CN|2

A flurry of new ads are hitting the airwaves — radio and television — in the final week of the Republican primary for the 4th Congressional District. The Liberty for All Super PAC purchased $16,000 in radio air time for the final five days to back Thomas Massie, the Lewis County judge-executive. Preston Bates, executive director of the libertarian-leaining group, said the spots will air in the markets in Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston/Huntington, W.Va., which borders the eastern part of... Read more 

The Kentucky Supreme Court this week unanimously voted to re-elect Chief Justice John Minton to the top judicial position for another four years, the Administrative Office of the Courts announced Thursday. The seven justices voted Monday, while the court was meeting in Frankfort to hear cases. “With this re-election, the justices have expressed their appreciation for the hard work and leadership of Chief Justice Minton,” said Mary C. Noble, deputy chief justice, in a statement. “We have an unusually close... Read more 

(UPDATED 11:47 p.m.) The outside Super PAC Liberty for All changed its ads on behalf of 4th District Republican candidate Thomas Massie by going after two of Massie’s rivals in the seven-candidate race, Gary Moore and Alecia Webb-Edgington. The ad criticizes Webb-Edgington, a state representative from Fort Wright, for missing “key votes” to attend a fundraiser. Indeed, Webb-Edgington has acknowledged that she was at a Shelbyville fundraiser the evening of March 30 when her colleagues in the House gave voted... Read more 

The group representing many Kentucky doctors says it’s still concerned about the bill the General Assembly passed last month that’s aimed at tighter regulation of prescription pain pills. Specifically, the Kentucky Medical Association continues to lobby against moving the KASPER prescription monitoring system from the Health and Family Services Cabinet to the attorney general’s office. While the new law doesn’t do that, Gov. Steve Beshear could decide to shift it to the attorney general’s office by executive order. KMA President... Read more 

The campaign landscape is much different now than it was just four years ago when then-Republican Congressman Ron Lewis opted not to seek re-election. But Lewis said he doesn’t have a problem with Super PACs getting involved in elections — often raising and spending unlimited money on behalf of candidates. He said the main thing he wants to see is more frequent disclosure of funding of such groups. The Liberty for All Super PAC, a libertarian-leaning group based in Austin,... Read more 

Just three of the seven Republicans running for Congress in Northern Kentucky’s 4th District have perfect attendance in voting in the last five elections, according to Board of Elections records. Alecia Webb-Edgington, the state representative from Kenton County, Marcus Carey, a lawyer from Owen County, and Gary Moore, the Boone County judge-executive, voted in every primary and general election dating back to 2006, according to the voting records obtained through an open records request. Thomas Massie, the Lewis County judge-executive,... Read more 

Republican 4th Congressional District candidate Thomas Massie is using his new ad, which began airing Tuesday, to highlight his promise to reject a congressional pension, if elected — even though members of Congress are locked into the retirement plan. A member of Congress can’t refuse to participate in the pension system, as cn|2 previously reported. . But Massie has said he would write a check to repay the treasury, just as presidential candidate and Republican Congressman Ron Paul has sought... Read more 

(UPDATED WITH PAUL’S VIDEO STATEMENT) — Saying he doesn’t “like anyone telling me how to vote,” U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said he has made up his own mind and supports Thomas Massie, the Lewis County judge-executive, in the seven candidate Republican primary for Congress in Northern Kentucky’s 4th District. However, Paul, a Bowling Green resident, doesn’t have a vote in the 4th District. Still, after many of his supporters backed Massie, Paul formally endorsed Massie on Monday, as Pure Politics... Read more 

Kentucky Democrats believe they can compete for two open state Senate seats held by Republicans, including one in which former congressman Carroll Hubbard will make his third attempt at the state Senate in six years. Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Dan Logsdon said Hubbard, a former congressman who spent time in prison in the 1990s for fraud and campaign finance violations, “had paid his debt to society” and is working hard in the 1st District race in far western Kentucky. That... Read more 

How exactly do you describe a week in politics in which the president shifted his stance on gay marriage and couldn’t manage 60 percent in West Virginia’s primary against an inmate from Texas while Republican Mitt Romney responds to an article about his alleged bullying ways as a prep schooler? Not with one adjective, that’s for sure. So MSNBC’s Perry Bacon Jr. offered his take on the week in national politics on Friday’s edition of Pure Politics. Bacon, a Louisville... Read more