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LOUISVILLE- Republicans have called for a federal investigation into allegations that Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes misused voter data—but so far unsurprisingly— top Democrats in Kentucky are staying mum. When asked about the allegations Tuesday, Attorney General Andy Beshear said his office was looking into the claims. “Given that the allegations are very new and very fresh, I think it would be premature to comment any further but we are in possession of that letter.” he said. Mac Brown, Chair of the Republican Party of Kentucky, has called for a federal investigation into the claims as well as Dearing...

LOUISVILLE — Attorney General Andy Beshear made his first campaign stop for the 2019 race for the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Louisville on Monday morning, with a message focused on teachers and the future of Kentucky. The Louisville announcement on Monday morning was the first for Beshear, and his running mate, Jacqueline Coleman, an educator and founder of non-profit LEAD Kentucky — a program that recruits and trains college women in an effort to build the next generation of leaders. The slate planned seven stops across the Commonwealth on Monday and Tuesday to announce their campaign.

FRANKFORT- Attorney General Andy Beshear, D-Kentucky, says he will sue if Governor Bevin signs the newly passed pension reform bill. Republican members of the General Assembly passed a surprise pension bill Thursday. Senate Bill 151 , originally a bill dealing with wastewater, served as the vehicle for a revised version of Senate Bill 1. Beshear took to Twitter to announce his intentions to sue over the rushed bill. Beshear took issue with the manner in which the majority party rushed the bill through committee. “They didn’t allow any public comment or testimony, they refused to hear from you. They plopped...

FRANKFORT After the May 2016 Democratic primary in Pike County, the Kentucky attorney general’s office built a felony case against a private detective, Keith Justice, who confronted voters at their homes, followed them in their vehicles and interfered with poll workers inside the Phelps precinct. On the ballot that day was a hotly contested race involving his client, state Senate Democratic Leader Ray Jones of Pikeville. One poll worker said she was so upset by Justice’s aggressive questions about alleged voter fraud that she had to take her heart medicine. Others cried. That night, more than two hours after polls...

Lexington based Democratic political consultant Samuel McIntosh was charged and admitted to paying kickbacks to former Secretary of the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet, Timothy Longmeyer in federal court on Wednesday. The 58 year-old McIntosh pleaded guilty to four counts of bribery of a public official and one count of mail fraud before U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell on Wednesday. ... According to the McIntosh’s plea agreement beginning in 2009, McIntosh worked with Longmeyer and Lawrence O’Bryan to carry out a kickback scheme. Longmeyer agreed to use his position to persuade Humana, Inc., to hire his firm MC Squared for consulting services...

FRANKFORT — The race for Kentucky attorney general slid to the right during the last 60 days as Democrat Andy Beshear lost the seven-point lead he held in July over Republican Whitney Westerfield. Beshear and Westerfield are tied at 38 percent in a new statewide Bluegrass Poll of 701 likely voters conducted Sept. 22-27 by SurveyUSA. Twenty-two percent said they were undecided; 2 percent said they were not following the race. The poll, taken on behalf of the Herald-Leader and WKYT-TV in Lexington and The Courier-Journal and WHAS-TV in Louisville, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8...

Andy Beshear, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, has been promoting his plan to fight heroin use in Kentucky, including mandatory minimum prison terms for dealers, better access to anti-overdose medication for emergency workers and a "Good Samaritan law" that legally protects drug users who report an overdose to authorities, all of which he says should be done "without further delay." But Beshear's proposals — featured on his campaign website — already are the law. They were included in last winter's hotly debated Senate Bill 192, signed by his father, Gov. Steve Beshear, in March, and crafted in part by...

The Republican Attorneys General Association has launched a new television ad released Thursday again linking Democratic attorney general candidate Andy Beshear with President Barack Obama. A female narrator in the ad, titled “Follow the Money,” says Beshear has collected “hundreds of thousands from the same liberal donors who funded Barack Obama.” “Why? Because Beshear would support Obama’s policies, putting Obama ahead of Kentucky,” the narrator says in the 30-second spot, which can be viewed here: Scott Will, executive director of RAGA, said in a statement, “You may not always know what Andy Beshear stands for, but you know who he...

The Republican Attorneys General Association is launching another ad attempting to connect the dots between Democratic attorney general candidate Andy Beshear and President Barack Obama. The ad is beginning to run as the campaign for Beshear launched the first two ads of their advertising campaign, totaling more than $1 million. A search of FCC documents shows that RAGA purchased $100,000 worth of ad time over the course of a week in the Lexington, Louisville and Cincinnati television markets. RAGA never returned multiple calls from Pure Politics seeking comment on the ad on Monday. The ad from the group says that...

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...

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...

The campaign of Democratic attorney general candidate Andy Beshear is attempting to have an ad by the Republican Attorneys General Association removed from Lexington airwaves. The ad first was launched on Tuesday in the Lexington market where the 30-second spot is airing on: WLEX-TV, WKYT-TV and WTVQ-TV. As previously reported, the spot highlights Republican candidate Whitney Westerfield, a Hopkinsville attorney and the state Senate Judiciary chairman, as having spent time as a prosecutor “who put criminals behind bars.” The ad targets Beshear for having a lack of law enforcement experience, having a campaign “funded by special interests he would oversee...

Andy Beshear, the first Democratic candidate to announce for attorney general in 2015, will raise money in Louisville on Feb. 25 — hours after Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes’ event with former President Bill Clinton. Grimes and Clinton will be appearing at the Louisville’s Galt House for a fundraiser at 11 a.m. The campaign manager for Beshear, a Louisville lawyer and the son of [Ky.]Gov. Steve Beshear, said in response to questions from Pure Politics that the Beshear fundraiser was “scheduled several months ago” and will start five hours after the Grimes event ends. Jared Smith, Beshear’s campaign...