Kentucky Today
Pledging to run a different kind of campaign, former State Auditor Adam Edelen filed his papers with the Secretary of State’s office on Monday for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the May primary.
Speaking to reporters after his filing, Edelen said he and running mate Gill Holland, a Louisville businessman and filmmaker, want to give every Kentuckian, no matter where they were born or their financial situation, a chance to realize their version of the American Dream.
Adam Edelen
“To do that, we’re going to run an issues-based campaign,” Edelen said. “On our website, we have already 9,000 words of policy and commitments on what we’re going to do as governor and lieutenant governor. Certainly, we will be taking our campaign to every corner of Kentucky, expressing not just how much we love Kentucky, but how much we understand the challenges facing regular Kentuckians in every community.”
He said it will not be a campaign that hides behind talking points. “We will be there doing the big important things, running a different kind of campaign so we can communicate that we will be a different kind of administration, one the people can rely on to build a modern Kentucky.”
He said there’s a big difference between them and anyone on the ballot. “We are so committed to changing our broken politics, that we are not going to accept a dime of PAC money,” he said. “You can’t change Kentucky’s politics if you’re committed to being financed the same old way that politics always has been financed.”
Edelen has primary opposition from tickets headed by Attorney General Andy Beshear, House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins of Sandy Hook and Geoff Young of Lexington.
Gov. Bevin has primary opposition from State Rep. Robert Goforth of East Bernstadt and William Woods of Corinth.
Independence’s Steve Knipper files for Secretary of State
Republican Steve Knipper of Independence, chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton, filed his papers to run for secretary of state on Monday afternoon, making it a crowded field in both the Republican and Democratic primaries.
Steven Knipper
Knipper becomes the seventh candidate for that office – four Republicans and three Democrats – seeking to replace Alison Lundergan Grimes, who cannot seek re-election due to term limits.
A Knipper campaign video describes him as the front-runner in the secretary of state’s race. He says that was given to him by the website “Big League Politics.”
Knipper said he brings a skill set that’s needed in the Secretary of State’s office. “There are a lot of problems with the databases, voter rolls, and a lot of things that we need to do to clean up those voter rolls. That skill set is IT, especially cybersecurity. We all see how important it is that to be secure with our data.”
The other three GOP candidates for Secretary of State are Michael Adams, Andrew English, and Carl Nett. The three Democrats are Jason Grifith, Heather French Henry and Goeff Sebesta.
Today at 4 p.m. is the filing deadline for the state constitutional offices: Governor/Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer and Agriculture Commissioner.
