Winners and Losers

It’s been a slow week in Frankfort, but some people always have it better than others.

Winners:

• KEA – They may not have a seat at the table during Matt Bevin’s clandestine pension meetings last year, but House leaders made sure that wasn’t the case with the new pension working group. With Derrick Graham, Travis Brenda and Scott Lewis all serving, the organization definitely has a voice.

• The State Treasurer’s Office – As statewide candidates start to file, and more expected to do so soon, those filing fee checks have to be a nice little boost to the coffers.

• Muhammad Ali – Louisville hasn’t ever ignored Ali, but city leaders made a positive step to recognize him even more this week by naming the airport in his honor. We look forward to the inevitable “Fly Like A Butterfly” billboards soon.

Losers:

• Andy Beshear – We may have never seen a legitimate candidate start their campaign with such a whimper. We hope someone buys him some Tabasco sauce, because he needs some fire in the belly!

• Pike County – There have been political legends come from Pike. This is the home of Kelsey Friend, Paul Patton, Herbie Deskins and many more. From what we can tell, neither Darrell Pugh or Phillip Wheeler, the two vying to replace Ray Jones in the Senate, could hold a candle to those others.

• Whitney Westerfield – After coming so close in 2015, Westerfield probably assumed the Republican nomination for Attorney General would be a cinch this year, especially after Mike Hogan, his former primary opponent, decided to run for Lt. Governor with Robert Goforth. This week brought news that not only has McConnell acolyte Daniel Cameron filed a letter of intent, but Bevin Administration attorney Steven Doan and retired Supreme Court Justice Dan Venters are considering running as well. That’s bad news for Westerfield, who will be stuck in Frankfort for much of the primary campaign.