While federal races often get the most attention and money, a wide array of state races will also appear on Kentuckians’ ballots this year — state representatives and senators, judges and a proposed constitutional amendment — not to mention the array of local council, school board and mayoral races.
Kentucky Public Radio’s Joe Sonka and Sylvia Goodman discussed the upcoming election and the state races and issues that voters should keep an eye on. Early voting began Thursday morning and stretches through Saturday ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
SYLVIA GOODMAN: Election day is approaching at a frightening pace. I figured we could start by talking about the item that will be on everyone's ballot in Kentucky. Joe, what is the constitutional amendment that we will see on our ballots this year?
JOE SONKA: This would limit the power of the governor to issue pardons and commute sentences at the end of their terms. If approved by voters, they could not issue clemency orders in the 60 days before a governor election and the following 35 days after the election until the inauguration in early December. State Senator Chris McDaniel of northern Kentucky has been pushing this amendment since 2020, in the wake of the many controversial pardons issued by former Gov. Matt Bevin, just before he left office in 2019.
CHRIS MCDANIEL: Last time around, we saw a tremendous abuse of the power to pardon. There were just so many tragic examples of how badly this power can be abused, and it needs to be reined in.
JS: McDaniel finally got his bill through both chambers earlier this year, and he says it's needed to prevent governors from abusing this power in a lame duck period, like he believes Bevin did.
MCDANIEL: If you feel that a pardon is justifiable, you ought to be able to stand in front of the voters and justify that pardon, and that's why the power still exists for three years and nine months.
SG: What are the arguments people are making against this amendment?
JS: Gov. Andy Beshear has been critical of the amendment, saying that Bevin's abuse of the power shows that voters should simply elect more trustworthy governors instead of limiting the power.
ANDY BESHEAR: The answer to this isn't changing the pardon power of every other governor that hasn't abused it this way, but not electing a guy like Matt Bevin ever again.
JS: Defense attorneys like former Kentucky public advocate Damon Preston also worry the amendment could have consequences for death penalty cases. In some cases, preventing a governor from stopping an execution, he also says there is value in allowing a lame-duck governor to issue pardons, as these decisions should not always be constrained by public opinion.
DAMON PRESTON: There is a benefit to saying, "Okay, this person who is no longer politically at risk can execute what he or she thinks is right. There are unpopular cases that need to be remedied.
SG: Everyone will also get to pick their state representative, and half of us get to pick our state senator this year. Joe, you've been tracking spending in the state legislature races pretty closely, and so far it's been weighted quite a bit toward Republicans, right?
JS: It's already pretty clear that Republicans are going to maintain their dominant supermajority in both chambers, but Democrats are hoping they're able to make some gains in the Louisville and Lexington suburbs in a favorable year for Democrats. Standing in Democrats' way is an extraordinary spending imbalance, as political action committees have flooded those races with ads to boost Republican candidates. In fact, PACs spent more than $1 million on ads to help just three GOP incumbents in Louisville, with most of that defending longtime Sen.Julie Raque Adams. While PACs spent at least $1.6 million on ads helping Republicans, on the Democratic side only one PAC has spent less than $30,000 in support of their candidates.
SG: Voters in central Kentucky will also have an interesting one on their ballot in the Court of Appeals race between Will Moynahan and Lucy Van Meter. It's turned into another big-spending judicial race that's taking on the characteristics of a partisan campaign, with Beshear's PAC funding ads in support of Moynahan.
