Tagged: Ken Moellman

  The chairman of the Libertarian Party of Kentucky says his members could be persuaded to vote for Ashley Judd over Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, but the Hollywood actress needs to distance herself from President Obama.

Judd has met with Democratic donors in Louisville and courted state leaders such as Gov. Steve Beshear and House Speaker Greg Stumbo, in recent weeks.

Libertarian Party Chairman Ken Moellman says he isn't sure if they are running a challenger in 2014. But his members would need to know more about Judd’s fiscal views first, adding there is some agreement with the actress's social views such as same-sex marriage.

"From a libertarian perspective on the gay marriage issue, we tend to take more of the approach that the government shouldn’t be sanctioning marriage anyway. The relationship between two people does not need government involved. I don’t need to ask the government if this guy can be my friend or ‘hey, can I move in with this person’,” he says.

Judd is a vocal supporter of same-sex marriage and abortion, and recently gave a speech on women's reproductive rights in Washington, D.C.

The Libertarian Party of Kentucky is gathering in Bowling Green this weekend for its annual convention.

Last year, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson received less than one percent of the vote in Kentucky and the party has no officeholders at the state or federal level.

But the party has seen a 30 percent increase in registration over the past nine months, and recently opened up new chapters in Boone and Campbell county.

Ken Moellman is a former libertarian candidate for state treasurer and is chairing the convention. He says reaching local voters is becoming equally important to the party, and more candidates will be running for those offices in the coming years.

"When I ran for state treasurer in 2011, I was able to fundraise and spent $17,000. Now in a statewide race, that didn’t go very far. But if I was running for county magistrate or city council or even a state House race that would have went a lot farther and a much better use of the money," he says.