Democrats have a serious shot at unseating Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) this November when the unpopular conservative firebrand stands for a second term.
Defeating Bevin would stem the right-wing tide in a state with historically heterodox politics and also strike a blow against the GOP in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s backyard.
But first, Democrats have to pick a nominee. And the May 21 primary election, in which three candidates face off, is shaping up to be Kentucky’s version of the simmering national party debate over how Democrats can win in increasingly Republican rural states.
Kentucky Democrats will have to choose among state Attorney General Andy Beshear, a battle-scarred Bevin foe and son of the last Democratic governor; Rocky Adkins, a socially conservative state House leader from Appalachia; and Adam Edelen, a former state auditor-turned-solar energy entrepreneur running as an unabashed progressive.
“This election is a test of whether voter polarization is so great that mobilizing hardcore supporters is more important than winning over the swing voter,” said D. Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky.
A Beshear victory would reinforce what’s already conventional wisdom among Democratic Party power brokers: that a strong resume and a moderate platform are what win elections, particularly in red states. But if Edelen manages to pull a long-odds upset ― both against Beshear and then Bevin ― it could change how party leaders and candidates think about electability in places like Kentucky.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (left) and Bevin greet President Donald Trump in Lexington on Oct. 13, 2018, ahead of a rally nearby. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Andrew Harnik)
A Right-Wing Governor Overplays His Hand
Kentucky, a predominantly white state that sits at the crossroads of the South, Appalachia and the Midwest, occupies a peculiar place in American politics.
Like much of the country, Kentucky is heavily polarized along rural-urban lines with its rural areas trending more and more Republican. Out of the state’s 120 counties, Hillary Clinton won just two in 2016: those that are home to Louisville and Lexington, the state’s largest cities.
But Kentucky, unlike its Southern neighbors, has a history of labor union activism, rooted in the coal mines of Eastern Kentucky, that has allowed Democrats to maintain a significant, if diminishing, foothold in the state.
Even as Democrats are down to a single seat in Kentucky’s congressional delegation ― Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville ― the attorney general and secretary of state’s offices remain in Democratic hands.
In fact, since World War II, Republicans have won Kentucky’s governorship only three times, although two of the three occasions have been since 2003.
As recently as 2015, Democrat Steve Beshear, the current attorney general’s father, sat in the governor’s mansion. Beshear’s commitment to implementing the Affordable Care Act in the high-poverty state ensured that in the two years immediately following implementation, Kentucky experienced the second-largest decline in uninsured residents of any state.
Notwithstanding Beshear’s accomplishments and enduring popularity, Republicans took back the governorship in 2015 and swept a host of other statewide officials, including then-auditor Edelen, out of office. To win, Bevin positioned himself as a champion of county clerk Kim Davis, whose refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses had turned her into a hero for many social conservatives.
“Kim Davis shows up and Bevin puts his arm around her and all the attempts to make the election about pocketbook issues go out the window,” Voss recalled.
Bevin, a now-52-year-old businessman who had unsuccessfully challenged McConnell from the right in the 2014 GOP Senate primary, vowed to pursue a deeply conservative agenda as governor. His top priorities would include undoing the Affordable Care Act, diminishing the power of unions and uprooting the last vestiges of Democratic power in the state.
Initially, Bevin’s agenda was limited by Democrats’ control of the state House of Representatives. Then in 2016, riding Donald Trump’s coattails, Republicans took over the state House for the first time since 1921.
With unified control of the state government, Republicans moved immediately to undercut the unions. The legislature made Kentucky a “right-to-work” state ― that is, unions were barred from requiring the workers they represent to pay dues ― and struck down “prevailing wage” requirements that even the playing field for union firms bidding on public projects.
But a subsequent effort to cut the pensions of public school teachers prompted mass protests at the state Capitol and was ultimately struck down by the state Supreme Court.
Bevin’s plan to impose a work requirement on the state’s Medicaid program, which is projected to boot over 90,000 people from the program, has also stalled in court thus far.
The governor’s trench warfare with unions and attempts to remake Kentucky in the image of its more conservative neighbors has taken a toll on his popularity. As of January, Bevin’s approval rating was underwater ― making him one of the least popular state leaders in the country.
“Bevin might actually be vulnerable,” Voss said. People who voted for the governor in 2015, he added, “wouldn’t necessarily vote for his opponent. They might just stay home.”
Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear addresses teachers protesting Bevin's proposed pension cuts in March. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Bryan Woolston)
He is casting himself as a return to normalcy in the state, as someone uniquely equipped to defeat Bevin and reverse his policies because of his own experience in the top law enforcement post.
“I’m a fighter who can get results,” Beshear told HuffPost. “The most important thing is to beat Matt Bevin and I can get that done.”
On paper, Beshear, who was elected to his current office amidst the 2015 GOP wave that swept out Edelen, certainly seems like the surest bet. Thanks to his experience, family name and accomplishments as attorney general, which also include clearing the state’s rape kit backlog, Beshear’s internal polling has him leading both Adkins and Edelen by over 25 percentage points. (There has been no public, independent polling of the primary field.)
Beshear’s boosters argue that supporting anyone else is a risky proposition, given what is at stake in unseating Bevin.
“We’re losing ground everywhere we turn with the Republican Party,” said John Stovall, president of the Teamsters Union Local 783 in Louisville, which has endorsed Beshear. “He’s the guy who can bring the Democratic Party back.”
Of course, Beshear has some baggage as well. As a private lawyer representing the Boy Scouts of America in 2012, he won the dismissal of two lawsuits from men alleging that their scoutmaster had molested them in the 1970s.
In late March, Beshear said that he was merely fulfilling his duty as an attorney for the Boy Scouts of America and that he would not have represented one of the accused molesters.
Asked by HuffPost if the Beshear campaign had additional comment, campaign manager Eric Hyers said, “That case taught Andy so much and helped motivate his work as attorney general, where he has fought to extend the statute of limitations for survivors, tripled the number of child sex offenders removed from Kentucky communities, created the nation’s first Survivors’ Council and cleared Kentucky’s shameful backlog of untested rape kits.”
Former state auditor Adam Edelen speaks at a forum in Louisville on April 18. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Timothy D. Easley)
‘The First Person Who Really Told Us What He Is For’
Edelen, 44, casts himself not so much as a left-leaning alternative to Beshear as an innovator with a vision for the state that goes beyond undoing Bevin’s handiwork.
Following his 2015 reelection defeat, Edelen joined a friend in spearheading the launch of the state’s first solar power farm on top of two shuttered coal mining sites in Eastern Kentucky.
He describes the project as part of a larger plan to modernize the state’s energy infrastructure, even as he promises to preserve existing coal jobs. To that end, Edelen said he would fight to make it easier for utility companies and rate-payers to adopt renewable energy, something that the state’s coal lobby has fought bitterly.
“We Democrats are afraid to stand up for the notion that we’ve got to make sure that there is a true equality of opportunity ― and to acknowledge that the economy is shifting,” Edelen told HuffPost. “People are ready for this conversation.”
Edelen, a Lexington resident with an impeccable coiffeur whose pronouncements sound less stilted than Beshear’s, is pitching himself as an anti-establishment populist, notwithstanding his urbane demeanor. His television ads emphasize his humble roots as the son of a struggling farmer and pledge not to accept corporate PAC money, a promise that his opponents have yet to make. “Big corporations buy politicians so they can get ahead and you can’t,” he says in one 30-second spot.
Edelen, who has also proposed reforms aimed at curbing the power of state lobbyists, nonetheless stands to benefit from a super PAC founded by a Kentucky Democrat who supports abortion rights. Super PACs involved in Kentucky state elections are legally allowed to receive unlimited sums of money, although they must disclose their donors.
In a state where Democrats typically support coal and oppose abortion rights, Edelen is blazing an uncharted path on environmental and social issues. He speaks out in support of abortion rights and the need to address the state’s persistent racial inequities and identifies climate change as a major threat to the state. “Every farmer and every hunter in Kentucky already knows climate change is real,” he said.
Stances like those won Edelen the backing of the political arm of the state’s largest liberal nonprofit, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. The group has 12,000 members, including a sizable presence in Louisville’s predominantly black West End.
“Adam was the first person who really told us what he is for,” rather than what he is against, said Meta Mendel-Reyes, chair of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.
Kentucky state Rep. Rocky Adkins speaks at a forum in Louisville on April 18. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Timothy D. Easley)
High Risk, High Reward?
In talking to HuffPost, Beshear sought to downplay his ideological differences with Edelen, insisting that what distinguishes him is that he has a record of getting things done. Indeed, on many issues, from repealing anti-union legislation to restoring voting rights for nonviolent former felons, the two contenders are in agreement.
But a closer look at the details reveals real policy differences as well. Beshear told HuffPost he is a consistent supporter of reproductive rights, but in January, he hesitated when asked whether he opposed a “heartbeat bill” in the state legislature that would criminalize abortion just a few weeks into pregnancy.
Likewise, Beshear states on his website that climate change is “real,” but in December 2016, he called on President-elect Trump to quickly overturn President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan and declined to state his views on climate change.
And his plans for increasing the use of renewable energy in the state are vague at best. He told HuffPost that he would pursue an “all-in energy policy ... that includes as many jobs as we can in renewable and other forms of energy,” but also said that steps toward that goal must be taken “responsibly.”
If Beshear walks a careful line on coal and abortion, Adkins, 59, a former schoolteacher and veteran lawmaker, is close to the Kentucky Democratic Party’s traditional conservatism on those issues. His website does not mention renewable energy and as the state House minority leader, he is a member of the legislature’s Pro-Life Caucus.
Like Beshear, Adkins has framed his candidacy as a response to Bevin’s efforts to roll back health care expansion, neuter unions, cut teacher pensions and reduce public school funding.
“Working families of Kentucky know how I have fought the unfriendly policies of this governor that has driven down wages of hardworking people all across this commonwealth,” he bellowed during a speech to a supportive crowd in Pikesville earlier this month.
In his first TV ad, Adkins promises to be a “governor for the little guy.”
As the Democratic leader in the legislature, I have fought Matt Bevin to protect your health care and our public schools. As governor, I will continue to stand up for the working men and women in this state! #KyGov#TeamRocky
But he also brings to his bid a bit of Appalachian flavor, breaking out his guitar to join bluegrass performances at street fairs and celebrating the “hills and mountains of Eastern Kentucky” in his speeches. He has won the endorsement of several labor unions associated with the region’s extraction industries, including the United Mine Workers of America and a United Steelworkers chapter.
Adkins’ strength in rural areas makes him a potentially promising statewide contender but it “doesn’t seem like he’s gaining traction,” Voss said. Adkins’ campaign did not respond to requests for an interview.
Meanwhile, the blunt support for abortion rights, renewable energy and racial justice policies may not be hobbling Edelen as it would have in earlier elections.
“In Kentucky, you run on the three ‘Gs’ ― God, guns and gays,” said Berry Craig, a Western Kentucky-based historian and union activist who has not endorsed anyone in the primary. “If Adam Edelen is the Democratic nominee, he will get hammered hard on that.”
But Edelen’s campaign has produced internal polling that shows him narrowing the gap with Beshear. Earlier this month, he won a straw poll conducted by the Kentucky Young Democrats.
Last week, the former state auditor scored his biggest coup yet: nabbing the endorsement of the influential union representing teachers in and around Louisville.
Edelen is “picking up momentum,” Voss said. “There is a lot of enthusiasm for him among student activists.”
Beating the odds in the primary would give Edelen a chance to test a theory that largely fell flat in the 2018 midterms: that a progressive with an ambitious economic vision capable of both firing up the Democratic Party faithful and converting swing voters can prevail in Republican-held states and districts.
In a low-turnout election, Edelen is betting that an enthusiastic base and a well-oiled field operation can carry him to victory ― first in the May primary and again in November.
“It’s a bold, bold strategy to do this,” Craig said. “He’s going for broke.”
Also on HuffPost
ALABAMA STATE CAPITOL Montgomery, Alabama Year completed: 1851 Architectural style: Greek Revival FYI: A bronze star marks the spot where Jefferson Davis, newly named president of the Confederate States of America, gave his inaugural address. Visit: Guided tours are offered on Saturdays at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 pm.
ALASKA STATE CAPITOL Juneau, Alaska Year completed: 1931 Architectural style: Art Deco FYI: The limestone and marble used to construct the building’s facade is also native to Alaska—it hails from the Prince of Wales Island. Visit: Guided tours are available from mid-May to mid-September, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE Boston, Massachusetts Year completed: 1798 Architectural style: Federal FYI: The gleaming dome of the Massachusetts State House was not always metal. The original wooden topper leaked, so it was remodeled and covered in copper by a noteworthy company: Paul Revere and Sons. Visit: Guided tours are offered Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Reservations are required.
ARIZONA STATE CAPITOL MUSEUM Phoenix, Arizona Year completed: 1900 Architectural style: Classical Revival FYI: The building, once home to the territorial government, is now a museum dedicated to the history of Arizona. The governor’s office and state House and Senate floors are located in other buildings in the same complex off Wesley Bolin Plaza. Visit: The museum exhibits are open from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with staff available to answer questions from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Or, reserve a guided tour (from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.)
ARKANSAS STATE CAPITOL Little Rock, Arkansas Year completed: 1915 Architectural style: Neo-Classical FYI: Don’t forget to look up. The rotunda of the capitol is a 17-foot-tall, 12-foot-wide brass chandelier made by Mitchell Vance and Company. Keep an eye out for decorative elements, such as an eagle perched on top of the Liberty Bell. Visit: Guided tours are offered Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reservations are encouraged.
CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL AND CAPITOL MUSEUM Sacramento, California Year completed: 1874 Architectural style: Neo-Classical FYI: Look for Minerva. You’ll find the Roman goddess pictured in the Great Seal, on tile groupings on the floor, peering down from arches leading to the second-floor rotunda walkway, and the pediment in the building’s exterior. According to myth, Minerva was born fully grown, the way California became a state without first being a territory. Visit: Public tours leave on the hour daily, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
COLORADO STATE CAPITOL Denver, Colorado Year completed: 1893 Architectural style: Neo-Classical FYI: In the capitol’s rotunda, 16 stained glass windows depict the state’s “Hall of Fame,” which includes figures such as frontiersman Kit Carson and Alexander Majors, co-founder of the firm that established the Pony Express. Visit: Historical tours leave hourly Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The House and Senate chambers open for tours mid-January to mid-May (from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) Gallery guides are on hand to answer any questions.
CONNECTICUT STATE CAPITOL Hartford, Connecticut Year completed: 1879 Architectural style: Eastlake FYI: An 18-foot bronze statue of a winged woman, titled The Genius of Connecticut, resides in the capitol rotunda. It’s a replacement for the statue that once sat at the top of the capitol dome, but was destroyed by a hurricane in 1938. Lasers scanned the original plaster model to make a mold for the new version. Visit: Weekday tours leave hourly from 9:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. In July and August, a 2:15 p.m. slot opens up.
DELAWARE LEGISLATIVE HALL Dover, Delaware Year completed: 1933 Architectural style: Georgian Revival FYI: In addition to the current government building, you can visit The Old State House in Delaware. The Georgian-style building was the seat of government from 1791 until 1933, when operations moved to their current digs. Visit: Make reservations for guided tours (non-session weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., in-session weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.). Additional tours are available the first Saturday of each month and on some holidays.
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE HOUSE Columbia, South Carolina Year completed: 1903 Architectural style: Greek Revival FYI: On the outside of the capitol, six bronze, star-shaped markers denote the spots where the building was hit with artillery during General Sherman’s Civil War march. Visit: Guided tours are offered weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations are recommended for groups.
FLORIDA STATE CAPITOL Tallahassee, Florida Year completed: 1977 Architectural style: New Classicism FYI: The current 22-story state capitol towers over its predecessor, a Classical Revival building completed in 1845 that is now the Florida Historic Capitol Museum. Try to spot it from the new capitol’s observation deck, located on the 22nd floor, 307 feet in the air. Visit: Self-guided tours are available Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for weekday holidays. Groups of 15 people or more can arrange a guided tour during the week.
GEORGIA STATE CAPITOL Atlanta, Georgia Year completed: 1889 Architectural style: Neo-Classical/Renaissance Revival FYI: The Georgia Capitol Museum, the on-site museum dedicated to the history of the state, has existed within the Capitol walls for just about as long as the building has been around. It moved into its fourth-floor headquarters in 1890. Visit: Reservations are usually required for the weekday guided tours. January through April, they leave at 9:30 a.m, 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. From May to December, there are three tours each weekday: 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 11:30 a.m. No reservations are required for the day’s last tour, but each time slot has a slightly different focus, so check the website for details.
HAWAI'I STATE CAPITOL Honolulu, Hawaii Year completed: 1969 Architectural style: Hawaiian International FYI: The eight columns in the front and back of the building are supposed to represent the eight islands of Hawaii, and the curved walls of the legislative houses recall the state’s volcanoes. Visit: Scope out the capital on your own on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (except for holidays), or arrange a guided tour through the Governor’s Office of Constituent Services.
IDAHO STATE CAPITOL Boise, Idaho Year completed: 1912 Architectural style: Neo-Classical FYI: The Idaho State Capitol has the nickname “The Capitol of Light” for the way architect John E. Tourtellotte used shafts, skylights, and reflective marble to illuminate the interior of the building. Today, it’s the only capitol building heated by geothermal water. Visit: During legislative sessions, you can visit on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5p.m. Visiting hours during the interim are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Guided tours are available from groups of 10 to 100.
ILLINOIS STATE CAPITOL Springfield, Illinois Year completed: 1889 Architectural style: French Renaissance FYI: Before it became the site of the capitol, the location—the highest in Springfield—was proposed as a burial place for Abraham Lincoln. Mary Todd Lincoln wanted him buried in the Oak Ridge Cemetery instead. Visit: The capitol is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Coordinate group tours through the Physical Services department.
INDIANA STATEHOUSE Indianapolis, Indiana Year Completed: 1888 Architectural style: Renaissance Revival FYI: Many capitol buildings feature a dome or rotunda, but the Indiana Statehouse has three: a rotunda, topped by a smaller dome, with an even smaller sphere at the very top. The room inside the middle dome is painted white so the colors of the stained glass windows reflect on the walls. Visit: Guided tours leave the rotunda on Saturdays at 10:15 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., and 1 p.m.
IOWA STATE CAPITOL Des Moines, Iowa Year completed: 1886 Architectural style: Renaissance FYI: The Iowa State Capitol has something for fashion lovers as well as history buffs: glass cases inside the first floor of the capitol building display 42 dolls—one for each governor’s wife—wearing a replica of the dress she wore to the inaugural ball. Visit: Guided tours leave Monday through Friday at various times. On Saturdays, tours depart every hour from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
KANSAS STATE CAPITOL Topeka, Kansas Year completed: 1903 Architectural style: French Renaissance FYI: In 1901, sculptor J.H. Mahoney won a design contest for his 16-foot statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, to be placed on top of the capitol dome. People balked at both the price and the idea of a pagan goddess topping the capitol, so the dome went unadorned until 2002. After a new competition was held, Richard Bergen's bronze Ad Astra—a sculpture of a Kansa warrior—was installed. Visit: Guided tours depart on weekdays: January through May, 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m.; June through August, 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m.; September through December, 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.
KENTUCKY STATE CAPITOL Frankfort, Kentucky Year completed: 1910 Architectural style: Beaux-Arts FYI: Inside the building, two oil murals by artist T. Gilbert White depict Kentucky’s most famous frontiersman, Daniel Boone. One shows Boone and his party as they first discover the area; the second shows him at the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, purchasing the land that eventually became the state. Visit: The capitol is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call the office for information on guided tours.
LOUISIANA STATE CAPITOL Baton Rouge, Louisiana Year completed: 1932 Architectural style: Art Deco FYI: You approach the capitol via a grand, 48-step staircase—one stair for every state in the union (with an amendment for Alaska and Hawaii). But don’t let that be the highest you get on your visit. The Louisiana State Capitol has an observation deck on its 27th floor, 350 feet above ground. (It is the tallest state capitol building, after all.) Visit: The building is open from 9 a.m. 4 p.m. daily, except for major holidays.
MAINE STATE HOUSE Augusta, Maine Year completed: 1832 Architectural style: Greek Revival FYI: The portico and front and rear walls are all that remain of the original, 1832 structure (designed by architect Charles Bullfinch). A major remodel in 1909–1910 enlarged the wings of the building and replaced the building’s original dome with a more elongated one. Visit: Arrange a guided tour through the Maine State Museum, or check it out yourself Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MARYLAND STATE HOUSE Annapolis, Maryland Year Completed: 1797 Architectural Style: Georgian FYI: The Maryland State House has been holding government meetings for more than two centuries. The Continental Congress actually met in the building’s Old Senate Chambers in 1783 and 1784. Visit: The capitol is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for Christmas and New Year's Day. The Office of Interpretation will arrange specialized, curatorial tours of the building and its artwork.
MICHIGAN STATE HOUSE Lansing, Michigan Year completed: 1879 Architectural style: Neo-Classical FYI: Don’t let the faux marble pillars and walnut wainscoting trick your eyes—decorative painting techniques cover up the fact that the capitol building was made with more inexpensive materials, such as cast iron and pine. Visit: Guided tours are offered Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tour times vary.
MINNESOTA STATE CAPITOL St. Paul, Minnesota Year completed: 1905 Architectural style: Beaux-Arts FYI: Famed architect (and Minnesotan) Cass Gilbert designed the capitol—before he blueprinted the United States Supreme Court building. Visit: Hourly guided tours are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 pm; and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE HOUSE Columbia, South Carolina Year completed: 1903 Architectural style: Greek Revival FYI: On the outside of the capitol, six bronze, star-shaped markers denote the spots where the building was hit with artillery during General Sherman’s Civil War march. Visit: Guided tours are offered weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations are recommended for groups.
MISSISSIPPI STATE CAPITOL Jackson, Mississippi Year completed: 1903 Architectural style: Beaux-Arts FYI: There are 750 lights in the capitol's rotunda alone. That makes it easy to see the figure of Blind Justice, as well as scenes of two Indians, a Spanish explorer, and a Confederate general. Visit: Guided tours depart Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MISSOURI STATE CAPITOL Jefferson City, Missouri Year completed: 1917 Architectural style: Classical Revival FYI: The first floor of the capitol houses the Missouri State Museum, with exhibits detailing the state’s cultural and natural history. But that's not the only place to find interesting artifacts. In the buildings and around the grounds, look for James Earle Fraser’s 13-foot statue of Thomas Jefferson, Karl Bitter's bronze relief of the signing of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, a frieze by Alexander Stirling Calder (father of th famed mobile-maker of the same name), and Thomas Hart Benton’s murals of everyday Missouri life. Visit: The Missouri State Museum offers free guided tours every 20 minutes, beginning at the top of the hour, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (except for noon). June through February, tours leave every half hour, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (excluding a 12 p.m. lunch break).
MONTANA STATE CAPITOL Helena, Montana Year completed: 1902 Architectural style: Neo-Classical FYI: When the Capitol underwent an expansion in 1909, a conscious decision was made to feature art by Montana-based artists, including Charles M. Russell (his Piegans sold at auction for $5.6 million in 2005) and Edgar S. Paxson (known for painting Custer's Last Stand), among others. Visit: The Montana Historical Society offers guided tours. From May through September, tours leave on the hour (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) Monday through Saturday, and from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. From October through April, tours are only on Saturdays and leave on the hour from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. When the legislature is in session (odd numbered years), hourly tours are also offered from January through April, Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOL Lincoln, Nebraska Year completed: 1932 Architectural style: Streamline Moderne FYI: Don’t forget to look down. Hildreth Meire’s mosaics decorate both the ceiling and the floor of the building. Although Meire worked on the National Academy of Science in Washington D.C. and St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City, she called the Nebraska capitol her crowning achievement. Visit: Guided tours are available every hour on the hour (except noon): Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and holidays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
NEVADA STATE CAPITOL Carson City, Nevada Year completed: 1871 Architectural style: Neo-Classical Italianate FYI: After Nevada became a state, the constitutional convention made a provision that no state capitol would be built until after three legislative sessions, in case future leaders wanted to move the center of government away from Carson City. A ten-acre site set aside for the building remained empty. In his book Roughing It, Mark Twain describes the empty plaza as a useful spot for “public auctions, horse trades, mass meetings, and likewise for teamsters to camp in.” Visit: The capitol is open Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (it is closed on weekends). Call the Education Program at the Nevada State Museum to arrange guided tours.
NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE HOUSE Concord, New Hampshire Year completed: 1819 Architectural style: Greek Revival FYI: The stately eagle installed on top of the New Hampshire State House’s dome may look gold, but it’s actually painted wood. The original was removed for preservation and is on display at the New Hampshire Historical Society. A new, gold-leafed eagle was put in its place in the 1950s. Visit: Self-guided tours are available Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Arrange guided tours through the Visitors’ Center.
NEW JERSEY STATE HOUSE Trenton, New Jersey Year completed: 1792 (original structure) Architectural style: Various FYI: The New Jersey State House has always been a work in progress. The original building was first completed in 1792, and a few extensions were added shortly after. In 1885, a fire destroyed a portion of the State House, which was rebuilt in the Second Empire style with a new rotunda and dome. In the 1890s, a Victorian-style addition was made to the Assembly wing. Then in 1903, the Senate wing was renovated in the American Renaissance style. A four-story office was added three years later; it finally reached its present size in 1911, and so on... Visit: Guided tours leave hourly Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., as well as the first and third Saturday of each month (12 p.m. to 3 p.m.) The State House is closed Sundays and on state holidays.
NEW MEXICO STATE CAPITOL Santa Fe, New Mexico Year completed: 1966 Architectural style: New Mexico Territorial/Greek Revival FYI: New Mexico’s Capitol is the only one housed in a completely round building, earning it the nickname “The Roundhouse.” When seen from above, the shape is meant to evoke the Zia sun symbol. Visit: Tour the capital on your own Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Guided tours are available by appointment.
NEW YORK STATE CAPITOL Albany, New York Year completed: 1899 Architectural style: Italian Renaissance/French Renaissance/Romanesque FYI: The Western staircase inside New York’s capitol has been dubbed the “Million Dollar Staircase,” because it cost more than a million dollars to build—in the late-1800s, no less. The 444 steps took 14 years to complete, and more than 500 stonecutters and carvers earned $5 a day to work on the project. The staircase’s main feature is 77 carvings of faces, which include prominent Americans such as Abraham Lincoln and Susan B. Anthony, as well as images of the carvers’ friends and relatives. Visit: Guided tours are available Monday to Friday (excluding holidays). Tour times vary; call the Office of General Services—Visitor Assistance for more information.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE CAPITOL Raleigh, North Carolina Year completed: 1840 Architectural style: Greek Revival FYI: The North Carolina State Capitol boasts two impressive statues of George Washington. Outside on the grounds sits a bronze statue cast from a mold of Jean-Antoine Houdon's statue of George Washington in Richmond, Virginia. At the focal point in the rotunda, there's a copy of a statute that stood at North Carolina’s previous state capitol until 1831. The Italian sculptor, Antionio Canova, carved George with a Roman general’s uniform and haircut—and he’s writing in Italian. Visit: Self-guided tours are available Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 pm; and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Guided tours for groups of 10 can be scheduled through Capital Area Visitor Services.
Affluent Americans may want to double-check how much of their bank deposits are protected by government-backed insurance. The rules governing trust accounts just changed.
Former NBA guard Darius Morris has died at the age of 33. He played for five teams during his four NBA seasons. Morris played college basketball at Michigan.
It’s key to note that we’re not saying the “best team” or “best roster.” Instead, we’re talking about the best confluence of factors that can outline a path for survival and then success.
Teams have made their big splashes in free agency and made their draft picks, it's time for you to do the same. It's fantasy football mock draft time. Some call this time of year best ball season, others know it's an opportunity to get a leg up on your competition for when you have to draft in August. The staff at Yahoo Fantasy did their first mock draft of the 2024 season to help you with the latter. Matt Harmon and Andy Behrens are here to break it all down by each round and crush some staff members in the process.
With free agency and the draft behind us, what 32 teams look like today will likely be what they look like Week 1 and beyond for the 2024 season. Matt Harmon and Scott Pianowski reveal the post-draft fantasy power rankings. The duo break down the rankings in six tiers: Elite offensive ecosystems, teams on the cusp of being complete mixed bag ecosystems, offensive ecosystems with something to prove, offenses that could go either way, and offenses that are best to stay away from in fantasy.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate edged back toward 7% this week but remains elevated, prompting housing experts to revise their forecasts for the rest of 2024.
Jake Mintz & Jordan Shusterman discuss the Padres-Marlins trade that sent Luis Arraez to San Diego, as well as recap all the action from this weekend in baseball and send birthday wishes to hall-of-famer Willie Mays.
Budgeting apps can help you keep track of your finances, stick to a spending plan and reach your money goals. These are the best budget-tracking apps available right now.
