Their dollars drive policy: Two major KY political fundraisers, a Louisville Dem & an Eastern KY Republican

Money in politics is a fact of American life.

But how does it work in Kentucky?

While outside groups funded by large national donors and entities have recently made big waves in Kentucky politics — they played an outsize role in the most recent gubernatorial election — the majority of political cash raised for races in the state comes from in-state donors pledging their own dollars.

These people, their values and their choices can make a serious change in the political arena. Without stepping foot in Frankfort, they are on the list of power brokers that cannot be ignored.

In many campaigns, donors and fundraisers help shape not just who wins but what issues the candidates consider once in office. The money they helped raise or donated themselves could prove the difference between their favored party winning, or their preferred Democrat or Republican coming out of the primary.

The Herald-Leader spoke with two prominent Kentucky donors and fundraisers, both of whom have carved out major roles in their respective parties, to get a sense of what drives these players to support candidates and causes.

Christy Brown, Louisville philanthropist

Christina “Christy” Brown is one of the most prominent philanthropists in Kentucky.

Brown, 77, is part of a family who runs the Brown-Forman Corporation, one of the country’s largest spirits and wine companies, with such internationally recognized brands as Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniels and Chambord.

In 2020, Forbes ranked the Brown family as the 13th wealthiest in the nation. Her late husband, Owsley Brown, was a top executive at the company for decades before his passing in 2011. The family is still deeply involved in the 154-year-old company’s governance.

She’s also a major fundraiser, primarily for Democratic candidates, in the state.

“I used to think, ‘Well, I voted for this person, and I thought long and hard about that, so now I’m finished and they need to go do the work,” Brown said.

“Well, they can’t do it alone; they just can’t. We have to all work together and be committed to a healthy society.”

Brown – who founded a prominent interfaith organization, is funding research on the health benefits of urban greenery and helped found two health-centered organizations now part of the University of Louisville – said she approaches giving to and fundraising for political causes in much the same way she would a nonprofit organization.

She said she evaluates candidates through the lens of the “circle of harmony & health,” a product of her nonprofit A New Vision of Health, that puts equal emphasis on all aspects of societal health.

“We need to be empowering more and more people to care about working for the health of our communities, in all its forms,” Brown said. “People call that democracy,”

Brown told the Herald-Leader she and her husband were Republicans for a long time, but they switched registration around the time of the war in Iraq.

In the past few years, Brown has given over $900,000 to Democrats and Democrat-aligned organizations, according to figures from the Federal Elections Commission and the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

Major donations have been made to political action committees supporting Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg; President Joe Biden; and former attorney general candidate Rep. Pam Stevenson, D-Louisville. She also contributed heavily to Gov. Andy Beshear’s re-election.

“(Beshear) is not an angry leader. He’s not an irrational leader – he’s a healthy leader,” Brown said.

A fundraiser that Brown hosted for Beshear in his successful 2023 cleared $1 million, breaking a record for money raised in a single event.

Brown also, through a recommendation from her son, played a key role in helping to bring Emerge, an organization that trains Democratic women to run for office, to come to Kentucky. Since its founding, the share of Democratic officeholders who are women has skyrocketed.

Bob Hutchison, Johnson County-based philanthropist

Bob Hutchison is one of Eastern Kentucky’s most prominent businessmen, philanthropists and political donors.

A former owner of 13 McDonald’s stores in the region, the 69-year-old Johnson County business executive runs “Hutch” auto dealerships in the region as well as a convenience store. Still chair of the Appalachia-centric Fifth Congressional District, he’s become a power broker for Republican candidates looking to gain support in the mountains.

He sees this work as equally important to holding office because, like Brown, Hutchison has a set of criteria for supporting candidates that he believes serve a positive end goal: The restoration of Eastern Kentucky.

Hutchison said he’s always exclusively given to Republicans — Johnson County, unlike a majority of Eastern Kentucky counties, is historically more red — probing candidates commitment to community involvement and genuine conviction in advancing the interests of the region.

“Even though I’m not running for a statewide or any type of office, I’m hosting these fundraisers and things of that nature to bring as much a benefit to the people,” Hutchison said. “It’s to make sure that we can try to get people who are truly concerned about Appalachia (in office).”

Hutchison says he has no desire to run for elected office outside of the Johnson County School Board, where he’s served since 1994. He also serves the region in a nonprofit capacity as chair of the Christian Appalachian Project, a faith-based initiative targeting poverty in Eastern Kentucky.

Once Daniel Cameron became the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2023, Hutchison was one of the top donors to a political action committee supporting Cameron. He gave it $200,000.

Though he’s been a prolific donor himself, Hutchison is well-known for hosting fundraisers in the region, given his sizable network with business leaders there. He held fundraisers in Paintsville for many statewide office-seekers this past year, with one for Cameron generating almost a quarter of a million dollars.

“It’s been a pleasure being able to do what I do: Keeping the future of East Kentucky in the commonwealth top of mind,” Hutchison said.