Gov. Steve Beshear's campaign says the list of Republicans backing the Kentucky Democrat's re-election bid this fall is growing. But the man Beshear faces this fall says there are many reasons why some Republicans would be donating to a sitting governor's re-election campaign. On the day before Kentucky Republicans held their post-primary unity rally at GOP headquarters in Frankfort, Gov. Beshear's campaign released the names of 70 Republicans backing his re-election bid. Among the names was former lieutenant governor Steve Pence.At the unity rally, Senate President David Williams, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, was asked about the Beshear list.
"Nobody gets a hundred percent of their own party in anything," said Williams. "And many of those people obviously are in a situation where they came off a campaign contributor's list. And people have all sorts of different reasons why they contribute to campaigns, if you know what I mean."
The Beshear campaign is now announcing another 56 Republicans they say are supporting the governor's re-election bid, including Owensboro Mayor Ron Payne.