Outside groups are dominating the Kentucky governor ad wars. Who are they?

The ads are piling up.

The Kentucky governor’s race is dominating airwaves, with messaging raising up and bringing down both Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican challenger Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

But a majority of the ads aren’t from either Beshear or Cameron’s campaigns. Most are from groups not directly involved in Beshear or Cameron’s campaigns. Political action committees and other groups – with a variety of funding sources – are producing digital television ads at a historic rate in this race, which is on track to be the most expensive governor’s race in state history.

So far, Beshear’s campaign has outspent Cameron’s on general election ads by nearly ten times — $7.6 million to Cameron’s $780,000. Total pro-Beshear ad spending as of Friday was $21.3 million compared to $12.3 for pro-Cameron spending, according to ad tracking firm Medium Buying.

Here’s a rundown of who’s funding what.

Democratic Governors Association - Defending Bluegrass Values

The largest and most well-funded group messaging in this governor’s race is Defending Bluegrass Values, a PAC tied to the Democratic Governors Association supporting Beshear’s re-election campaign.

According to Medium Buying, the PAC has spent $13.7 million on local television, cable and mail advertisements as of late last week. That’s more than every other PAC combined.

Democratic Governors Association is a Washington-based organization that gets involves in pretty much every governor’s race in the nation on behalf of the Democratic candidate, like its counterpart the Republican Governors Association does for GOP candidates.

The PAC’s ads have often been negative, focusing on criticism of Cameron with a particular eye toward tying him to former GOP governor Matt Bevin, who was largely unpopular when Beshear narrowly beat him in 2019. One ad highlights the fact that Cameron did not appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Bevin’s controversial end-of-term pardons, though he did ask the FBI to investigate them. Another draws attention to Cameron’s support for reconfiguring Medicaid requirements in Kentucky that could cause people to lose coverage, echoing a Bevin proposal.

Republican Governors Association - Kentucky Values & State Solutions

Offering some insight into the messaging of this campaign, the primary PAC supporting Cameron thus far is also named around the word “values.”

Kentucky Values is backed by the Republican Governors Association and has injected $5.44 million so far into the governor’s race, airing ads in most Kentucky markets.

Much like Defend Bluegrass Values, Kentucky Values has used a majority of its funds to air negative ads.

The most dominant theme of Kentucky Values’ ads thus far has been transgender issues, criticizing Beshear’s veto of an omnibus bill decried by many in the transgender community as one of the most anti-trans bills in the nation. One ad was briefly taken down by YouTube for violating the website’s hate speech rules, but was later re-posted.

Other issues highlighted by the PAC include the governor’s decision to release non-violent, non-sexual offenders during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and contradicting information on Beshear’s claims that no gender transition surgeries were happening in the state.

State Solutions, another RGA-backed PAC that is no longer actively airing ads, placed around $418,000 in ads at the beginning of the general election season. It also aired ads criticizing Beshear during the primary.

School Freedom Fund

School Freedom Fund is a conservative PAC running ads supporting Cameron.

Though the PAC’s funding for this cycle is still murky – Federal Elections Commission financial reports for this year don’t yet reveal receipts – it was mostly funded in the 2022 election cycle by Pennsylvania billionaire trader Jeff Yass, who gave $15 million. Yass is no stranger to Kentucky politics, as he has helped bankroll several of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s political ventures, including a 2016 presidential bid.

The PAC spent $2.93 million as of Friday on local TV, cable and mail advertisements. Its television ads have aired in Louisville and Lexington markets, which are Kentucky’s largest.

School Freedom Fund is a pro-school choice group, stating on its website that it sees parental dissatisfaction with schools during the pandemic as an opportunity to advocate for charter schools, tax-credit funded scholarships to private schools and more. The topic has come to the fore in Kentucky politics of late, with the state legislature recently passing a law to fund public charter schools in the state and the Kentucky Supreme Court striking down a law that created a a privately funded needs-based assistance program to cover educational expenses for families that would have largely been offset by tax credits.

The PAC’s ads have targeted Beshear for his release of certain offenders during the pandemic. One ad received a write-up in FactCheck.org, which cited it for “twisting facts” on a certain offender who would have been released by the time he committed sexual abuse of a minor regardless of Beshear’s commutation of his previous sentence.

The PAC is allied with Club For Growth, a pro-free market group founded by billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow – whose close relationship with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has received recent scrutiny – and largely funded by Yass and Republican-aligned billionaire shipping magnate Richard Uihlein.

Bluegrass Freedom Action

Bluegrass Freedom Action, a PAC supporting Cameron’s run, is the only group that was active in the GOP primary still airing ads.

During the primary Bluegrass Freedom Action was a key vessel for Cameron support and criticism of third-place finisher Kelly Craft, whose campaign and a PAC supporting it were criticizing Cameron. It often boasted of Cameron’s endorsement by former president Donald Trump.

It spent more than $4.4 million to help Cameron in the primary, but with 60 days to go in the general election it has so far spent around $1.43 million, according to Medium Buying. A radio ad from the group criticized Beshear for touting data that undercounted the actual number of homicides, as previously reported by the Herald-Leader.

The group’s main funding source so far has been The Concord Fund, a “dark money” group – meaning that its funders are kept secret via campaign finance law workarounds – formerly named the Judicial Crisis Network. The group is well-known for funding attempts to reshape American courts to become more conservative and its ties to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY, a mentor of Cameron’s.

Protect Freedom PAC

Like School Freedom Fund, Protect Freedom PAC is a conservative group working to help Cameron almost entirely funded by Yass. The billionaire gave the group $3 million in early June, providing it with most of its funding thus far.

A spokesperson for the group said earlier in the summer that it was working with School Freedom Fund on a “combined $5 million” digital, television, mail and get out the vote program. So far, it has registered $1.27 million in spending on its own on TV and mail. Aside from Beshear’s campaign, Protect Freedom PAC has spread its money out the widest, airing cable ads in all Kentucky markets.

Protect Freedom PAC is aligned with Paul, with its website touting its staff’s experience working on his and his father’s – famous libertarian politician Ron Paul – campaigns. It’s previously been funded by a PAC supporting Paul’s successful re-election bid, which is also largely funded by Yass.

The group launched with a series of ads attempting to link Beshear to the widely criticized busing debacle in Jefferson County Public Schools.

Beshear has criticized another one of Protect Freedom’s ads for using footage of his daughter in it, saying it “violates human decency.”

Kentucky Family Values

Created by Democratic Kentucky political consultant Dave Contarino, Kentucky Family Values has previously worked on behalf of Democratic candidates in the state.

The group has not spent any money on advertisements, but had spent $350,000 on field organizing as of Tuesday. Kentucky Family Values is primarily funded by groups with ties to education, bolstered by $200,000 donations from a PAC affiliated with the Kentucky Education Association teachers union and Better Schools Kentucky, a pro-public education group.

Preserve, Protect & Defend

Also formed by Contarino, Preserve, Protect & Defend is a PAC dedicated to supporting Beshear’s re-election.

The PAC has only spent around $45,000 on advertising, which has been focused on radio advertisements.

Planned Parenthood Action Kentucky

The abortion rights and family planning group Planned Parenthood is planning to get involved in the governor’s race.

The group formed a PAC, Planned Parenthood Action Kentucky, with the intention of involvement in this year’s races.

Planned Parenthood state director Tamarra Weider told the Herald-Leader that the PAC would attempt to build on the successes of Protect Kentucky Access, a group that led the successful “no” campaign on a proposed anti-abortion rights constitutional amendment vote in 2022.

Weider indicated that the PAC would criticize Cameron’s record on abortion rights. As attorney general, Cameron has defended Kentucky’s trigger ban on abortions, which notably does not include exceptions for rape or incest.

So far, the PAC has not reported raising or spending any funds, though Weider promised “a pretty robust campaign.”