Capitol Gains

KFP 4-Pack: KY GOP Reacts to Trump Raid; Private Donations Fund Losing Candidate’s Recount (and more)

Boone GOP receives $25k private donation for losing candidate’s recount effort A private donor gave $25,000 to the Boone County Republican Party with a request that the money be given to the Jessica Neal recount bond, according to Emily Shelton, a Boone County Republican Party precinct captain and the Republican member of the Boone County...

Former State Rep Files Primary Challenge to SOS Michael Adams

Secretary of State Michael Adams has a Republican primary challenge. Allen Maricle, who served in Frankfort as a state Representative from 1994 until 1998, has filed to raise money for the Secretary of State’s race with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. “We have polling locations consolidated and shutdown. We have come to rely too...

Former Justice Cabinet Sec. John Tilley Pleads Not Guilty to Rape Charge

LEXINGTON – Former state Representative and Justice Cabinet Secretary John Tilley pleaded not guilty to First Degree Rape. As Kentucky Fried Politics first reported, Tilley turned himself into Lexington Police on Monday morning on the charge originating from an incident in Lexington on April 15. The former five-term Democratic lawmaker bonded out of the Fayette...

Senate Republicans to Engage in Berg / Peden Race

Republicans in the state Senate say they have a shot to take a Democratic seat in Louisville this fall and increase their majority. New polling suggests state Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, is vulnerable this election cycle to Republican Louisville councilman James Peden. “We did a poll and surprisingly it came back where it looks like...

Former Justice Secretary John Tilley Booked for Rape

Attorney, five-term state representative, and former Kentucky Justice Cabinet Secretary John Tilley has been booked for first degree rape. Tilley turned himself in on Monday morning at 9:15 am according to the Fayette County Jail website. He is currently being held without bond as he awaits a hearing in Fayette County. The charge of rape...

Will Censure of McConnell Push Primary Candidates Away from Party Boss and Further to the Right?

U.S. Sen. Leader Mitch McConnell’s work to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act cost him the Republican base at home and could push other Republicans further towards the right in primaries. Last week, the Jessamine County Republican Party censured McConnell and called on him to resign from his post as the Senate Republican Leader for...

Paul Bucks McConnell Over Judicial Appointment; KY Senate Closes Ranks Around Sen. Meredith

Kentucky’s U.S. Senators are at odds over a judicial nomination that had the approval of President Joe Biden, and the discontent could be leaking into the state Senate chambers. The White House has dropped plans to appoint Chad Meredith to a federal judicial appointment, after an agreement with President Joe Biden which was brokered by...

Six Years After Flipping House GOP Edges Dems in Voter Registration

After years of electoral success and supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, Republicans have managed to overtake Democrats in their final hurdle – voter registration. the Kentucky State Board of Elections announced the number of registered Republican voters stands at 1,612,060, compared to 1,609,569 registered Democrats, giving Republicans a voter registration advantage of...

Ricky Lee Williams: One of a Kind in KY Politics

“Hey, honey. How you doin’,” an excited deep male voice says dripping with an eastern Kentucky drawl. “Now, don’t say nothin’ yet. Just listen, OK. I need you to listen and then you can talk.” When Ricky Lee Williams would call it would almost always start with what was on his mind. He had an...