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U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is seeking support from the Republican Party of Kentucky’s central committee in his bid to pursue an early presidential caucus in the commonwealth. Paul, R-Ky., transferred $250,000 to the RPK account to fund the caucus with plans to move an additional $200,000 “roughly mid fall after all the budgets and rules are finalized,” Paul told members of the RPK central committee in an email and letter sent Monday. The GOP presidential contender also has plans to host a conference call with central committee members this week in his endeavor to skirt a state statute that stipulates...

Outside of the presidential contest, the best political race worth watching THIS YEAR is the gubernatorial showdown in Kentucky between Democrat Jack Conway and Republican Matt Bevin. The reason: It could very well be the last Obama War. Indeed, the Republican Governors Association this month has released two TV ads -- one linking Conway with Obama's energy policies and the other hitting Conway on the health-care law. And it seems like Conway is following the Alison Grimes playbook. He is up with an ad bragging that he was the only Democratic attorney general to sue the Obama admin over coal...

We hit on several topics and allowed the GOP nominee to go beyond soundbites and explain in his own words where he stands on several topics being discussed in the Kentucky Governor's race. The election is set for November 3, 2015. Bevin is running against Democratic candidate Jack Conway. ... Please take the time to hear GOP Gubernatorial Candidate discuss these topics in his own words. (audio of interview at link)

The Kentucky Department of Insurance recently approved insurers’ requests for rate hikes. And all but one of the 13 insurers selling individual and small-group plans in the state are raising rates. The approved increases, which are averages among the plans each insurer offers in Kentucky, are nearly identical to insurance company requests made to the state’s Department of Insurance in June. Most are between 5 and 15 percent. The highest increase, by far, comes from the carrier designed to provide the most affordable plans. The Kentucky Health Co-Operative, a nonprofit governed by its members, will see a 25.1 percent rate...

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, is ramping up his war of words with Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump with a new web ad set to hit two key early primary states. Committing to his change in strategy against Trump, Paul is launching the first digital ad of his campaign against Trump and his support of Democrats — including Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton. The ad from Paul, titled “Telling it like it is,” first appeared on CNN on Wednesday. In the two-minute long video, Paul’s team opens the piece with positive statements from Trump on Democrats and Democratic policies —...

Rand Paul is running for president, and wants to run for reelection to the Senate in 2016 as well. Kentucky law doesn’t allow a candidate’s name to appear on the ballot twice. Because caucuses involve party members expressing their support at local meetings, instead of casting ballots, Paul would not technically appear on the ballot twice if the state switched from a presidential primary to a presidential caucus. Paul asked the Kentucky GOP to make the switch, and the state GOP seemed largely amenable… But now, less than two weeks away from the decision deadline, state party leaders are publicly...

On CNN this morning, Donald Trump suggested that he's open to allowing Planned Parenthood to keep more than $500 million in taxpayer funding it receives every year. CNN's Chris Cuomo repeated the dishonest Planned Parenthood talking point that only 3 percent of its "services" are abortions and that federal funding doesn't directly pay for abortions. Trump suggested that he's open to keeping government funding for the "good aspects" of Planned Parenthood: Trump: I would look at the individual things that they do, and maybe some of the things are good, and maybe, I know a lot of the things are...

... Ahead of the annual [Ky.] Marshall County Democratic Bean Dinner in Gilbertsville on Friday Pure Politics asked [Jean-Marie] Lawson Spann about the Trans Pacific Partnership and if fears of a tobacco carve out we’re warranted. “Just as they’re talking about that, and they’re talking about the EPA — they put out different scare tactics — we’re focused on positive things that won’t scare our Kentucky farm families,” Lawson Spann said. “There’s a pattern there, when they talk about the EPA to try to scare our Kentucky farm families, and then try to raise money out of that…that’s not the...

OWENSBORO, KY (WFIE) - After the U.S. Senate voted against a plan to stop Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funds, many lawmakers in Kentucky are now asking Governor Steve Beshear to terminate funding for Kentucky's chapter. 7th House District Representative Suzanne Miles, who serves Union and parts of Daviess and Henderson counties, is one of 44 state representatives wanting the governor to discontinue funding for Planned Parenthood, locally. Miles says the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services provided at least $331,000 to Planned Parenthood. She tells 14NEWS she and many other lawmakers are upset because she says the organization...

What is happening right now with the Planned Parenthood videos is a “William Wilberforce moment” in our culture. Wilberforce was the Christian man who looked into his Bible, saw that racism and slavery were evil reverse-images of the gospel, and dedicated his life to accomplishing what seemed culturally and politically impossible in late-1700’s Great Britain: the abolition of the slave trade. In a decisive moment that now lives in history, Wilberforce once commanded the floor of British Parliament for over three hours doing nothing but reading gruesome horror-stories of the African slave trade to the men that politically protected its...

FANCY FARM — The annual political picnic here has long been a partisan battle of wits and one-liners, where the politicians trade barbs and laughs and the crowd eggs them on. ... On Saturday, while Democrats, including gubernatorial nominee and attorney general Jack Conway, used their time on stage to remind voters of Bevin's rocky past as a politician, Bevin took the stage to decry the nature of the event and call for unity. In a sharp departure from the theme of the picnic, Bevin said he was glad to be at the event, which primarily serves as a fundraiser...

FANCY FARM — Democratic attorney general candidate Andy Beshear and Republican candidate Whitney Westerfield traded barbs face-to-face on Saturday with both referencing cosmetic treatments to feet and toes. The reference dates back to a 2007 personnel report first detailed by Pure Politics in mid-July. An August 2007 entry in Westerfield’s personnel file cites complaints with courtesy, professionalism and attitude. The file says that, “Personal interests often take priority over work duties,” including “Teeth Cleaning vs. Jury Trial,” “Pedicure vs. Arraignments,” and “Cell Phone in Court.” And it was the pedicures which both Beshear and Westerfield mentioned in their speeches on...

FANCY FARM — Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway heaped criticism on his GOP opponent at the 135th annual Fancy Farm picnic Saturday, repeating numerous attacks against Matt Bevin that have sprouted in his two runs for office. In response, Bevin completely reversed the Fancy Farm norm, eschewed the partisan tenor of Kentucky’s signature political event before leading the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and painting in broad strokes in his remarks. “The one thing that discourages me, however, about this process is that we literally are celebrating the very worst elements of the political process,” Bevin said. “We are...

Speaking Order Minutes ______________________________________________ Mr. Mark Wilson, Chairman…….…..Welcome/Intros Bishop William Medley………………Invocation Ms. Ramsey Carpenter……….……..My Old Ky Home Ms. Carson McKee…………..………The National Anthem ______________________________________________ Matt Jones – Emcee……………………………..3 Rep. Richard Heath (R)………………………….2 Sen. Stan Humphries (R)…………………..….2 Cong. Ed Whitfield (R)…………………..….….3 Sen. Mitch McConnell (R)…………………..…5 Gov. Steve Beshear (D)…………………………5 *Gov. Cand. Jack Conway (D)…………………5 *Gov. Cand. Matt Bevin (R)…………………….5 Lt. Gov. Crit Luallen (D)…………..…………….2 *Lt. Gov. Cand. Jeanean Hampton (R)…….…4 *Lt. Gov. Cand. Sannie Overly (D)…………….4 Ag. Comm. James Comer (R)…………………2 (pending) *Ag Comm. Cand. Jean Marie Spann (D)…….4 *Ag. Comm. Cand. Ryan Quarles (R)…..…….4 *Att. Gen. Cand. Andy Beshear (D)…..………4 *Att....

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- As Matt Bevin and Jack Conway prepare for the unofficial kickoff of the Kentucky gubernatorial campaign at Fancy Farm, the race appears to be a barnburner. Conway, Kentucky's Democratic Attorney General, holds a slim lead over Bevin, the Republican nominee and businessman, 45 percent to 42 percent, in the WHAS11/Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll released Thursday. The three percentage point margin is within pollster Survey USA's 3.8 percent margin of error. The poll surveyed likely voters between July 22 and July 28. The Bluegrass Poll also queried voters on a potential three-candidate governor's race. Fark.com founder Drew Curtis...

While Democrats may be hoping to improve their numbers in Congress in the next election, political analyst Nathan Gonzales says that the Kentucky governor's race may be a bellwether election for 2016. Since losing the Senate in 2014, as well as even more seats in the House, the Democrats have been looking to 2016 with hope in light of the fact that they typically have better voter turnout during presidential election cycles, Gonzales explained in a blogpost for Roll Call. However, he contends that there is at least one race that is expected this fall that "could dampen some of...

FANCY FARM — This Saturday marks the unofficial kickoff to the political season as one of Kentucky’s oldest political traditions, Fancy Farm takes place. But what you may not know is how this event actually evolved from a local gathering into the commonwealth’s most notable political event. Cynthia Elder, a St. Jerome parishioner and volunteer for the Fancy Farm Picnic, says the first advertisement of the gathering was in the July 31, 1880 edition of the Mayfield Monitor. “At that time it was advertised as a dinner and a gander pull,” Elder said. “It was just a get together, and...

With rhetoric heating up between gubernatorial candidates Kentuckians can expect one-liners sprinkled with vitriol at Fancy Farm, but Matt Bevin and Jack Conway will also be competing for air time and column inches in what has so far been a sleepy open-seat general election. “Last year when we all went to Fancy Farm to me it felt like … we were coming out for the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. This year it feels more like the kickoff — or maybe even the coin flip,” said Scott Jennings a GOP strategist. Some have called the raucous speaking event outdated,...

Describing Jack Conway as their "Perfect Candidate", the pro-abortion group JAC will be hosting an event on Monday, September 27 in Prospect. Not likely to be there are any of the 1.3 million babies aborted this year, or or any of the 50,000,000 babies who lost their lives since 1973, when Jack had survived 4 years. But Jack cozying up to pro-abortionists is not surprising really...

In their third joint appearance of the general election gubernatorial candidates Matt Bevin and Jack Conway traded barbs as policy took center stage. The forum between Bevin and Conway keynoted the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s annual business summit in Louisville on Tuesday. The forum was moderated by former Pure Politics managing editor Ryan Alessi. The next governor will assume office in December and will quickly have to produce a budget to guide the state over the next two years. A seemingly straightforward question to Bevin about what his top budgeted priority would be drew a quick rebuke. “If I told...