Pol Watchers

KY GOP starts fall races with more cash

Democrats out-raised but also out-spent Republicans

The state Democratic and Republican parties filed their fund-raising committee reports Tuesday with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. And a review of all the committee finances shows that the Republicans have the financial edge at the beginning of the general election season.

The GOP has five times the money on hand as the Democratic Party, but the Democratic House Caucus has out-raised every other state legislative fund-raising committee.

Here's a breakdown of the parties' cash on hand:

Kentucky Democratic Party:
Federal account filed with the FEC (through 5/31/08): $209,927.76
State account filed with the KREF (through 6/19/08): $18,347.87
State account money from income tax check offs: $6,707.48
TOTAL: $234,983.11

Republican Party of Kentucky:
Federal account filed with the FEC (through 5/31/08): $876,598.73
State account filed with the KREF (through 5/31/08): $149,145.98
State account money from income tax check offs: $123,669.49
TOTAL: $1,149,414.20

When it comes to the caucus campaign committees that are set up as separate fund-raising organizations that benefit state legislative candidates, majorities rule. The majority Senate Republicans' organization and majority Democratic House fund-raising entities far outpaced their minority rival committees, which start the fall races with the campaign equivalent of spare change.

Senate Republican Caucus Campaign Committee:
$86,943.94 on hand (raised $94,650 since November and spent $60,292.12)

Senate Democratic Caucus Campaign Committee:
$10,803.29 on hand (raised $53,548.83 since November and spent $53,955.88)

House Democratic Caucus Campaign Committee:
$125,434.18 on hand (raised $60,246.87 since November and spent $122,799.70)

House Republican Caucus Campaign Committee:
$20,609.37 on hand (raised $10,500 since November and spent $0)

So when you add the caucus committees to the overall party fund-raising, the Republicans still start the fall cycle with more than three times the cash available to help their candidates.

REPUBLICAN GROUP GRAND TOTAL: $1,256,967.51

DEMOCRATIC GROUP GRAND TOTAL: $371,220.58

The Kentucky Democrats, however, have brought in more money so far this year than Republicans, they've just spent more of it.

A review of the campaign finance reports shows that, since December, the Kentucky State Democratic Party collected $791,258 in its state bank account in addition to more than $107,000 it garnered from income tax check-offs from state taxpayers. But it spent nearly every penny of that money leaving the state account with about $25,000 in June -- close to the $19,500 that account started with in December.

Between January and May 31, the Kentucky Democratic Party raised $761,481 in its federal bank account but spent $813,153.

That makes a grand total of $1.66 million raised and $1.71 spent.

A bulk of the Democrats' money appears to have been spent on the series of five special legislative elections this winter to fill vacated seats in the 95th House District (won by Democrat Greg Stumbo), 6th House District (won by Democrat Will Coursey), 63rd House District (won by Republican Alecia Webb-Edgington), 72nd House District (won by Democrat Sannie Overly) and the 30th Senate District, which was a fiercely competitive and expensive contest won by Republican Brandon Smith.

In contrast, the Republican Party of Kentucky brought in $227,383 over the last six months into its state account as well as $43,298 from income tax check-offs. In the same time period, the party spent a total of $87,103 of all of that money.

Between January and May 31, the GOP raised $896,080 in its federal bank account but spent $576,077.

That makes a grand total of $1.17 million raised and about $663,000 spent.

- Ryan Alessi

McConnell campaign says it broke fund-raising record

When U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, reports his re-election fund-raising update, it will show that he's collected more than $12.2 million -- the most for a Kentucky candidate, the campaign said.

McConnell's re-election campaign, which resumed running ads last week after a two-month hiatus, will show on its forthcoming report to the Federal Election Commission that it has $7,741,421 still in the bank as of March 31, the campaign's statement said.

McConnell faces primary opposition from a GOP candidate running a limited campaign. Seven Democrats are fighting in the May 20 primary for the chance to take on McConnell in the fall.

Click here to see a roundup of some of the other federal candidates' fund-raising.

- Ryan Alessi

Campaign fund-raising roundup

Congressional and U.S. Senate candidates must turn in their fund-raising figures through March 31 to the Federal Election Commission by April 15. Here's a look at what some of the prominent candidates are expected to file:

U.S. Senate 

This is the marquee Kentucky race for the fall. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is up for re-election and faces token opposition in the GOP primary from a challenger running a limited campaign with a Tennessee P.O. box. Meanwhile, seven Democrats -- including two millionaire candidates -- are duking it out for that party's nomination.

• UPDATE 12:17 a.m. Tuesday: McConnell's campaign announced it would report raising a total of $12.2 million through March 31, which the campaign says is "a new record for Kentucky." McConnell's re-election fund will have more than $7.7 million in the bank, the news release adds.
  
• Democrat Bruce Lunsford says his report will show that he's raised $280,000 and put in $470,000 of his own money before March 31. (He later said he added $545,000 more from his personal fortune that won't show upon the April 15 report)
• Democrat Greg Fischer says he's raised more than $500,000 and kicked in another $500,000 of his own.

2nd Congressional District

This will the be the race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis, a Republican from Hardin County. Republican state Sen. Brett Guthrie of Bowling Green is running unopposed in the GOP primary but is amassing a warchest for the fall when he will face the winner of a clash between two Owensboro Democrats.

• Guthrie is expected to reveal raising more than $400,000 after a busy fund-raising period highlighted by a $76,000 event in Washington and a Lexington luncheon featuring Vice President Dick Cheney that brought in six figures.
• Daviess County Judge-Executive Reid Haire, a Democrat, has told Owen Covington of the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer that he will have raised about $200,000.
• State Sen. David Boswell, an Owensboro Democrat, told a crowd at a rally last week that "he had brought in $38,000 through Wednesday, and was hoping to generate $5,000 or $6,000 in contributions Thursday night," Covington reported.

3rd Congressional District

Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville will face the winner of a four-candidate GOP primary for his bid for a second term.  But the favorite to emerge with the Republican nomination is Anne Northup, who represented that district from 1996 through 2006. A Yarmuth-Northup rematch would be a nationally-watched race.

• Yarmuth has amassed more than $1 million, WHAS-TV's Mark Hebert reports.
• Northup, meanwhile,  could show raising as much as $450,000 since entering the race in January, reports Jefferson Poole of Blue Grass, Red State.

- Ryan Alessi

Kentucky GOP accuses Bluegrass Freedom Fund

The Republican Party of Kentucky filed a complaint to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance raising questions about whether the Bluegrass Freedom Fund went out of bounds with its ads in last year's governor's race.

To view the complaint, click here.

Steve Robertson, the Kentucky GOP chairman, said recent comments in the press by representatives of the Democratic Governors Association and casino company owner Bill Yung -- both of whom donated to the Bluegrass Freedom Fund -- indicate that the group's purpose was to help Democrat Steve Beshear get elected.

"They made it clear that they were giving big money to this fund to help Steve Beshear get elected," Robertson said in an interview. "Last time I checked they weren't saying they were giving to improve ethics in Kentucky."

The Bluegrass Freedom Fund ran several TV ads during the governor's race that touted ethics reform in Kentucky government. All of the spots focused on ethics problems that dogged former Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, whom Beshear soundly beat in the November election.

UPDATE 7:34 p.m.: Jim Lamb, a Washington-based attorney for the Bluegrass Freedom Fund, charged that the Republican party's complaint "misstates the law and is factually wrong."

Lamb said the issue ads calling for ethics reforms were consistent with a June 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Here's part of his statement:

The BFF acted completely independently of any campaign. And while we appreciated the support of our donors, they played no role in the independent decision making of our organization. RPK's complaint is legally and factually wrong.

In contrast, Gov. Fletcher was a member of and personally raised money for the Republican Governors Association, which then ran character attack ads against Steve Beshear last year.  A complaint was filed against the RGA in the Fall of 2007.

The RPK's facts about BFF are wrong, but if their legal argument is correct, then they just indicted the RGA and their member, Gov. Fletcher.

The Bluegrass Freedom Fund was set up under Section 527 under the IRS code that allows groups to advocate on behalf of issues but forbids coordination with candidates or campaigns.

Both Brian Namey, spokesman for the DGA, and Yung have been quoted as saying they supported Beshear's efforts to get elected. Namey said in August the group was "doing everything we can to support Steve Beshear." And Yung told the Associated Press last month that he exercised his First Amendment right to give money to support Beshear. Neither explicitly said contributions to the Bluegrass Freedom Fund was their main avenue of support.

Robertson said even though the complaint comes months after the governor's race results, he said the Republican Party wants to ensure that future 527 groups are more tightly regulated.

Republican Sen. Damon Thayer of Georgetown, has sponsored a bill that would require certain 527 groups weighing in on constitutional amendment issues to reveal their donors to the Registry of Election Finance frequently. Currently, 527 groups that operate in Kentucky only have to file annually with the IRS.

"We've got to send a message to groups like this that if they're going to participate in elections in Kentucky, they need to participate the right way," Robertson said.

- Ryan Alessi

Clerks to lawmakers: Give us money or no mandates

A House panel approved a bill that would, among other things, boost the pay of election poll workers and the amount of money the state provides to counties.

Under the legislation, H.B. 360, counties would have to pay poll workers at least $100 instead of the $60 minimum paycheck for an election.

However, it's unlikely that will it will take effect this year, because Gov. Steve Beshear had slashed back the amount of money counties would be reimbursed by the state. Currently counties get $255 per precinct from the state. Under Beshear's proposal, counties would get about $200. It costs roughly $1,800 per precinct to run an election.

So the House Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee passed the bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Darryl Owens of Louisville, 7-0 out of the House with the understanding that they wouldn't let it take effect until the 2010 elections.

- Ryan Alessi

Bluegrass Freedom Fund raised $3 million

DEMOCRATIC 527 GROUP GETS BIG MONEY FROM RACING INDUSTRY

The group that ran ads last fall calling for state government ethics reform while simultaneously ripping Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, received most of its $3 million in funding from traditionally Democratic Party backers and horse racing and casino interests.

The Bluegrass Freedom Fund, which ran some of the most politically pointed and memorable TV ads of the 2007 governor's race in support of eventual winner Steve Beshear, filed its first financial report with the IRS late Thursday night just before the midnight deadline.

Keep in mind, the 527 groups have no contribution limits, so the financial report shows some pretty big numbers from a relative few sources. Here are the major contributors:

HORSE AND CASINO INTERESTS

• $1 million from William Yung, president of Northern Kentucky-based development company Columbia Sussex, which owns several casinos, including the embattled Tropicana Hotel and Resort in Atlantic City.
• $250,000 from Churchill Downs Inc., the horse racing track that is looking for a casino
• $250,000 from EP Acquisition in Louisville, which is owned by Ronald Geary, who owns Ellis Park in Henderson and also is interested in casinos.
• $125,000 from Turfway Park in Florence, which like Churchill Downs has expressed its interest to lawmakers
• $60,000 from Lexington Trots Breeders Association, which owns the Red Mile harness racing track
• $50,000 from Edward Allred of Os Alamitos, Calif., who owns Los Alamitos Race Course, who has apparently recently dropped out of a group seeking to get a racing license for a new track in London, Ky.
• $50,000 from W.S. Farish of Versailles who owns Lanes End Farm
• $50,000 from Tracy Farmer, the Midway investor and horse farm owner who staunchly backed Beshear
• $25,000 from Bruce Rimbo, president of Ruidoso Downs Racing in Ruidoso, N.M., who is still part of that group trying to get a track in London.
• $25,000 from Paul Blanchard, owner of Mountain Run Development of Albuquerque, who also has apparently dropped out of the group seeking a track in London.
• $10,000 from H. Greg Goodman, owner of Mt. Brilliant Farm in Lexington
• $10,000 from John Oxley, a horse breeder and owner from Tulsa, OK

DEMOCRATIC PARTY GROUPS

• $600,000 from the Democratic Governors Association in Washington, D.C.

UNIONS

• $200,000 from AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the national public employee union
• $50,000 from SEIU PEA International, the Washington D.C.-based Service Employees International Union
• $25,000 from the International Union of Operating Engineers in Washington, D.C.
• $15,000 from the Jefferson County Teachers Association in Louisville
• $5,000 from the Carpenters' Legislative Improvement Committee in Washington, D.C.
• $5,000 from the Plumbers Pipe Fitters & M.E.S. Local 392 PAC in Cincinnati

OTHER

• $250,000 from Phoenix Capital in Lexington
• $50,000 from Hideout of Lincoln County, LLC, of Palm Desert, Calif.
• $20,000 from the American Association for Justice in Washington, D.C.
• $25,000 from the Kentucky Justice Association, Inc.

So of the $3,150,000 raised by the Bluegrass Freedom Fund, $1,905,000 came from companies or individuals who have interests in the horse racing or casino industries, several of whom have appeared before a legislative committee looking into the issue of allowing casinos in Kentucky.

Some of the same names and interests also opened their wallets to other funds that benefited Beshear and his gubernatorial campaign, including Beshear's campaign fund, his inauguration committee fund and the Kentucky Victory 2007 committee -- a joint fund-raising group set up by the Kentucky Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee last spring.

- Ryan Alessi

Casino, horsy set gave heavily

By Janet Patton And Ryan Alessi
JPATTON@HERALD-LEADER.COM

• Read the full list of donors

Donors from the horse and casino industries -- including the co-owners of the Island View Casino of Gulfport, Miss. -- pumped about a half-million dollars into a little-known Democratic Party fund-raising committee last fall.

Nearly 40 people connected to those interests accounted for about 28 percent of the money raised by the Kentucky Victory 2007 committee. The Democratic National Committee set up that fund-raising entity with the Kentucky Democratic Party in June.

Federal Election Commission reports show that $117,000 of the Victory Committee's money went directly to the Kentucky Democratic Party, which was supporting Gov. Steve Beshear's campaign in the 2007 election.

Throughout last fall, casino, racetrack officials and horse owners and breeders gave heavily, shelling out at least $489,500 to the Kentucky Victory Committee, according to a Herald-Leader analysis.

CONTINUE READING STORY

Stumbo gets guilty plea in election fraud case

A London road contracting company will pay $250,000 to settle election fraud charges brought against one of its employees, Attorney General Greg Stumbo announced today.

Phillip Dufour, an employee of Elmo Greer & Sons LLC, has also pled guilty to a felony charge of violating election laws and was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Dufour and Elmo Greer & Sons have agreed to cooperate with an ongoing investigation by naming all individuals who solicited funds or were given money during the gubernatorial primary election last year.

The investigation was spurred by an article in The Courier-Journal earlier this year that identified suspect donations to candidates for governor.

Dufour pled guilty to charges of funneling money to eight individuals so that they could contribute to the campaigns of former Gov. Ernie Fletcher, Republican Anne Northup and Democrat Steve Henry.

In a settlement with Stumbo's office, the company agreed to pay $250,000 to defray costs of the investigation "as a gesture of good faith." The company denied any liability in the case.

Stumbo said the case produced the largest fine and payment for election fraud in the state's history.

"It should put everyone on notice that this type of activity will not be tolerated," Stumbo said in an interview.

Friday is Stumbo's final day in office.

- John Stamper and Jack Brammer

State finance reports show Dems outspent GOP

The Kentucky Democratic Party dropped $2 million on the fall election, compared to $170,000 for the Republican Party of Kentucky, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state Registry of Election Finance.

The Democratic Party ended the election cycle with $19,274 after spending much of the party's cash helping Steve Beshear defeat Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

The Republican Party, meanwhile, starts anew with $8,865.84 in its state account and another $80,370 collected through money that Kentuckians designated through a check-off box on their income tax returns.

Those aren't complete pictures of the parties' financial strength because the organizations also have federal bank accounts monitored by the Federal Election Commission.

In addition, the state Senate Republicans and Democrats and state House Democrats and Republicans have reported to the state registry the financial condition of their caucus accounts:

• Senate Republicans (majority): $20,000 raised since June; $52,588 on hand
• Senate Democrats (minority): Not reported yet
• House Democrats (majority): $223,336 raised since June; $187,587 on hand
• House Republicans (minority): $2,500 raised since June; $10,109 on hand

- Ryan Alessi

Beshear sets gubernatorial fund-raising records

Democrat Steve Beshear collected a whopping $7 million during his winning campaign for governor, setting the record for the most money raised from others by a gubernatorial candidate.

Beshear’s financial success — largely  due to the Democratic candidate’s relentless fund-raising pace that took him to more than 200 events across the state — was a final touch on his successful run that resurrected his political career after losing that race in the 1987 Democratic primary.

Beshear finished the election with $250,927 left over, according to his campaign finance report filed with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance late yesterday.

Beshear’s total could end up nearly doubling what Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher brought in. Fletcher, who trailed Beshear badly in money for the entire general election, hasn’t yet filed his latest report. They are due by Dec. 12, the day after Beshear is inaugurated.

The $7 million Beshear raised in the general election broke Fletcher’s record of $5.6 million collected in 2003. Beshear’s total of $9.5 million also shattered the overall record of $8 million worth of donations in the primary and general elections combined.

That record was held by Beshear’s friend and supporter, Brereton Jones, who was governor from 1991 to 1995.

Beshear spent $1 million down the stretch and spent $1.3 million in the final week to seal his 17-point win over Fletcher.

Overall, Beshear spent $6.8 million this fall mostly on campaign ads, voter turnout efforts and his staff. He also received nearly $1.4 million worth of in-kind contributions from the Democratic Party.

On top of that, the Bluegrass Freedom Fund, a so-called 527 organization, added at least $3 million worth of commercials against Fletcher. That group, which was largely funded by the Democratic Governors Association, hasn’t reported its final numbers to the IRS.

As he did during most of the general election, Beshear collected money from a wide swath of people from across Kentucky. Among those who gave in the final week of the campaign and the month since were attorneys, engineers and contractors, coal company employees, farmers and horse owners and local elected officials.

Beshear received a late boost from about 100 state workers who gave a total of nearly $40,000 during this reporting period, according to a Herald-Leader analysis.

The most prominent state official was John Clay, whom Fletcher appointed to the Public Service Commission in October 2006 and elevated to vice chairman in August 2007. He gave Beshear’s campaign $500 four days before the election. Another former Fletcher supporter, Kentucky Motor Speedway owner Jerry Carroll, kicked in $1,000.

Also giving to Beshear at the last minute were several Democrats who are now considering seeking new offices: former Congressman Carroll Hubbard, who gave $1,000 and is running for state Senate; Daviess County Judge Executive Reid Haire, who gave $500 and is considering a bid for Congress; and Louisville businessman Greg Fischer, who contributed $1,000 and is weighing a U.S. Senate run.

Also, Beshear received a half-dozen donations from employees of Jefferson County Attorney Irv Maze. Maze ran with state treasurer Jonathan Miller against Beshear in the Democratic primary, then dropped out and threw their support behind Beshear's ticket.

- Ryan Alessi