On Noise & Notes, WFPL's Phillip M. Bailey doesn't just discuss the issues, he dissects them. From city government to national politics, Phillip has covered it all.
Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is one of the more popular state leaders, and is frequently mentioned as a future candidate for governor or U.S. Senate.
In the Indiana gubernatorial race, a new poll shows Republican Mike Pence leading Democrat John Gregg by an 18-point margin.
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce released the survey Thursday showing that among 600 likely voters, Pence has 50 percent while Gregg is being backed by 32 percent in the fall election. Polling also shows Libertarian candidate Rupert Boneham with about 3 percent support, and that 15 percent of Hoosier voters are still undecided.
Pence campaign spokeswoman Christy Denault says they haven’t focused on the poll numbers, but instead on touting their platform.
"Mike has a vision for how to make this a state that works, we’re focused on jobs and education," she says. "We have a whole slate of policy rollouts already scheduled and we’re going to keep rolling out our ideas so that the people of Indiana get an idea who Mike Pence is and what he will do should he become governor of this great state."
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is taking heat for promoting a report that the National Weather Service was stockpiling ammunition based on website run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is speaking out against the rise of voter identification laws across the country, and she blames Republican leaders for pushing the measures.
But opponents, including Grimes, say the new laws target young, minority and elderly voters, who tend to vote Democratic.
"Here in Kentucky we’ve seen no indication of in-person fraud, which would indicate that we would need to change or alter or amend our current ID requirements. But what we have seen in states surrounding us, they are Republican controlled both at the governor's level and state legislature level. We have seen ID requirements being strengthened to be a government issued id," she says.
A conservative super PAC largely funded by the billionaire Koch brothers has pulled television ads in Indiana's Senate race attacking Democrat Joe Donnelly, but political strategists with the group will continue their plans to target the race.
Americans for Prosperity reserved airtime to assist Republican Richard Mourdock in the closely watched contest, where polling has shown it is a statistical tie. Last month, the group launched a website against Donnelly, highlighting his votes in Congress but reports say the super PAC has a disagreement over how to target the congressman.
As Frankfort Bureau Chief Kenny Colston reported, Republican Agriculture Commissioner James Comer scolded Abramson for his comments and skipping the event. He also scored some political points by highlighting that the lieutenant governor is the former mayor of Louisville.
On his Facebook page, Comer wrote: "The border of (Kentucky) extends far beyond the city limits of Louisville, something the Lt. Gov. will hopefully realize before the end of his term!"
But two years ago, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who is from Bowling Green, criticized Fancy Farm when he told Fox New's Sean Hannity that he worried the onlookers would shower him with beer. And his northern Kentucky predecessor—former Sen. Jim Bunning—threatened to boycott Fancy Farm after complaining about how elected leaders were treated.
Republican Kentucky state Senator Dan Seum of Louisville expressed some support for the idea of non-violent convicted felons receiving their voting rights back along with legalizing medical marijuana.
Under the state constitution, former felons must petition the governor to regain their right to vote.
Seum says it is important to get former felons back into society and he will lobby fellow Republicans in the GOP-controlled Senate while acknowledging the political barriers.
"The fear here is that you would be perceived to be easy on criminals, that’s the political fear," Seum told Pure Politics's Ryan Alessi. "And that's something of course, any opponent would use that against you."
Indiana Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Gregg unveiled his first campaign television ad Tuesday that highlights his small town roots.
The 30-second spot features the former state House speaker criticizing political advertisements and instead talks about his longtime friends from his hometown of Sandborn, Indiana.
Gregg tells the story of a friend who caught cancer and moved in with others, adding he wants to keep Indiana "a place where people look out for each other.
