December 10, 2025 • 26 mins
Journalists from around the state discuss the news of the week with host Bill Bryant, including Charles Booker's announcement that he is running for an open U.S. Senate seat in 2026 and discussions among Republican leaders about the upcoming General Assembly. Guests: McKenna Horsley, Kentucky Lantern; Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier-Journal; and Austin Horn, Lexington Herald-Leader.
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(00:10):
Charles Booker jumps into the
crowded Democratic U.S. Senate
primary as Republicans fight it
out for their nomination.
Kentucky's legislative session
is now a month away, and
lawmakers talk priorities.
Kentucky Democrats sale their
party headquarters building and
try to plot a new way forward.
UK fires one football coach and
(00:30):
hires another. December brings
the winter weather. Comment is
next on KET. Good evening. I'm
Bill Bryant and we welcome you
to comment on Kentucky, a look
(00:51):
back at and some analysis of
the week's news in the
Commonwealth and the guests on
our panel of working Kentucky
journalists tonight are McKenna
Horsley politics reporter for
the Courier-Journal, Lucas
Aulbach reporter for the
Courier-Journal and Austin Horn
senior political reporter for
the Lexington Herald-Leader. I
(01:13):
did say with the Kentucky
Lantern, I meant with for
McKenna, right? As we all enjoy
the holiday season, the
political issues keep swirling
and candidates are on the move
out there. The list of those
running for the U.S. Senate
grew again this week, when
Charles Booker jumped in on the
Democratic side. Known for his
fiery speeches, Booker released
a launch video where he took
(01:34):
progressive positions.
>> The future of Kentucky is
ours. What do we want it to
look like? It looks like
Medicare for all and universal
childcare, so raising our
families isn't so hard. Housing
you can live in and afford
without being crushed by
utility bills. And it's a new
deal for workers 40 for 40, a
minimum of 40,000 a year for a
(01:56):
40 hour work week. A guaranteed
to live a life with dignity.
>> Well, Austin, there's been a
lot of speculation about Booker
since he left the Beshear
administration. He had a job
there until just a few months
ago, then later said he was not
going to run for Louisville
mayor. So here he is back in a
Democratic U.S. Senate primary.
>> He's hoping third time's a
(02:18):
charm, and I think it's kind of
hard to see him as anything
other than at least a
co-favorite at this point. His
name, ID, is ubiquitous among
Kentucky Democrats. It's right
up there with McGrath. There
was a public poll that was done
among 590 voters that had him
at 33% and her at 31%, with the
others lagging.
(02:39):
>> Being Amy McGrath.
>> Quite behind. And you could
tell from his launch video,
he's really trying to carve out
this furthest left lane with
specific policies. And he says
some kind of stalwart policies
like universal child care and
things like that. But he's got
some new ideas too, like the 40
for 40 thing and a general
(03:00):
strike, which is, I think it's
fair to say, a pretty far left
policy that he's advocating for.
So he's clearly trying to carve
out that lane.
>> Yeah. So Lucas, as Booker
does move to the left where it
looks like Amy McGrath and Dale
Romans have both sort of staked
out moderate positions. Is that
(03:22):
to some advantage?
>> Yeah. Well, I mean, you know,
he's the same guy that you
remember from 2020, 2022. You
know, he's not going to go
around saying that he's going
to be Kentucky's Joe Manchin
like Dale Romans did. So I mean,
I think it remains to be seen
how that plays with voters this
time around. And whether, you
know, like Austin said, can
this be the third time? Can the
(03:42):
third time be the charm? And he
breaks through in a statewide
election? You know, I like I
said, I don't think anybody
will get his message mixed up
with what Dale is out there
saying, or maybe some of these
other candidates. So we'll see.
>> McKenna so there are now six
major Democratic candidates in
this race, you know, does
anybody have an advantage? I
mean, simple math would tell
you that if you divide 106 ways,
(04:05):
17% could win the nomination,
right?
>> And it's definitely a bit
early to tell. I mean, you know,
we still have some time for
candidates to even file to run
for office. So who's to say we
won't see a few more people in
the next few weeks? Join this
already crowded primary. You
know, I think there are maybe
some different national
politics that are heading into
this cycle that are maybe a bit
(04:27):
different than what we've seen
in 2020 and 22. You know,
Democrats had a pretty good
year back in November, when a
particularly progressive
Democratic candidates around
the country. So maybe that's
something that the Booker
campaign is hoping for to re
replicate in 26. But again,
Kentucky is typically more
(04:48):
conservative state,
particularly when it comes to
national politics. So it's hard
to say what will happen next
year.
>> And you start to look at
this. You can look at it from
very different ways. What might
be the path to victory? Austin,
including maybe even
geographically when you know
somebody, one of those names
that we're not talking about as
much down there, like a Logan
(05:09):
Forsythe or somebody who's from
out in the state, might get a
lot of votes in that particular
area.
>> Yeah. Pam Stevenson, who has
a strong base in Louisville, or
Joel Willett, who's shown that
he's willing to spend a good
amount of money at the same
time that the reality that we
saw a little bit in the 2015 or
2019 governor's race is that
(05:31):
the majority of these
Democratic voters are generally
liberal and generally in the
Lexington, Louisville, Northern
Kentucky DMA. You know, Rocky
Adkins killed it in the entire
eastern half of the state just
blanketed it. But Andy Beshear
prevailed, largely because of
Adkins weakness in Louisville.
(05:54):
>> Is it can we look at this
and say that Louisville may be
split up three ways already
with the candidates that are in?
>> There are a lot of
candidates in the race. You
know, I think I don't I think
Pam Stevenson and Charles
Booker, they probably have a
bit of an advantage, but it's
big race. A lot of things can
happen.
>> All right. So we obviously
will watch on that. That
(06:14):
Democratic nomination is going
to be an interesting fight to
the finish. And then on the
Republican side we of course
note that the the maps out
there that making the
predictions tend to paint
Kentucky red for Republicans
running. Former Attorney
General Daniel Cameron,
Congressman Andy Barr,
businessman Nate Morris and
Michael Farris, who's running
against the better funded field.
(06:37):
Austin this week, a shakeup in
the Cameron camp.
>> Yeah. So Daniel Cameron's
campaign manager is moving on
to a different campaign. The
Cameron campaign is bringing in
Nathaniel Hurt, who's from the
Jason Myers campaign. You might
have heard that name in the
Virginia AG's race, which got a
(06:57):
lot of attention because the
Democrat nominee, who ended up
winning J. Jones, texted
various members and friends
advocating violence against
Republicans, and he still won
by, I think about two points.
So we'll see what this move
means. I think it is worth
noting campaign managers, the
(07:17):
title in most campaigns makes
that person seem a little more
important than they are. You'll
often have consultants, general
consultants, who are the ones
making the really big strategic
decisions at the very high
level, and campaign managers
more of like an execution kind
of role. It's still important,
(07:38):
but maybe not the end all be
all that people.
>> Was this a case of the
campaign manager getting a new
job, or was did you read into
the tea leaves that this might
have been a choice of candidate
Cameron?
>> As we know, as far as we
know, the campaign manager does
have a new job. Has it been
(07:58):
100% elaborated that this was
not a decision of the Cameron
campaign to move on? No. So
there's a little bit of gray
area there so we may never know.
>> McKenna. The early polling
again has suggested that
Cameron has this name
recognition advantage. Barr has
(08:19):
worked to claim momentum and
has a lot of money to spend,
and Morris is trying to
position himself as an outsider,
comparing himself to President
Trump's entry into politics is
anybody's strategy working?
>> I mean, it's definitely
still too early to think to
tell us a bit. But, you know,
(08:39):
Cameron's advantages are that
he's ran statewide campaigns
before in Kentucky, winning the
AG race and then later going on
to lose the governor's race,
even though he did win the
Republican nomination in a very
contested primary in 23. So,
you know, it kind of depends on
how checked in voters are at
(09:00):
this time. You know, with the
holidays, I think, you know, a
lot of people aren't reading
the news at this point, except
for our lovely viewers at home.
>> And we.
>> Appreciate that. We
appreciate it. So, you know, I
think once people start seeing
more campaign ads and get
registered to vote and, you
know, check things like that,
people will become more aware
of the candidates on their own
(09:21):
and definitely pick somebody at
that point.
>> Is there something outside
of a Trump endorsement that
might change the trajectory of
the Republican race?
>> Well, you know, the Trump
endorsement, I you don't need
me to tell you that's the key.
And, you know, that would
change everything. But in the
meantime, I think how these
guys are trying to define each
other, if, you know, if one can
(09:42):
take, you know, a lead in that
regard, that could give them an
advantage over the others. You
know, you look at Andy Barr,
he's kind of tried to define
himself as the guy in DC who's
helping Trump get his agenda
passed and is going to continue
to help him. And that kind of
backfired on him a little bit
this week with some comments he
made several years ago about
wanting to support some of
these Afghan refugees who had
(10:03):
helped American troops. You
know, I think Morris and some
of his backers kind of jumped
on that. And so, you know,
that's kind of that's it's been
a nasty primary so far and a
lot of punches thrown. And if
Trump doesn't get involved, I
think how these guys define
each other, if one kind of
comes away with it, that could
be the key.
>> Yeah. I mean, I think you
could make the argument that
(10:25):
they're all kind of succeeding
in their own ways up to this
point. Daniel Cameron's lead, I
think most would agree, has
been kind of stubborn from the
other candidates point of view.
He really does have a base and
a high name ID, and it's hard
to get people to switch away
from him. At the same time,
Andy Barr has raised a crap ton
(10:46):
of money, more than $6 million,
and is starting to deploy his
ads a little bit. They're
working. You can see him
inching up in the polls. He's
certainly milked all he can out
of those like 2 or 3 videos of
President Trump saying, Andy
Barr, you just hear that over
and over again, every single
commercial that he runs. And at
the same time, Morris is moving
(11:07):
a little bit in the polls,
maybe not as much as they want,
but he's genuinely and, you
know, even other campaigns will
admit this. He is genuinely
connected to the Trump network
through JD Vance. People in
Vance's network, like Andy
Surabian, who's deeply involved
in his campaign.
>> Well, of course, that is the
other race. So there, the
(11:28):
Republican race for the
nomination for the Senate and
the Democratic race. And
they're both interesting. We
also have congressional races
to watch in central Kentucky,
crowded primaries on both sides.
More than a dozen candidates
hoping to take the seat that
Barr's leaving open. And this
week, Democrats Cherlynn
Stevenson officially filed for
office and made an event of
(11:49):
that.
>> This campaign isn't about me,
it's about us. It's about the
people who are getting squeezed
from every direction, from
higher costs to health care
cuts to uncertainty in their
jobs. And politicians in
Washington who are more focused
on fighting each other than
fighting for you. Today is the
(12:11):
next step in our journey to
flip the sixth district and to
take back Congress.
>> McKenna, right behind
Stevenson was Lieutenant
Governor Jacqueline Coleman at
that event. And she has
endorsed Stevenson. Does she
does Stevenson have the
advantage right now in that
crowded race?
>> I definitely think she's
seen as kind of the early
(12:32):
frontrunner because she has
come into this race with some
ID already in that district,
having been a leader in the
House Democratic caucus before
in the state House, she did
lose reelection, but very
narrowly to that seat. So, you
know, she's a known quantity to
voters in that district. And,
(12:53):
you know, her campaign,
particularly this time around,
has taken a lot of steps to get
her in front of the news, to
have a respond to things that
are happening nationally and
having campaign events and
things like that and so forth,
and having the Lieutenant
governor's endorsement early on
in this race, a high profile,
(13:14):
statewide Democrat is something
that could definitely help her.
>> Yeah. At this point, I'd
call her the favorite. For now,
she's got the institutional
backing. As McKenna was talking
about. She's fundraising from
other sources pretty strongly.
However, the other three
candidates who are running real
campaigns could all make a case
(13:34):
here. Zach Dembo is raising a
lot of money. David Kloiber
could self-fund and randomly
put in a lot of money to shake
up this race. And Aaron Petri
is running a very vigorous
campaign of her own, so things
could really get interesting.
And it's going to be an
interesting test of the power
and transferability of
(13:55):
Jacqueline Coleman's
endorsement, particularly when
we think about her plans
potentially for 2027 and maybe
running for governor.
>> Right. Well, Austin, what
should we watch for in the
sixth district Republican
primary?
>> Yeah, I think it's kind of a
similar story right now. You've
got somebody who's more the
pick of the establishment
(14:16):
running as somewhat of the
favorite. And former state
senator Ralph Alvarado. He's
raising a lot of money. He's
getting support from, quote
unquote, the right people. But
at the same time, you've got
two pretty legitimate, three
pretty legitimate candidates.
Now, with State Representative
Ryan Dodson. He's a very
(14:36):
effective messenger and has put
in a good amount of his own
money. Also putting in some
money, as Deanna Gordon,
another state representative
who's from an increasingly
Republican and increasingly
important area of Richmond. And
you've got a wild card. And
Greg Luzinski, who's a pharma
executive from Nicholasville.
And it's kind of hard to see
(14:56):
what exact shape his campaign
will take. But he seems to have
a good amount of money and
could shake things up.
>> Lucas, in the fourth
district, we're watching that.
President Trump backing Ed
Gallrein in the Republican
primary over Congressman Thomas
Massie. How is that playing out
early on?
>> Well, Massie, you know, he's
got himself a little winning
streak going right now with the
Epstein discharge petition that
(15:16):
he was able to get through
Congress. He would be the first
to tell you he's raising a lot
of money right now, more than
he's ever, you know, raised in
the past. So it's no secret he
and Trump are not on the same
page. And he's probably lost
some fans in that regard. But I
think some of these recent
successes, maybe nationally as
much as anything, has won him
some support. And you're seeing
that in the fundraising now
(15:37):
when you look at Ed Gallrein, I
haven't met him. I've been told
that he's making fans on the
campaign trail. He's making
good impressions on voters. I
was told he was at an event
with Andy Barr earlier this
week where, you know, a room of
50 or so people up in Northern
Kentucky where, you know, he
made good impressions on these
people. So I'll be interested
to see where he lands.
Fundraising wise, he's got
about 2 million, so he's got
(15:58):
some catching up to do.
>> In the fifth district.
Congressman Hal Rogers, who
turns 88 later this month, is
dean of the House seeking a
24th term in Washington.
Attorney Ned Pillersdorf is a
Democrat challenging Rogers. We
know Rogers has name
recognition and a lot of money.
>> Yeah, it's hard not to see
him as anything but the strong
favorite in this race. You know,
anything can happen. But I
(16:19):
think that's where things stand.
He hasn't been in the single
digits in a general election
since the 90s, when the
Democrats very explicitly
redrew his district to try and
beat him. That said, Ned
Pillars, Dorf has a very
legitimate resume for a
candidate and is running this
race hard. I mean, all you have
to do is look at his social
(16:41):
media. He's showing up to
events all over the place, so
this race could potentially get
interesting.
>> Vice president JD Vance and
his family were in Kentucky
during the Thanksgiving week.
The VP served an early
Thanksgiving dinner to soldiers
at Fort Campbell, and he was
also in Lexington. He spoke at
Fort Campbell.
>> We know that the most
(17:01):
powerful weapon in the United
States arsenal, the most
powerful weapon anywhere in the
world. It's not a rifle. It's
not a tank. It's not a
helicopter or an airplane. The
most dangerous and lethal
weapon anywhere in the in the
world is a United States
soldier. And we're proud of you.
And we're going to stand behind
(17:22):
you every step of the way.
>> Vance obviously has well
known ties to Kentucky, made
that high profile stop at Fort
Campbell. But obviously Austin
also felt very comfortable just
grabbing dinner in Lexington.
And you wrote that there may be
nothing to really read into
that.
>> Yeah. Your KET crew caught
caught him and his family
outside of Tony's Steakhouse,
(17:43):
which was kind of interesting.
It's a fine dining haunt of
many of the area's elite,
including Rocky Adkins. I mean,
he might even be there right
now for all we know, but it's
it wasn't a official stop. We
know that. And it doesn't seem
like it's political either. My
question was, is he meeting
with his known friend Nate
(18:05):
Morris, who's running for
Senate at this mysterious
Tony's dinner? But no, it
doesn't seem like that's the
case. His spokespeople have
said this is just family and
they're nearby, so it could
make sense as a meeting point.
>> All right. In Washington,
Republican Senator Rand Paul,
who will soon become Kentucky's
senior senator, continues to
take positions critical of the
(18:25):
Trump administration policies.
He expressed concerns about the
Pentagon strikes on alleged
drug smuggling boats in the
Caribbean Sea.
>> I'm very fearful that these
boat strikes and the
positioning of our ships and
our troops right off the coast
of Venezuela is a prelude to
war. I think that there is a
real question of legality under
the military justice, under the
(18:48):
code of military justice. It
says that when someone has been
incapacitated or shipwrecked or
they're clinging to the
wreckage of a boat, that
they're out of combat and
they're no longer subject to be
killed. And so there is a real
question who gave the order,
and why would they give the
order to kill someone who is
out of combat?
>> Lucas. Senator Paul going
(19:10):
his own way here on this?
>> Yeah, he's been on an island
on some of these positions in
the past, but I think you're
starting to see more support
from some Republicans to speak
up a little bit about issues,
especially like, you know, the
boat strikes. He doesn't have
to worry about reelection until
2028, whether it's senator or
some other office. So I don't
expect him to pipe down anytime
soon.
>> Let's shift our discussion
(19:30):
to Frankfort the 2026
legislative session coming up
fast. It begins January 6th,
runs for 60 days. Lawmakers are
required to pass a state budget,
and that will take a lot of
time and effort. But Republican
lawmakers met this week in
Bardstown, and several other
issues were also at the
forefront. A major question is
whether there will be another
state income tax cut.
(19:51):
>> Policy and process. And when
you set the policy and process,
you should follow it, and we
try to follow it. Now, we know
that you have to modify it on
occasions. In the last session
we did to where it may not be
as big of an incremental
decline, but we set some
different triggers that would
still give us the ability to
hit those incremental spots to
make incremental declines.
(20:12):
>> Healthiest Budget Reserve
Trust fund and the history of
the Commonwealth. Highest level
of education. Investment in the
history of the Commonwealth,
those sorts of things we may
have been able to do at the
same time that we've been
paying down our pension
liability.
>> All right. So obviously this
income tax question is key.
(20:32):
McKenna representative Jason
Nemes favors it over in the
House. You heard the Senate
president say follow the
process. Where where are we
with this?
>> Well, you know, I think
we'll definitely see a lot of
debate around this heading into
session and probably throughout
the session as well. It's a 60
day session on the Democratic
side. Andy Beshear did.
(20:53):
Governor Andy Beshear did say
that he would warn lawmakers
against disregarding physical
guardrails that they've
previously put in place. That's
something you kind of did hear
survivors talk about a bit. The
governor said that state
revenue is a little while costs
are still expected to be up. So
that's something that he's
watching for and is cautioning
(21:14):
Democrats against. But of
course, Republicans hold a
supermajority in the
legislature.
>> We see lawmakers want to
talk about artificial
intelligence. Child care keeps
coming up. President Stivers
interested as well in
addressing the financial issues
facing the state's two largest
school districts. There will be
a lot to discuss.
>> There's going to be a lot of
issues discussed this session,
(21:34):
I believe. And, you know, I
think we're still probably
going to hear a few as a few
interim committee meetings wrap
up in this month. One issue
that I think will definitely
come up for Republicans is a
proposal from representative TJ
Roberts that would require
Kentucky law enforcement
agencies to have agreements
with Ice, the federal agency
(21:55):
that deals with immigration
enforcement. And that's got a
lot of talk within the past
couple of weeks. Next week,
Representative Lindsay
Titchener, another Republican,
or senator, Lindsey Titchener,
another Republican, will
discuss die in K through 12.
And that's something we saw
this session, particularly at
the college level eliminating
die. So that's probably going
(22:16):
to come up as well.
>> Lucas housing likely
discussion.
>> Housing. Yeah, I think there
will be a lot of chatter about
that, I think and I think
there's some bipartisan
agreement there. I was talking
to representative Josh Watkins
from Louisville earlier. And
you know, that task force,
Republican led task force put
out some recommendations
earlier recently. And he said
he agrees with some of them,
you know, the Affordable
(22:37):
housing Loan Fund and faith
based housing. So I think there
will be a lot of chatter in
Frankfort about that and a lot
of action and, you know, other
issues, data centers, things
like that. You know, AI goes
hand in hand.
>> Boston new changes, the
Democratic Senate leadership
and Cassie Chambers Armstrong
making history. The first woman
in one of those roles among
Democrats.
(22:57):
>> Yeah. She was elected the
number three Democrat in a five
member caucus. That's a
historic low for the Democrats,
but I'm sure she will hope to
turn that around very soon.
>> The Kentucky Democratic
Party has sold its building,
its highly visible headquarters
along I-64, moving to an office
near the Capitol. McKenna
(23:18):
Governor Wendell Ford was in
power when they bought that in
1973.
>> Right. You know, and if you
talk to the Republicans, they
definitely see this as a change
or a sign of the decline of the
Democratic Party that they have
to sell this building.
Meanwhile, Republicans did
celebrate the expansion of
their headquarters, the Mitch
(23:38):
McConnell building in Frankfort,
as well.
>> Questions about Snap
benefits. We're going to be
watching that closely next week.
McKenna governor Beshear
addressed that during his Team
Kentucky briefing.
>> Right.
>> Just go ahead.
>> Snap benefits. It would
violate a court order that's
(23:59):
out there. Let me just say this
is a little bit bizarre,
because we've already litigated
this. And one.
>> So we'll wait. What Tuesday,
I think is the deadline.
>> Yes. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture will begin next
week to block nutrition
assistance. These SNAP funds
from states led by various
(24:19):
Democrats, including Kentucky,
they haven't turned over
information that the Trump
administration is requesting
that they say proves fraud in
some cases.
>> University of Kentucky has
been in the news. Football has
made a change. Coach Mark
Stoops was fired. The school
has hired Will Stein, a
Louisville native whose father
(24:40):
played for UK Austin. A big
decision involves a $37 million
payout to Stoops.
>> The fans seem very happy
about this one, but at the same
time, I think if you're in
Lexington, you should walk
around Gatton Park and enjoy it
as much as you can, and then
realize that the cost of that
park is less than the $37
(25:01):
million we're spending to fire.
Football coach.
>> And the Bill Gatton
Foundation gave $150 million to
UK to develop an arts district.
It's to include a new College
of Fine Arts building, several
hundred seat theater that is
the largest single gift in UK's
history. McKenna.
>> Right, and Bill Gatton is
synonymous with several past
(25:21):
donations, large donations to
the University of Kentucky. You
know, the College of Business
is named after him. And as well
as the recent student center
project. So this is definitely
another addition to UC's campus
that will have a great impact.
>> Several lawsuits have now
been filed after the UPS plane
crash in Louisville that killed
14 people back on November 4th.
(25:41):
Lucas, obviously, there's going
to be a lot of litigation.
>> Yeah, yeah, two lawsuits
filed over wrongful deaths this
week. About a month ago, we had
a lawsuit filed over neighbors
and business owners who alleged
negligence. So, I mean, yeah, a
crash like this in the middle
of the city, a lot is going to
come out of that. And, you know,
some of these businesses are
still working to reopen. Grade
(26:03):
Lane is still closed portions.
So developing situations still
it's been about a month and
it's not going anywhere anytime
soon.
>> Former state representative
Jodi Hayden died on November
24th. The Democrat and lifelong
resident of Bardstown served in
the House from 1997 to 2004. He
had been a Bardstown councilman.
Jody Hayden was 80 years old.
Communities across the state
continue holiday traditions,
(26:25):
from parades to tree lightings
to sing alongs, and early
indications are Kentuckians,
like the rest of Americans, are
spending more this year on
gifts and celebrations. That's
comment. Have a good week ahead.
Charles Booker jumps into the
crowded Democratic U.S. Senate
primary as Republicans fight it
out for their nomination.
Kentucky's legislative session
is now a month away, and
lawmakers talk priorities.
Kentucky Democrats sale their
party headquarters building and
try to plot a new way forward.
UK fires one football coach and
(00:30):
hires another. December brings
the winter weather. Comment is
next on KET. Good evening. I'm
Bill Bryant and we welcome you
to comment on Kentucky, a look
(00:51):
back at and some analysis of
the week's news in the
Commonwealth and the guests on
our panel of working Kentucky
journalists tonight are McKenna
Horsley politics reporter for
the Courier-Journal, Lucas
Aulbach reporter for the
Courier-Journal and Austin Horn
senior political reporter for
the Lexington Herald-Leader. I
(01:13):
did say with the Kentucky
Lantern, I meant with for
McKenna, right? As we all enjoy
the holiday season, the
political issues keep swirling
and candidates are on the move
out there. The list of those
running for the U.S. Senate
grew again this week, when
Charles Booker jumped in on the
Democratic side. Known for his
fiery speeches, Booker released
a launch video where he took
(01:34):
progressive positions.
>> The future of Kentucky is
ours. What do we want it to
look like? It looks like
Medicare for all and universal
childcare, so raising our
families isn't so hard. Housing
you can live in and afford
without being crushed by
utility bills. And it's a new
deal for workers 40 for 40, a
minimum of 40,000 a year for a
(01:56):
40 hour work week. A guaranteed
to live a life with dignity.
>> Well, Austin, there's been a
lot of speculation about Booker
since he left the Beshear
administration. He had a job
there until just a few months
ago, then later said he was not
going to run for Louisville
mayor. So here he is back in a
Democratic U.S. Senate primary.
>> He's hoping third time's a
(02:18):
charm, and I think it's kind of
hard to see him as anything
other than at least a
co-favorite at this point. His
name, ID, is ubiquitous among
Kentucky Democrats. It's right
up there with McGrath. There
was a public poll that was done
among 590 voters that had him
at 33% and her at 31%, with the
others lagging.
(02:39):
>> Being Amy McGrath.
>> Quite behind. And you could
tell from his launch video,
he's really trying to carve out
this furthest left lane with
specific policies. And he says
some kind of stalwart policies
like universal child care and
things like that. But he's got
some new ideas too, like the 40
for 40 thing and a general
(03:00):
strike, which is, I think it's
fair to say, a pretty far left
policy that he's advocating for.
So he's clearly trying to carve
out that lane.
>> Yeah. So Lucas, as Booker
does move to the left where it
looks like Amy McGrath and Dale
Romans have both sort of staked
out moderate positions. Is that
(03:22):
to some advantage?
>> Yeah. Well, I mean, you know,
he's the same guy that you
remember from 2020, 2022. You
know, he's not going to go
around saying that he's going
to be Kentucky's Joe Manchin
like Dale Romans did. So I mean,
I think it remains to be seen
how that plays with voters this
time around. And whether, you
know, like Austin said, can
this be the third time? Can the
(03:42):
third time be the charm? And he
breaks through in a statewide
election? You know, I like I
said, I don't think anybody
will get his message mixed up
with what Dale is out there
saying, or maybe some of these
other candidates. So we'll see.
>> McKenna so there are now six
major Democratic candidates in
this race, you know, does
anybody have an advantage? I
mean, simple math would tell
you that if you divide 106 ways,
(04:05):
17% could win the nomination,
right?
>> And it's definitely a bit
early to tell. I mean, you know,
we still have some time for
candidates to even file to run
for office. So who's to say we
won't see a few more people in
the next few weeks? Join this
already crowded primary. You
know, I think there are maybe
some different national
politics that are heading into
this cycle that are maybe a bit
(04:27):
different than what we've seen
in 2020 and 22. You know,
Democrats had a pretty good
year back in November, when a
particularly progressive
Democratic candidates around
the country. So maybe that's
something that the Booker
campaign is hoping for to re
replicate in 26. But again,
Kentucky is typically more
(04:48):
conservative state,
particularly when it comes to
national politics. So it's hard
to say what will happen next
year.
>> And you start to look at
this. You can look at it from
very different ways. What might
be the path to victory? Austin,
including maybe even
geographically when you know
somebody, one of those names
that we're not talking about as
much down there, like a Logan
(05:09):
Forsythe or somebody who's from
out in the state, might get a
lot of votes in that particular
area.
>> Yeah. Pam Stevenson, who has
a strong base in Louisville, or
Joel Willett, who's shown that
he's willing to spend a good
amount of money at the same
time that the reality that we
saw a little bit in the 2015 or
2019 governor's race is that
(05:31):
the majority of these
Democratic voters are generally
liberal and generally in the
Lexington, Louisville, Northern
Kentucky DMA. You know, Rocky
Adkins killed it in the entire
eastern half of the state just
blanketed it. But Andy Beshear
prevailed, largely because of
Adkins weakness in Louisville.
(05:54):
>> Is it can we look at this
and say that Louisville may be
split up three ways already
with the candidates that are in?
>> There are a lot of
candidates in the race. You
know, I think I don't I think
Pam Stevenson and Charles
Booker, they probably have a
bit of an advantage, but it's
big race. A lot of things can
happen.
>> All right. So we obviously
will watch on that. That
(06:14):
Democratic nomination is going
to be an interesting fight to
the finish. And then on the
Republican side we of course
note that the the maps out
there that making the
predictions tend to paint
Kentucky red for Republicans
running. Former Attorney
General Daniel Cameron,
Congressman Andy Barr,
businessman Nate Morris and
Michael Farris, who's running
against the better funded field.
(06:37):
Austin this week, a shakeup in
the Cameron camp.
>> Yeah. So Daniel Cameron's
campaign manager is moving on
to a different campaign. The
Cameron campaign is bringing in
Nathaniel Hurt, who's from the
Jason Myers campaign. You might
have heard that name in the
Virginia AG's race, which got a
(06:57):
lot of attention because the
Democrat nominee, who ended up
winning J. Jones, texted
various members and friends
advocating violence against
Republicans, and he still won
by, I think about two points.
So we'll see what this move
means. I think it is worth
noting campaign managers, the
(07:17):
title in most campaigns makes
that person seem a little more
important than they are. You'll
often have consultants, general
consultants, who are the ones
making the really big strategic
decisions at the very high
level, and campaign managers
more of like an execution kind
of role. It's still important,
(07:38):
but maybe not the end all be
all that people.
>> Was this a case of the
campaign manager getting a new
job, or was did you read into
the tea leaves that this might
have been a choice of candidate
Cameron?
>> As we know, as far as we
know, the campaign manager does
have a new job. Has it been
(07:58):
100% elaborated that this was
not a decision of the Cameron
campaign to move on? No. So
there's a little bit of gray
area there so we may never know.
>> McKenna. The early polling
again has suggested that
Cameron has this name
recognition advantage. Barr has
(08:19):
worked to claim momentum and
has a lot of money to spend,
and Morris is trying to
position himself as an outsider,
comparing himself to President
Trump's entry into politics is
anybody's strategy working?
>> I mean, it's definitely
still too early to think to
tell us a bit. But, you know,
(08:39):
Cameron's advantages are that
he's ran statewide campaigns
before in Kentucky, winning the
AG race and then later going on
to lose the governor's race,
even though he did win the
Republican nomination in a very
contested primary in 23. So,
you know, it kind of depends on
how checked in voters are at
(09:00):
this time. You know, with the
holidays, I think, you know, a
lot of people aren't reading
the news at this point, except
for our lovely viewers at home.
>> And we.
>> Appreciate that. We
appreciate it. So, you know, I
think once people start seeing
more campaign ads and get
registered to vote and, you
know, check things like that,
people will become more aware
of the candidates on their own
(09:21):
and definitely pick somebody at
that point.
>> Is there something outside
of a Trump endorsement that
might change the trajectory of
the Republican race?
>> Well, you know, the Trump
endorsement, I you don't need
me to tell you that's the key.
And, you know, that would
change everything. But in the
meantime, I think how these
guys are trying to define each
other, if, you know, if one can
(09:42):
take, you know, a lead in that
regard, that could give them an
advantage over the others. You
know, you look at Andy Barr,
he's kind of tried to define
himself as the guy in DC who's
helping Trump get his agenda
passed and is going to continue
to help him. And that kind of
backfired on him a little bit
this week with some comments he
made several years ago about
wanting to support some of
these Afghan refugees who had
(10:03):
helped American troops. You
know, I think Morris and some
of his backers kind of jumped
on that. And so, you know,
that's kind of that's it's been
a nasty primary so far and a
lot of punches thrown. And if
Trump doesn't get involved, I
think how these guys define
each other, if one kind of
comes away with it, that could
be the key.
>> Yeah. I mean, I think you
could make the argument that
(10:25):
they're all kind of succeeding
in their own ways up to this
point. Daniel Cameron's lead, I
think most would agree, has
been kind of stubborn from the
other candidates point of view.
He really does have a base and
a high name ID, and it's hard
to get people to switch away
from him. At the same time,
Andy Barr has raised a crap ton
(10:46):
of money, more than $6 million,
and is starting to deploy his
ads a little bit. They're
working. You can see him
inching up in the polls. He's
certainly milked all he can out
of those like 2 or 3 videos of
President Trump saying, Andy
Barr, you just hear that over
and over again, every single
commercial that he runs. And at
the same time, Morris is moving
(11:07):
a little bit in the polls,
maybe not as much as they want,
but he's genuinely and, you
know, even other campaigns will
admit this. He is genuinely
connected to the Trump network
through JD Vance. People in
Vance's network, like Andy
Surabian, who's deeply involved
in his campaign.
>> Well, of course, that is the
other race. So there, the
(11:28):
Republican race for the
nomination for the Senate and
the Democratic race. And
they're both interesting. We
also have congressional races
to watch in central Kentucky,
crowded primaries on both sides.
More than a dozen candidates
hoping to take the seat that
Barr's leaving open. And this
week, Democrats Cherlynn
Stevenson officially filed for
office and made an event of
(11:49):
that.
>> This campaign isn't about me,
it's about us. It's about the
people who are getting squeezed
from every direction, from
higher costs to health care
cuts to uncertainty in their
jobs. And politicians in
Washington who are more focused
on fighting each other than
fighting for you. Today is the
(12:11):
next step in our journey to
flip the sixth district and to
take back Congress.
>> McKenna, right behind
Stevenson was Lieutenant
Governor Jacqueline Coleman at
that event. And she has
endorsed Stevenson. Does she
does Stevenson have the
advantage right now in that
crowded race?
>> I definitely think she's
seen as kind of the early
(12:32):
frontrunner because she has
come into this race with some
ID already in that district,
having been a leader in the
House Democratic caucus before
in the state House, she did
lose reelection, but very
narrowly to that seat. So, you
know, she's a known quantity to
voters in that district. And,
(12:53):
you know, her campaign,
particularly this time around,
has taken a lot of steps to get
her in front of the news, to
have a respond to things that
are happening nationally and
having campaign events and
things like that and so forth,
and having the Lieutenant
governor's endorsement early on
in this race, a high profile,
(13:14):
statewide Democrat is something
that could definitely help her.
>> Yeah. At this point, I'd
call her the favorite. For now,
she's got the institutional
backing. As McKenna was talking
about. She's fundraising from
other sources pretty strongly.
However, the other three
candidates who are running real
campaigns could all make a case
(13:34):
here. Zach Dembo is raising a
lot of money. David Kloiber
could self-fund and randomly
put in a lot of money to shake
up this race. And Aaron Petri
is running a very vigorous
campaign of her own, so things
could really get interesting.
And it's going to be an
interesting test of the power
and transferability of
(13:55):
Jacqueline Coleman's
endorsement, particularly when
we think about her plans
potentially for 2027 and maybe
running for governor.
>> Right. Well, Austin, what
should we watch for in the
sixth district Republican
primary?
>> Yeah, I think it's kind of a
similar story right now. You've
got somebody who's more the
pick of the establishment
(14:16):
running as somewhat of the
favorite. And former state
senator Ralph Alvarado. He's
raising a lot of money. He's
getting support from, quote
unquote, the right people. But
at the same time, you've got
two pretty legitimate, three
pretty legitimate candidates.
Now, with State Representative
Ryan Dodson. He's a very
(14:36):
effective messenger and has put
in a good amount of his own
money. Also putting in some
money, as Deanna Gordon,
another state representative
who's from an increasingly
Republican and increasingly
important area of Richmond. And
you've got a wild card. And
Greg Luzinski, who's a pharma
executive from Nicholasville.
And it's kind of hard to see
(14:56):
what exact shape his campaign
will take. But he seems to have
a good amount of money and
could shake things up.
>> Lucas, in the fourth
district, we're watching that.
President Trump backing Ed
Gallrein in the Republican
primary over Congressman Thomas
Massie. How is that playing out
early on?
>> Well, Massie, you know, he's
got himself a little winning
streak going right now with the
Epstein discharge petition that
(15:16):
he was able to get through
Congress. He would be the first
to tell you he's raising a lot
of money right now, more than
he's ever, you know, raised in
the past. So it's no secret he
and Trump are not on the same
page. And he's probably lost
some fans in that regard. But I
think some of these recent
successes, maybe nationally as
much as anything, has won him
some support. And you're seeing
that in the fundraising now
(15:37):
when you look at Ed Gallrein, I
haven't met him. I've been told
that he's making fans on the
campaign trail. He's making
good impressions on voters. I
was told he was at an event
with Andy Barr earlier this
week where, you know, a room of
50 or so people up in Northern
Kentucky where, you know, he
made good impressions on these
people. So I'll be interested
to see where he lands.
Fundraising wise, he's got
about 2 million, so he's got
(15:58):
some catching up to do.
>> In the fifth district.
Congressman Hal Rogers, who
turns 88 later this month, is
dean of the House seeking a
24th term in Washington.
Attorney Ned Pillersdorf is a
Democrat challenging Rogers. We
know Rogers has name
recognition and a lot of money.
>> Yeah, it's hard not to see
him as anything but the strong
favorite in this race. You know,
anything can happen. But I
(16:19):
think that's where things stand.
He hasn't been in the single
digits in a general election
since the 90s, when the
Democrats very explicitly
redrew his district to try and
beat him. That said, Ned
Pillars, Dorf has a very
legitimate resume for a
candidate and is running this
race hard. I mean, all you have
to do is look at his social
(16:41):
media. He's showing up to
events all over the place, so
this race could potentially get
interesting.
>> Vice president JD Vance and
his family were in Kentucky
during the Thanksgiving week.
The VP served an early
Thanksgiving dinner to soldiers
at Fort Campbell, and he was
also in Lexington. He spoke at
Fort Campbell.
>> We know that the most
(17:01):
powerful weapon in the United
States arsenal, the most
powerful weapon anywhere in the
world. It's not a rifle. It's
not a tank. It's not a
helicopter or an airplane. The
most dangerous and lethal
weapon anywhere in the in the
world is a United States
soldier. And we're proud of you.
And we're going to stand behind
(17:22):
you every step of the way.
>> Vance obviously has well
known ties to Kentucky, made
that high profile stop at Fort
Campbell. But obviously Austin
also felt very comfortable just
grabbing dinner in Lexington.
And you wrote that there may be
nothing to really read into
that.
>> Yeah. Your KET crew caught
caught him and his family
outside of Tony's Steakhouse,
(17:43):
which was kind of interesting.
It's a fine dining haunt of
many of the area's elite,
including Rocky Adkins. I mean,
he might even be there right
now for all we know, but it's
it wasn't a official stop. We
know that. And it doesn't seem
like it's political either. My
question was, is he meeting
with his known friend Nate
(18:05):
Morris, who's running for
Senate at this mysterious
Tony's dinner? But no, it
doesn't seem like that's the
case. His spokespeople have
said this is just family and
they're nearby, so it could
make sense as a meeting point.
>> All right. In Washington,
Republican Senator Rand Paul,
who will soon become Kentucky's
senior senator, continues to
take positions critical of the
(18:25):
Trump administration policies.
He expressed concerns about the
Pentagon strikes on alleged
drug smuggling boats in the
Caribbean Sea.
>> I'm very fearful that these
boat strikes and the
positioning of our ships and
our troops right off the coast
of Venezuela is a prelude to
war. I think that there is a
real question of legality under
the military justice, under the
(18:48):
code of military justice. It
says that when someone has been
incapacitated or shipwrecked or
they're clinging to the
wreckage of a boat, that
they're out of combat and
they're no longer subject to be
killed. And so there is a real
question who gave the order,
and why would they give the
order to kill someone who is
out of combat?
>> Lucas. Senator Paul going
(19:10):
his own way here on this?
>> Yeah, he's been on an island
on some of these positions in
the past, but I think you're
starting to see more support
from some Republicans to speak
up a little bit about issues,
especially like, you know, the
boat strikes. He doesn't have
to worry about reelection until
2028, whether it's senator or
some other office. So I don't
expect him to pipe down anytime
soon.
>> Let's shift our discussion
(19:30):
to Frankfort the 2026
legislative session coming up
fast. It begins January 6th,
runs for 60 days. Lawmakers are
required to pass a state budget,
and that will take a lot of
time and effort. But Republican
lawmakers met this week in
Bardstown, and several other
issues were also at the
forefront. A major question is
whether there will be another
state income tax cut.
(19:51):
>> Policy and process. And when
you set the policy and process,
you should follow it, and we
try to follow it. Now, we know
that you have to modify it on
occasions. In the last session
we did to where it may not be
as big of an incremental
decline, but we set some
different triggers that would
still give us the ability to
hit those incremental spots to
make incremental declines.
(20:12):
>> Healthiest Budget Reserve
Trust fund and the history of
the Commonwealth. Highest level
of education. Investment in the
history of the Commonwealth,
those sorts of things we may
have been able to do at the
same time that we've been
paying down our pension
liability.
>> All right. So obviously this
income tax question is key.
(20:32):
McKenna representative Jason
Nemes favors it over in the
House. You heard the Senate
president say follow the
process. Where where are we
with this?
>> Well, you know, I think
we'll definitely see a lot of
debate around this heading into
session and probably throughout
the session as well. It's a 60
day session on the Democratic
side. Andy Beshear did.
(20:53):
Governor Andy Beshear did say
that he would warn lawmakers
against disregarding physical
guardrails that they've
previously put in place. That's
something you kind of did hear
survivors talk about a bit. The
governor said that state
revenue is a little while costs
are still expected to be up. So
that's something that he's
watching for and is cautioning
(21:14):
Democrats against. But of
course, Republicans hold a
supermajority in the
legislature.
>> We see lawmakers want to
talk about artificial
intelligence. Child care keeps
coming up. President Stivers
interested as well in
addressing the financial issues
facing the state's two largest
school districts. There will be
a lot to discuss.
>> There's going to be a lot of
issues discussed this session,
(21:34):
I believe. And, you know, I
think we're still probably
going to hear a few as a few
interim committee meetings wrap
up in this month. One issue
that I think will definitely
come up for Republicans is a
proposal from representative TJ
Roberts that would require
Kentucky law enforcement
agencies to have agreements
with Ice, the federal agency
(21:55):
that deals with immigration
enforcement. And that's got a
lot of talk within the past
couple of weeks. Next week,
Representative Lindsay
Titchener, another Republican,
or senator, Lindsey Titchener,
another Republican, will
discuss die in K through 12.
And that's something we saw
this session, particularly at
the college level eliminating
die. So that's probably going
(22:16):
to come up as well.
>> Lucas housing likely
discussion.
>> Housing. Yeah, I think there
will be a lot of chatter about
that, I think and I think
there's some bipartisan
agreement there. I was talking
to representative Josh Watkins
from Louisville earlier. And
you know, that task force,
Republican led task force put
out some recommendations
earlier recently. And he said
he agrees with some of them,
you know, the Affordable
(22:37):
housing Loan Fund and faith
based housing. So I think there
will be a lot of chatter in
Frankfort about that and a lot
of action and, you know, other
issues, data centers, things
like that. You know, AI goes
hand in hand.
>> Boston new changes, the
Democratic Senate leadership
and Cassie Chambers Armstrong
making history. The first woman
in one of those roles among
Democrats.
(22:57):
>> Yeah. She was elected the
number three Democrat in a five
member caucus. That's a
historic low for the Democrats,
but I'm sure she will hope to
turn that around very soon.
>> The Kentucky Democratic
Party has sold its building,
its highly visible headquarters
along I-64, moving to an office
near the Capitol. McKenna
(23:18):
Governor Wendell Ford was in
power when they bought that in
1973.
>> Right. You know, and if you
talk to the Republicans, they
definitely see this as a change
or a sign of the decline of the
Democratic Party that they have
to sell this building.
Meanwhile, Republicans did
celebrate the expansion of
their headquarters, the Mitch
(23:38):
McConnell building in Frankfort,
as well.
>> Questions about Snap
benefits. We're going to be
watching that closely next week.
McKenna governor Beshear
addressed that during his Team
Kentucky briefing.
>> Right.
>> Just go ahead.
>> Snap benefits. It would
violate a court order that's
(23:59):
out there. Let me just say this
is a little bit bizarre,
because we've already litigated
this. And one.
>> So we'll wait. What Tuesday,
I think is the deadline.
>> Yes. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture will begin next
week to block nutrition
assistance. These SNAP funds
from states led by various
(24:19):
Democrats, including Kentucky,
they haven't turned over
information that the Trump
administration is requesting
that they say proves fraud in
some cases.
>> University of Kentucky has
been in the news. Football has
made a change. Coach Mark
Stoops was fired. The school
has hired Will Stein, a
Louisville native whose father
(24:40):
played for UK Austin. A big
decision involves a $37 million
payout to Stoops.
>> The fans seem very happy
about this one, but at the same
time, I think if you're in
Lexington, you should walk
around Gatton Park and enjoy it
as much as you can, and then
realize that the cost of that
park is less than the $37
(25:01):
million we're spending to fire.
Football coach.
>> And the Bill Gatton
Foundation gave $150 million to
UK to develop an arts district.
It's to include a new College
of Fine Arts building, several
hundred seat theater that is
the largest single gift in UK's
history. McKenna.
>> Right, and Bill Gatton is
synonymous with several past
(25:21):
donations, large donations to
the University of Kentucky. You
know, the College of Business
is named after him. And as well
as the recent student center
project. So this is definitely
another addition to UC's campus
that will have a great impact.
>> Several lawsuits have now
been filed after the UPS plane
crash in Louisville that killed
14 people back on November 4th.
(25:41):
Lucas, obviously, there's going
to be a lot of litigation.
>> Yeah, yeah, two lawsuits
filed over wrongful deaths this
week. About a month ago, we had
a lawsuit filed over neighbors
and business owners who alleged
negligence. So, I mean, yeah, a
crash like this in the middle
of the city, a lot is going to
come out of that. And, you know,
some of these businesses are
still working to reopen. Grade
(26:03):
Lane is still closed portions.
So developing situations still
it's been about a month and
it's not going anywhere anytime
soon.
>> Former state representative
Jodi Hayden died on November
24th. The Democrat and lifelong
resident of Bardstown served in
the House from 1997 to 2004. He
had been a Bardstown councilman.
Jody Hayden was 80 years old.
Communities across the state
continue holiday traditions,
(26:25):
from parades to tree lightings
to sing alongs, and early
indications are Kentuckians,
like the rest of Americans, are
spending more this year on
gifts and celebrations. That's
comment. Have a good week ahead.
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