Politics

David Williams' exit as Kentucky State Senate president will likely stir a recurring major issue: gambling.

The leading Kentucky state Senate Democrat said senate  President David Williams's departure should bring new life to efforts to bring casino gambling to Kentucky racetracks, while a leading voice against expanded gaming said the move was politically motivated.

In a new television ad airing statewide, Republican Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock is going on the offensive in response to a series of attacks from his opponent and national Democrats.

The spot slams Congressman Joe Donnelly for "sleazy politics," and escalates what has become a national race for control of the Senate. Mourdock's camp is specifically responding to tough ad put out by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee that targets the GOP nominee's comments about that pregnancies resulting from rape were intended by God.

Mourdock's campaign says Donnelly and the Democrats are "twisting" his word and "attacking his faith" over the issue of abortion.

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Democrats and Republicans are on track to spend about $1 billion each on television advertising in the presidential race. Most of it is negative, and almost all of it is concentrated in nine battleground states.

If you live in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia or Wisconsin, you cannot get away from the ad blitz being waged by both sides. For the folks who track political advertising at Kantar Media CMAG, these commercials tell a story.

Democrat Shelli Yoder is launching her first TV ad of the general election in Indiana's Ninth Congressional District race that touts the political newcomer as a champion for middle-class Hoosiers.

The 30-second spot features Yoder talking directly to voters and pledging to protect entitlement programs.

Yoder goes after Republican incumbent Todd Young, accusing the freshman of backing a plan to privatize Social Security and turn Medicare into a voucher program. Presumably, Yoder is talking about Young's support of GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan's budget plan.

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