Daniel Cameron has wasted no time revving up his campaign for Attorney General. Politico reported that he was in DC this last week for a star-studded fundraiser.

The event was hosted by the BGR Group, a major lobbying firm. It’s interesting to note who BGR’s principals are: Haley Barbour, Lanny Griffith and Ed Rogers. Many people will know Barbour as the former governor of Mississippi, as well as former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Griffith and Rogers are also well-placed Republicans, having worked in the Reagan and Bush administrations. However, both cut their teeth involved with Barbour, going back to his days in the Reagan administration and his failed 1982 U.S. Senate campaign.

Among the people listed at the fundraiser were the following:

• Mitch McConnell – After endorsing Trey Grayson in 2010, McConnell said he wouldn’t get involved in GOP primaries again. Guess that’s out the window.

• Curtis Hill – Hill is Indiana’s current Attorney General and, notably, and African-American Republican as well.

• Pam Bondi – Bondi recently completed her second term as Attorney General of Florida.

• Kristin Strobel – Strobel is a DC lobbyist, but previously worked for Ohio’s Governor Mike DeWine when he was serving as Attorney General.

• Samantha Dravais – Dravis served as policy chief in the Trump EPA, but prior to that was general counsel for the Republican Attorneys General Association.

• Loren Monroe – Monroe is a lobbyist and a long time Republican operative. Among other activities, Monroe serves on the finance committee for the Republican Attorneys General Association.

• Adam Piper – Piper serves as the current executive director of the Republican Attorneys General Association.

• Brian McGuire – McGuire is a lobbyist who was also a long time staffer for McConnell, culminating in him serving as McConnell’s chief of staff for nearly three years.

• Ashley Montenegro – Montenegro is a lobbyist who previously served as Finance Director for the Republican Attorneys General Association for six years.

While Kentuckians may not be that familiar with Cameron yet, it appears that DC is and have anointed him as their pick. ITC predicts that we will see such people as Barbour, Hill and Bondi, and maybe others, making appearances in Kentucky on Cameron’s behalf soon.

It’s day seven of the 2019 General Assembly. Believe it or not, this year’s session is already nearly 1/4 completed. And what has been accomplished so far? Bubkis.

The Senate has passed a few bills, but the House has yet to even hear any. We’re sure the reason that would be offered would be the pace of the committee system, but that didn’t seem to be an obstacle two years ago when, by this point, bills on right-to-work, prevailing wage, abortion restrictions and the University of Louisville had not already passed, but had been signed into law.

So what changed? As one Republican legislator told us, it is the “Hoover factor.” They credited Jeff Hoover with the pace two years ago. “When we came in, the organization was already there. Hoover had the little things like committee, seats and offices assignments already lined out. That let us focus on passing those bills.” The legislator stopped short of explicitly criticizing current House leadership, but said, “Let’s just say it took some extra time for the little stuff this year.”

We at ITC are not defending Hoover, or others implicated, for the well-publicized sexual antics. As previously stated, the ITC policy is not to involve ourselves in “he said, she said” situations. However, Hoover admitted to inappropriate behavior, and although allegations against the others were not admitted, Hoover’s were the most egregious with sexually-charged text messages.

What we will say is that we wonder what the state of Frankfort would be right now had that not happened. Hoover was one Republican who was willing to stand up to Bevin. Had “Jane Doe” not come forward, we have to wonder if he might have run against Bevin in a primary this year? Or perhaps as a running mate for Jamie Comer?

Republicans in the state have reason to be mad at Hoover. While not the first by any means, he allowed the tawdry to interfere with his responsibility. His resignation as Speaker left a vacuum in Frankfort, as he was the adult in the room who could tell Bevin when enough was enough.

Will another Republican step up and be that person? Or will Bevin run roughshod over the legislature this year? Only time will tell, but what is obvious is that it’s not just Hoover paying his penance, it’s the people of Kentucky as well.

Everyone knows Matt Bevin is a little odd at times. Okay, more than a little and most of the time. But his recent actions may take the cake!

ITC has learned that Bevin recently went nutso in a couple of different meetings. Let’s be clear….Bevin is still pouting from the failed special session in December which he announced at 4pm and gave legislators until 8pm the same day to get to Frankfort; The same special session where the bill was presented after 8pm that evening and which did not contain what he had promised legislative leaders earlier in the day. The legislature promptly adjourned the next day. So, as with everything else, Bevin is never wrong, someone else is always at fault, a la Donald Trump.

A few days ago, Bevin was reportedly meeting with some top level administration officials at the Governor’s mansion. One of those present was Deputy Secretary Regina Stivers, wife of Senate President Robert Stivers. ITC has been told by a couple of sources that Bevin told Ms. Stivers “the special session would have successful if David Williams was still Senate President.” Say what? Those are fighting words to President Stivers who has not been bashful in saying he does things differently in Senate, is not as combative, arrogant, and controlling as was Williams. Our sources say Stivers is furious (as is Mrs. Stivers). Also, those with even a passing glance of historical knowledge of the Kentucky legislature know that Williams shut down a special session or two himself.

If that were not enough, Bevin continued his “everybody is at fault but me” tirade when he met with House Republican leaders. In this meeting, he told Speaker David Osborne “if Greg Stumbo was still Speaker, we would have passed pension reform in the special session”. We are told that Osborne, who is generally very mild mannered and timid, did not say much in response. Of course, Osborne may have been thinking of the last time a House Speaker (Jeff Hoover) directly confronted and challenged the Governor, look what happened! The Governor went into all out assault on Hoover.

Bevin’s tantrum is silly, although not uncommon for him. However, making such statements to the legislature’s top two leaders in an effort to blame someone besides himself only further damages his already weak relations with the General Assembly.

If the Dale Carnegie course “How To Win Friends and Influence People” is offered in the area any time soon, Bevin needs to enroll. ITC is confident neither David Williams or Greg Stumbo will be on the program.

Two years ago a company called EnerBlu, which would manufacture batteries, announced it was locating in Pikeville. Among the promises it made were 875 jobs and $372 million in economic investments. Those promises increased over the years, with CEO Daniel Elliott forecasting the possibility of 1500 jobs.

Today, those promises fell apart as the company announced it is suspending (read: killing) it’s plans for Pikeville.

It is a blow to a part of our state that really couldn’t handle it. Unemployment is highest in far Eastern Kentucky, and these jobs would have been highly sought.

What it has some people in Frankfort wondering though was how long this has been known and if the announcement coming shortly after the candidate filing deadline was a coincidence. Governor Bevin, for all his political faults, has always been able to rely on economic growth and several major projects, including EnerBlu, as highlights of his term. If this announcement had come a couple of weeks earlier, would he have been more likely to get a stronger opponent in the Republican primary?

Rumor also has it that there might be a similar announcement from Braidy Industries in the near future. What will the fallout be if these two signature projects fail to ever materialize?

Governor Matt Bevin may be relatively new to politics, which he frequently demonstrates, but that does not mean he is unwise to the ways of (legally) attempting to buy votes.

Fresh off his 2019 campaign filing, Bevin announced plans for $20 million in improvements to Kentucky’s state park system. These funds will be used for projects such as lodge roofs, campground upgrades and pool repairs.

Of course, this really is not news, as the 2018 General Assembly included the funding in the budget that passed last April.

So why was the announcement put off for nearly a year? April wouldn’t have done much for the political calendar, now would it?

As has been reported by the Associated Press, the recount of the 13th District race for State Representative has ended in a tie between Jim Glenn (D) and DJ Johnson (R).

Election night results had shown Glenn winning by one vote. After counting several previously dismissed ballots, the result still showed Glenn winning by one. Johnson made a personal appeal to the Daviess County Board of Elections about one ballot though, which was then counted for him, resulting in a tie.

What happens next is the big question. Republican sources have told us they want to go about it the way any tied election would be settled, by casting lots by coin flip, drawing straws, or another method.

Anna Whites, Glenn’s attorney, is saying not so fast though. She is making the argument that Glenn was sworn in and seated as a duly elected legislator on the first day of the legislative session. Her argument is that the only way to legally remove him from being a legislator is to go through an impeachment process.

Looks like the only winner in this matter will be the attorneys getting paid overtime.

It’s the last week before Frankfort gets a bit raucous with legislators back in town. So most of the news revolved around the filing deadline.

Winners:

• Rocky Adkins, Andy Beshear and Adam Edelen – Despite constant rumors that an extremely wealthy “Frankfort outsider” was going to enter the Democratic primary for governor, no such candidate ever emerged. This allows the three frontrunners to stick to their more traditional gameplans during the primary.

• Mike Harmon – You would think that a person who drew four opponents would not be considered a weekly winner. But, considering the strength of those opponents and how much of an underdog Harmon was considered it 2015, he definitely is. No prime time Democrat stepped up to take on Harmon, which has to be a relief for him.

• Steve Knipper – Whether or not the man is employed right now is anyone’s best guess. However, as a candidate, the employment controversy has skyrocketed his name ID . . . as well as make him suddenly the “anti-Bevin” candidate for Secretary of State. He probably picked up a lot of votes on that alone.

Losers:

• Matt Bevin – “Soft.” Nothing more needs to be said.

• Alison Grimes – Once the darling of the DNC and KDP, Allison has had a tough week. After announcing that she would not be seeking election to any office this year, the Herald-Leader, in conjunction with ProPublica, released the hounds of hell on her. Illegal voter searches, kickbacks to donors, absenteeism . . . yes, Allison, it’s all just sexist, isn’t it?

• Kentucky Republicans – Republicans across the state went from whispering that Bevin needed a legitimate primary opponent to practically screaming it from atop the Capitol dome last Tuesday. With Jamie Comer, Kelly Craft, Brett Guthrie, Max Wise and Gary Ransdell all ultimately deciding not to enter the fray, Republicans are basically assured a Bevin-Alvarado ticket that will have very heavy lifting to do in the fall.

Earlier this week, Andy Beshear took it upon himself to preemptively opine on the constitutionality of Senate Bill 9, which seeks to prohibit an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Our sources tell us that Beshear reached out to Robert Stivers and David Osborne to warn them that if this bill is enacted, it will end up costing the state hundreds of thousands of dollars in defense of a case he feels certain would lose.

While we are far from legal scholars, we are certain Beshear is right about this. The Supreme Court of the United States has always used viability as a measuring stick for laws dealing with abortion. Fetal heartbeats are detected well before viability.

However, like everything in Frankfort, we need to look past the issues on the surface and find the political undertones. Why would Beshear take this approach right now? To begin with, we believe he wants to look firm as Attorney General as a way to gain some gravitas. Secondly, we don’t think he wants to be defending a pro-life law while vying for the Democratic nomination for governor. Adam Edelen has already come out vocally as pro-choice. If Beshear and Adkins appear to be pro-life, Edelen has a road to victory in the primary.

Now why is the bill even being considered if the constitutionality of it is severe doubt? We suspect that Matt Castlen, the bill’s sponsor, and his cohorts of co-sponsors want to appear to be increasingly pro-life. To them, it doesn’t matter if something stands up in court, but rather that they “fight the good fight.” Never let the law get in the way of a good political point.

So here’s the rub. We expect the Senate to pass the bill for political fodder. Will the House follow suit and do the same? Or will they stop the bill, knowing the amount of money that would likely be wasted on a court case?

In 1968, in the midst of the Tet Offensive, Walter Cronkite opined on CBS that the Vietnam War was “mired in stalemate.” Watching live, President Johnson was reported to have reacted by saying, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America.”

Could Al Roker be the modern Walter Cronkite?