All Politics are Local

The race for Kentucky Secretary of State features four candidates - two Republicans and two Democrats -- who want the job of overseeing the Commonwealth's elections and business filings. Kentucky Public Radio's Brenna Angel takes a look at the two Democratic hopefuls, Elaine Walker of Bowling Green and Alison Lundergan Grimes of Lexington.

After giving her campaign a personal loan, Kentucky Secretary of State Elaine Walker was able to launch a television advertisement in her Democratic primary contest against challenger Allison Lundergran Grimes. This is a bit of a surprise considering Walker initially said she wasn’t going to go beyond direct mailers and robocalls, but the former mayor of Bowling Green appears to be taking this race seriously—albeit in the last few days of the campaign.

Setting up another budget battle for the coming fiscal year, U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, has offered a bill that proposes cutting another $45.7 billion from domestic spending and foreign aid.

In an eye-opening profile, Politico says U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is working hard to take down Democratic candidates and build up his party in the upcoming Kentucky elections to maintain power in Washington.

Governor Steve Beshear says he didn’t  intend to give the wrong impression last week when he went to the Kentucky Oaks horse race instead of Fort Campbell where President Barack Obama was visiting.  Beshear has faced some criticism for not changing his schedule to meet the President, but the governor says he had to attend Oaks to meet with visiting business leaders who could bring jobs to Kentucky.

During next week’s primary, as they have done for decades, members of the Democratic Party will choose their candidates and Republicans will do the same.  The system is called a ‘closed primary.’  It excludes voters without a party affiliation.  It also means voters registered in one party cannot vote in another party’s primary.  Now, there’s been discussion in one statewide office race about the pros and cons of opening up the Kentucky primary a bit.

For the few citizens who are projected to participate in the May 17 primary election, Secretary of State Elaine Walker has released a “Do’s and Don’ts” list for Kentucky voters. “We want to make sure that people are informed about the upcoming election and their rights as voters,” says Walker.  “We hope more people participate in the upcoming election than we expect; and are trying to raise awareness about the primary election in every way possible.  This election is critically important and I encourage everyone to get out and vote.”

With less than a week until the primary election, Democratic secretary of state candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes has announced that Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway and Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo will serve as statewide co-chairs of her campaign.

Most of the seven candidates running for Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner have one attention getting thing in common…they support legalizing industrial hemp.  WEKU’S Ron Smith reports on the growing political support for the once taboo plant.