All Politics are Local

Kentucky Democrats are bringing in a well-connected out-of-state politician  to headline their annual state dinner.  State Democrats aim for high-profile names to headline their annual Wendell Ford Dinner—this year they've booked Beau Biden, the Delaware Attorney General and the son of Vice President Joe Biden.

Two national polls released this week show Kentucky Senator Rand Paul neck and neck with many other potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates. Both Quinnipiac and Public Policy Polling released surveys Wednesday showing Paul in second or third place in the early GOP primary field. Paul clocks in at 15 percent in the Quinnipiac poll, behind former vice presidential nominee and Congressman Paul Ryan at 17 percent, and fellow Republican Senator Marco Rubio at 19 percent. 

A bill designed to help doctors, hospitals and other medical providers receive prompt payments from the state's Medicaid managed care companies awaits Gov. Steve Beshear's signature or veto. Despite passing both the state House and Senate unanimously and having the support of the medical community, Beshear has left open the possibility he may veto House Bill 5 because of concerns that it could cost too much to implement.

Former Kentucky treasurer Jonathan Miller is blaming fellow state Democrats for helping push actress Ashley Judd out of the upcoming U.S. Senate race. Judd announced last week she is declining to run against Republican Mitch McConnell in 2014, citing a need to focus on family. The speculation on other reasons why Judd isn't making a bid are plentiful, but supporters are speaking up.

Many of the bills Kentucky lawmakers passed in the final hours of this year's legislative session are still awaiting action by Governor Steve Beshear. Beshear has not yet signed or vetoed high-profile bills that would prepare Kentucky to grow industrial hemp, allow alcohol sales on election day and simplify voting for military service members stationed overseas.

With more than a year before the next elections, new political action committee has formed to help Republicans gain control of the Kentucky state House. The PAC—Pro-Jobs, Pro-Kentucky—was formed earlier this month by Scott Jennings, a longtime Kentucky  GOP political operative and Mike Adams, a former political director for the Republican Governor's Association.

The Louisville Tea Party has developed new education initiatives the group plans to support through fund raising. There are four initiatives on the Louisville Tea Party’s website. They include supporting school choice and charter schools.  The party says students should not spend more than 30 minutes on a bus unless parents sign a waiver allowing them to spend extra time being transported.

With the Kentucky General Assembly adjourned for the year, a look into lobbying spending during the session shows major dollars are still used to influence issues.  During the first two months of the this year's session, a total of $4.2 million was spent lobbying.  That's a 10 percent increase over the last 30-day session in 2011, according to Legislative Ethics Commission.

The key issue for a new Louisville-based political action committee is candidates' use of reproductive rights as a campaign issue. Reproductive Rights for Kentucky PAC was born from the recent controversy when University of Louisville Hospital attempted to merge with Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives. Critics of the merger raised concerns about CHI's adherence to Catholic religious directives—that certain reproductive health practices, such as tubal litigations, wouldn't be permitted at University Hospital.

Supporters of growing hemp on Wednesday cheered the General Assembly's last-hour passage of a bill to license Kentucky farmers. And they made plans to take to Washington their case that industrial hemp should be legal. After a speech in Lexington, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Bowling Green, said he's "very excited" about the hemp bill and Kentucky's chances for a waiver to grow it.

On March 6, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul went to work without any particular plans, certainly none that included making a speech for 13 hours straight. "I didn't call my wife; I didn't have my best shoes on," he said during a speech Wednesday afternoon at the University of Kentucky. "It was pretty much just spontaneous, and I think that's why people became interested in it."

The campaign to re-elect Republican Senator Mitch McConnell launched a new statewide radio ad this week featuring the GOP leader's fiery remarks at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference. During the speech, McConnell pledge to conservative activists the fight against the Affordable Care Act will will continue despite the Supreme Court upholding the legislation and President Obama's re-election last fall.

A Louisville TV station is reporting that it appears that actress Ashley Judd will not be a candidate for U.S. Senate. WHAS-TV reported on its 5 p.m. newscast and on its website that Judd tweeted Wednesday afternoon that after serious consideration she has decided her time should to be devoted to her family.