Phillip M. Bailey (KPR)

In a new survey released Wednesday, Public Policy Polling found that in a hypothetical 2016 presidential race Democratic Hillary Clinton leads Republican Sen. Rand Paul in Kentucky. Clinton is the outgoing U.S. Secretary of State who many Democrats want to run in four years, while Paul is a rising GOP star and Tea Party favorite. Both are rumored presidential candidates at this point, but the PPP survey shows Clinton ahead of Paul by a 5-point margin in the commonwealth at 47-to-42 percent. A large reason for Clinton's lead is that she is far more popular in Kentucky than President Obama, who has struggled amongst state Democrats. From PPP: Clinton has a 48/42 favorability rating with Kentucky voters. By comparison Barack Obama's approval rating is 38/59. (SNIP) The reason Democrats lose time after time in Kentucky despite having a large registration advantage is that a very large number of Democrats don't vote Democratic for President, but Clinton would win over a lot of the party faithful who have declined to support Obama, Kerry, and Gore. "The fact that Hillary Clinton would be in a position to win Kentucky, perhaps more than any other data we’ve seen over the last month, shows what a formidable candidate she would be for president in 2016," Public Policy Polling President Dean Debnam said in a news release. The polling firm also found that Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear is the most popular elected official in the state with a 51 percent approval rating. Beshear won re-election in a landslide last year, and although the governor has not voiced any interest in running for another public office he would lead Paul in a mock match up by a 2-point margin. This survey comes off the heels of a poll that showed Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is the most unpopular Senator in the country with just a 38 percent approval. Paul had a job approval rating of 43 percent. In response, the McConnell campaign ripped the PPP survey as a "junk poll" to damage the GOP leader. "It speaks volumes that even a liberal Democrat pollster with an agenda to make Mitch McConnell look bad still can't find an opponent who can lead him in Kentucky," McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton said in a statement. "This Democrat poll has a long-held reputation for skewed approval numbers and that's obviously the case here since there is no poll, public or private, that has shown Senator McConnell's approval ratings anywhere near where PPP suggests."

A spokesman for Kentucky Senate President David Williams says Williams would consider a judicial appointment if Governor Steve Beshear offered the…

Kentucky Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, would consider a judicial appointment if Governor Steve Beshear offered the position, a spokesperson confirmed. Rumors have been swirling in Frankfort that Beshear is planning to offer his bitter rival Williams, who is a trial lawyer, the open circuit court seat in his southern Kentucky district. The seat was left vacant due to the death of Judge Eddie Lovelace last month. "If there is an appointment offer, Sen. Williams will consider it," says Senate GOP spokeswoman Lourdes Báez-Schrader. Earlier this week, Kentucky Public Radio's Kenny Colston reported that Senate Republicans have already created a line of succession plan if Williams were to resign. A four-member nominating panel was appointed Thursday, and that group will vet candidates and send Beshear three names to consider. The nominating commission members are Helena Pitcock, Steve Morgan, Gary Lee and Jarrett Stephens.

Seeking a sixth term, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has hired a Tea Party strategist who led campaigns for fellow Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and Texas Congressman Ron Paul. McConnell announced he hired Jesse Benton as his campaign manager for re-election on Thursday despite having no primary or general election opponent. Benton led Congressman Ron Paul's presidential primary race and worked for Rand Paul's Senate bid as well. "We’re committed to running a presidential-level campaign in Kentucky, and that starts with a presidential campaign manager," McConnell told The Washington Post. "Jesse is literally the best in the business at building and organizing conservative grassroots movements, and I’m thrilled he’s chosen to return to Kentucky to lead my campaign." Much has been written about McConnell's relationship with the Tea Party in his home state and his colleague Rand Paul. The relationship with Paul appears to have gotten past any bitterness over McConnell supporting Paul's 2010 primary opponent, but many at the grassroots level still voice distrust for the GOP leader and want him to be challenged. From LEO Weekly: Frank Harris, a devoted Tea Partier from Lexington, carried a sign that read “There’s no tea in Mitch,” telling multiple media outlets that an unrepentant McConnell was trying to co-opt the movement in order to avoid a Tea Party primary challenge, which he supports. Jay Weyland, of Cynthiana, who stood in the front of the crowd with a sign that read “The Income Tax is Immoral,” agrees this was a transparent act of desperation from a man who fears political extinction. With a hefty war chest, the choice of Brenton is already being praised by Republican operatives as a brilliant—possibly shrewd—choice to scare off any potential Tea Party primary challengers further.

A national watchdog group has named Congressman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., among the most corrupt lawmakers in the country. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a non-partisan group, released its annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress report Wednesday, which lists 12 members it alleges have engaged in misconduct. The report calls out Rogers for directing millions of dollars in earmarks to a Kentucky-based company that has contributed to his campaign. Phoenix Products Co. located in Maceo, Ky., has been paid $6.5 million by the U.S. Army for hundreds of leak-proof drip pans for military helicopters. Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that Phoenix Products was paid $17,000 per drip pan, but that competitor businesses said similar products cost only $2,500. Melanie Sloan is executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. She says Rogers is a frequent offender, and constituents concerned about fiscal responsibility should be alarmed. "While these may be made in Kentucky this is hurting America. We have a huge deficit. We can’t afford all of our bills. And here it is we’re paying over $14,500 extra for each drip pan. And that’s taxpayer money. So we should all be concerned,” she says. The company’s owners have been political donors to Rogers’s re-election bids and have personally given over $20,000 since 2004. Another $17,000 has been contributed by employees via the company's lobbying firm since 2002. For years, Rogers has been dubbed the "Prince of Pork" by critics for his ability to attach pork barrel spending to legislation. Despite Rogers's reputation clashing with the austerity push of the Tea Party movement, he is currently the chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee Rogers’ office did not return a call seeking comment for this story. From the New York Times: A Congressional aide said that Mr. Rogers inserted the earmark after Army officials went to him with concerns about fluids that were leaking into the cabins of Black Hawks, splattering not only crew members but also wounded soldiers being airlifted to hospitals. “The Army came to the boss and said this is an issue,” said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in discussing internal communications. The Army, however, said it was simply following a budget directive from Congress. Mr. Rogers’s earmark came before House members informally agreed to ban such provisions to for-profit companies. “Congress mandated a leakproof transmission drip pan,” said Dov Schwartz, an Army spokesman. The contract was awarded without competitive bids because Phoenix was the only company deemed “approved and certified” for the work, he said. “The number of people that make leakproof transmission dripping pans is few and far between,” Mr. Schwartz said, adding that the steel required for such pans is more costly than the plastic used in other versions. "Mr. Rogers continual, long-term (and) generally corrupt behavior of exchanging earmarks for campaign contributions is the kind of thing that makes Americans so disgusted with their government," says Sloan, adding her group has filed a complaint against Rogers with the Office of Congressional Ethics and asked the U.S. military to investigate.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is worried that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will not have enough Electoral College votes to beat President Obama this fall. National polls show the race is a statistical tie in a popular vote with a slim margin of undecided voters, but the winner of the White House is the candidate who captures 270 electoral votes. A review of most interactive maps show Mr. Obama edging out Romney in November by winning key swing states. Paul says there are a handful of states that are evenly divided and Romney will have to win most of them, adding the GOP will have to examine its electoral map strategy in future races. "It’s tougher and tougher for Republicans because we don’t compete very well in the west coast (and) we don’t compete very well New England. Once you give up all those votes then you got to win pretty much the rest of the country," he says. "And that’s one of the messages I’ve had to the national Republican Party. You know what? Those areas where you’re not competing maybe a libertarian Republican would do better in California or New York state." Even after the Republican National Convention, Romney did not receive a significant bump in the polls and Mr. Obama retains an advantage in most electoral map formulas. From CBS News: The overall electoral math remains focused on big toss-up prizes like Ohio and Florida. In both places the President has held leads, as he does in our newest polls, but they're certainly not large enough to overcome any variations in turnout or shifts in allegiance from softer supporters as we go forward. Smaller toss-ups like Colorado and Nevada out west, and Iowa and New Hampshire, continue to play pivotal roles. A lot of data out this summer - including our own polling - suggest the president is ahead in Pennsylvania. This may not surprise, as the state's Democratic-leaning history would suggest that so long as Mr. Obama is leading (or close to even) nationally - as he is - Pennsylvania would be among those more likely to stay in his camp. Despite those figures, the president has been unable to run away with the election either and observers predict a small margin will decide the outcome. But Romney also faces conservative third party candidates who could hurt his bid. In Virginia, former Congressman Virgil Goode has secured a spot on the ballot as a Constitution Party candidate. According to recent polling data, Goode is carrying 9 percent of the vote, which would be enough to spoil Romney's chances in the state. Another long-shot candidate is Libertarian Gary Johnson, a former two-term governor of New Mexico who is polling at 5.3 percent in that state. Paul says those campaigns could affect the presidential contest, but that Romney has to do a better job of reaching out to third party voters. "I think the only way to keep those voters in the party is if you’re the nominee of the party you need to appeal to those people who are either libertarian or Constitutional conservatives," he says. "You need to say: stay in the party, because I am going to be sincere about balancing the budget and cutting some spending."

Kentucky Lt. Governor Jerry Abramson is taking a hit for calling the annual Fancy Farm picnic outdated, but he isn't the first elected official to share his distaste for the raucous event. 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. Listen: Comer's point about Abramson's Louisville ties also overlooks that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who is from Louisville, revels in the showmanship of Fancy Farm. Observers could chalk the comment as an attempt to add put in another dagger to any Abramson 2015 gubernatorial hopes. It certainly plays up Abramson's liberal and urban background, but criticism of the picnic appears to have more to do with the sensitivity of the elected official than what part of the state they come from.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is defending his leadership role against conservative critics.Later this month, McConnell will join fellow…

In a BuzzFeed profile piece, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., celebrates the rise of social media and is praising the fall of traditional newspaper outlets. Like most conservatives, McConnell views traditional media outlets as bias against GOP views and he appears somewhat elated about the dwindling print media that once held a stranglehold on political coverage. McConnell says social media allows for ideas to be heard in a more competitive landscape and commented on The Courier-Journal hiring a marketing and sales VP as its publisher earlier this year. From BuzzFeed: McConnell, 70, spoke to BuzzFeed in his office overlooking the National Mall; he had tweeted of his plans for the interview earlier in the day from his iPad. “To the extent that there isn’t media domination like there was in the days NBC, ABC, CBS the New York Times, the Washington Post, particularly since most people on my side of the aisle feel they had a pretty obvious bias … those days are over,” he said. “I kind of like this new environment. I think its much more competitive, much more balanced." (SNIP) McConnell noted that the same disruption roiling the national media landscape has been felt in his home state of Kentucky, and particularly at the Courier-Journal, once the state’s most dominant source of political news. The paper “recently hired a business type guy. With a tech background. Totally a nontraditional type of publisher,” McConnell said, adding that, “the message is pretty clear. They’re trying to figure out how to save the business and position it for the future.” McConnell also gives Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney—and his shot at Majority Senate Leader—a '50-50' chance this November.

Former Democratic Governor John Y. Brown Jr., is disappointed with President Barack Obama's job performance and is criticizing the national party for "acting like socialists" over free enterprise. Brown served as Kentucky's governor from 1979 to 1983, and is successful businessman and a revered patriarch among state Democrats past and present. In an interview with Pure Politics, Brown said Mr. Obama doesn't understand the economy and is more interested in "taking care of people instead of taking care of our Constitution" and getting people back to work. Check it out: Brown also criticized the Republicans, but his comments typify the gulf between Kentucky Democrats and the president.