Kentucky Democrats

Gov. Andy Beshear, top Democrat in a red state, is getting attention from those who think he could be a candidate for national office.

All but two Democrat-held seats in the Statehouse are up for reelection this year. Several competitive primaries could shape the state’s Democratic caucus.

FRANKFORT — Former Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes was cleared Monday by Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd of charges by the state Executive Branch Ethics Commission that she improperly ordered the downloading and distribution of voter registration data from her public office while she was Kentucky’s secretary of state.

RPK spokesman says that’s because Republicans spent their money supporting their candidates last year

The Kentucky Democratic Party has appealed a recent court ruling that upheld Republican-drawn political maps for the state House of Representatives and Congress.

As the state Senate’s Democratic leader, McGarvey has touted his experience working with Republicans, which he says he can do without forsaking his party’s values.

The political shift in recent decades has been dramatic across the Ohio Valley, which was once defined by union power and labor issues, but now is dominated by social issues like abortion, racial justice and gay marriage.

The barbecue and political jabs at the St. Jerome’s Parish picnic in Fancy Farm, Kentucky were plentiful, but the same can’t be said for the number of Democrats on the picnic’s signature political speaking roster.

The development comes after years of Republican electoral victories in Kentucky and dwindling returns for Democrats.

Social justice advocate Keturah Herron has won a special election for a Louisville-area seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives.