these parties in the first place (and why they) decided to pay for it out of their operating funds,” Kolodny said. “This was stupid, and the person at fault admitted this.”

RGA fundraiser with executive at company Cameron’s office is suing

Cameron, for his part, is being criticized for a fundraiser hosted by the biggest group funding ads supporting Cameron, the Republican Governors Association (RGA).

Jon Rousseau, president and CEO of BrightSpring Health Services, and his wife are two of four hosts at a fundraiser for RGA with Cameron in attendance, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by the Herald-Leader. BrightSpring is one of the largest group home operators in America, often serving high-need individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The Louisville-based company was recently bought for $1.3 billion by behemoth investment firm KKR, which is one of many hedge funds that Cameron’s office is suing on behalf of the state.

The suit, initially brought forward by individual state employees whose pensions are administered by the Kentucky Public Pension Administration, alleged that the hedge fund firms cheated KPPA. There are three different variations of the lawsuit, all part of litigation that was revived by Cameron’s office in 2020.

The fundraiser benefits the RGA, not Cameron. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is also headlining the event, although he is barred from running for his position again due to term limits.

Cameron told the Herald-Leader at a press conference that he recused himself from that case. When asked about the recusal, his office stated that Cameron, upon taking office, recused himself from “any matter for which his former law firm provided representation to a client during his tenure at the firm.”

The revelation drew criticism from Beshear’s side when contacted, referencing an instance earlier in the cycle where Cameron was found to have asked for donations from a company his office was investigating.

“Once again, Daniel Cameron seems to think that the subjects of investigations or lawsuits by his office make for lucrative sources of campaign cash,” Alex Floyd, a Beshear campaign spokesperson, said.

A donation of $75,000 by Rescare Inc, BrightSpring’s previous name, with the same address as BrightSpring, was logged this April to the RGA, according to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records.

Cameron gets FOP endorsement

The state’s largest law enforcement labor organization has officially endorsed Cameron for governor.

In 2019, the group split its partisan support – it backed Beshear over former GOP governor Matt Bevin but it also endorsed Cameron for attorney general.

“Our membership spoke passionately about both candidates, but it was clear that Attorney General Cameron was the overwhelming choice,” Kentucky State FOP Vice-President and Governmental Affairs Chair Ryan Straw said.

The group has 67 lodges across the state and counts more than 10,700 current and retired officers in its membership.

Law enforcement has become a hot topic in the race, with Cameron leaning heavily on endorsements from many in the profession during his primary run – the attorney general has made a point to repeat that he “backs the blue” in the face of criticism over his handling of the prosecution of officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor. Beshear has made plays at law enforcement support, too, recently airing a television ad on the subject and making a splashy announcement featuring his own slate of endorsements earlier this summer.

National media on McConnell at Fancy Farm

National and international media figures made much ado about the crowd reception to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, where Democrats in the crowd jeered for him to “retire” as he was speaking.

The Daily Mail wrote one stating “Mitch McConnell, 81, is HUMILIATED as he is drowned out… by his own constituents.” A Yahoo News article stated that McConnell was “ruthlessly drowned out.” Entrepreneur Elon Musk joined in, tweeting a salute emoji below a post urging McConnell to “step down” in response to the cheers.

The heightened sensitivity to his public appearance came in the wake of McConnell’s much-publicized freeze up during a press conference, which led to speculation about his health.

It’s true that McConnell, at 81 years of age, was the softest spoken person on the stage at Fancy Farm. But, as Kentucky politicos are aware, one of the hallmarks of Fancy Farm is that constituents on the other side of the political aisle shout down the candidates. Getting drowned out by the audience at one of the nation’s rowdiest political speaking events is not novel. None of the outlets posting stories in that style were in attendance at the event.

One national outlet digging into substantive McConnell news is Politico. The outlet recently published an expansive story on “McConnell in Winter” focusing on the leader’s attempts to stave off isolationism among Republicans in Washington. It also touched on a hot subject in Kentucky: how Beshear would react should McConnell need to vacate his seat.

No Trump, no Freedom Fest

Eric Deters, a fourth-place finisher in this year’s Republican gubernatorial primary, is no longer hosting Freedom Fest in Northern Kentucky. The event was a well-attended conservative rally the past two years, which at one point boasted a prominent slate of speakers from the far right wing of the GOP along with Cameron.

Past racist statements from Deters were recently revealed in a Herald-Leader report around the same time that Cameron pulled out of attending the event.

However, Cameron’s non-attendance was not the reason for cancellation. Deters said that former president Donald Trump, who is the frontrunner for the GOP nomination for president in 2024, canceled a planned appearance at the Sep. 9 event to stay in Iowa, which is the first state holding a primary election in the GOP’s nomination process next year.

“The reason why it’s changed is because the president wants to win Iowa,” Deters said. “He wins Iowa, it’s over. So why not focus on Iowa.”

Last year much of the event, featuring two of Trump’s sons, focused on the falsehood that Trump actually won the 2020 election.

GOP legislators ask Beshear for special session on JCPS

A frequent source of disappointment for the GOP-led General Assembly, Jefferson County Public Schools, is once again under the legislative microscope.

The Republican delegation representing portions of mostly suburban Jefferson County asked Beshear to call a special session to address issues with the school district in the wake of significant bus delays on the first day of school. Those delays caused the district to delay re-starting school by more than a week.

The Beshear administration told the Courier-Journal late last week that special sessions are expensive.

“A special session is an extraordinary step that costs significant tax dollars and should only be taken after full consensus is reached and legislation has been drafted and then agreed upon,” a Beshear spokeswoman told the outlet.

Debates, candidate meetings set

One of the novel things about this year’s speeches at the St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic was seeing Beshear and Cameron share a stage for the first time in the general election cycle.

We’ll have plenty more opportunities to see that before election day on Nov. 7, it turns out. Both campaigns released their planned slate of debate and forum appearances, and there’s a lot of overlap. Here are the debates and forums both have committed to attend:

• Sep. 20: Kentucky Chamber gubernatorial forum

• Oct. 12: Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce political forum

• Oct. 23: KET’s Kentucky Tonight gubernatorial debate

• Oct. 24: WKYT debate

Cameron has committed to attend three events that Beshear hasn’t yet, including three events hosted by FOX56/WDRB, Boone Newsmedia in Bowling Green and Spectrum News in Louisville.

Likewise, Beshear has committed to an Oct. 16 debate in Northern Kentucky hosted by the League of Women Voters that Cameron has not said he’ll attend. Beshear’s campaign said they’re considering “multiple requests” to attend a televised debate in Louisville.