Democratic voters will decide Tuesday whether to send state Rep. Daniel Grossberg of Louisville back to Frankfort for another term, or chart a new course with one of two primary challengers.
Looming large over the race are the many accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct against Grossberg, which have been documented in nearly two years of coverage from the Lexington Herald-Leader. Those allegations from nine women stretching over two decades have led to many prominent Democratic officials, including Gov. Andy Beshear, calling for him to resign from office and drop out of the race.
Grossberg has denied allegations of wrongdoing, alternately blaming his autism for interactions with women and accusing party officials of antisemetic targeting.
Some Democrats hoping to unseat Grossberg have been concerned about the number of primary candidates in the race, fearing they may split the anti-Grossberg vote and allow him an easier path to reelection.
“That is definitely a concern, and that's something that's worried me the entire race,” said Cassie Lyles, a high school civics teacher who is running for the House District 30 seat in central Jefferson County. “Because more than anything, we need a new representative.”
There were originally three Democratic challengers in the race, though Max Morley dropped out this week after home security video caught him taking a Grossberg campaign ad out of a voter’s mailbox. Now it is down to two, with Lyles and fellow Jefferson County Public Schools educator Mitra Subedi remaining in the race.
Grossberg insists that most voters either don’t believe or don’t care about the sexual misconduct allegations against him, comparing his situation to that of former President Bill Clinton, who survived politically amid infidelity scandals in the 1990s.
“People want to talk about kitchen table issues,” Grossberg said. “They don't want to talk about what's going on in my private life. They want to talk about how I'm delivering for the district, and they are very satisfied with how I've been doing that.”
Lyles counters that voters in the district are sickened by Grossberg and the allegations, wanting someone to represent them who has the values, integrity and work ethic they deserve.
“Nine women publicly coming forward is not an accident,” she said. “We should listen to the women and believe them.”
Lyles picks up big Democratic endorsements in bid to oust Grossberg
Lyles has taught civics at Fairdale High School over the past decade, in addition to holding leadership positions with the local teachers union.
Supporting public education and labor rights are at the top of her campaign platform, as she has called for the state to fully fund school districts and mandate raises for their employees, as well as strengthen the ability of workers to collectively bargain.
“I think we need more women, and we need more educators and we need more union members in Frankfort,” Lyles said.
Lyles has also stressed improving affordability and says she would hold regular monthly meetings with constituents.
“I want people to be more connected with the government, being the civics teacher that I am,” she said.
Contrasting herself with Grossberg, Lyles noted that he has been kicked out of the House Democratic caucus and said many constituents feel uncomfortable meeting him because of the allegations.
“We want to make sure that we have a representative who is approachable and is also able to collaborate with the other legislators in Frankfort,” Lyles said.
In the wake of Morley dropping out of the race, Lyles has picked up a slew of prominent endorsements from Democratic officials, including former Congressman John Yarmuth, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, U.S. Senate candidate Charles Booker and Louisville state House Reps. Josh Watkins and Sarah Stalker.
Subedi makes another attempt for seat after narrow 2024 loss
Democratic candidate Mitra Subedi is also a JCPS employee, working as a bilingual instructor at Fern Creek High School. He grew up in a Bhutanese refugee camp in Nepal, then immigrated in 2011 to Louisville, where he has had leadership positions with Bhutanese groups.
This is not Subedi’s first time running for office, as he ran against Grossberg in the 2024 primary and came just 50 votes short of winning — months before the allegations of women against the incumbent made their way into media coverage. Grossberg was reelected that fall, as he faced no Republican challenger.
Subedi did not respond to requests for an interview with Kentucky Public Radio, but did respond to a KPR voter guide survey with written answers about his policy priorities.
He wants to fully fund education and make pre-K access free for all Kentuckians, in addition to providing healthcare insurance for every person in the state. Subedi believes the administration of President Donald Trump is violating constitutional rights and “trying to erode the very foundations of this wonderful country.”
Defiant Grossberg says he will defeat Democrats’ ‘political machine’
Grossberg says voters in his district will give him another term because they care more about what he has been able to deliver as a legislator than what they’ve read in the news about the allegations against him from women.
“I have a proven record of reaching across the aisle to get things done, while never compromising on the values that matter to the people of the 30th,” he said.
Among the allegations against Grossberg are that he was banned for life from a Louisville strip club for threatening and assaulting a dancer in 2023. The Herald-Leader most recently reported the allegations of a college classmate who said he assaulted her in a dorm room two decades ago when she refused to have sex with him. The alleged victim, Christina Ross, did not file criminal charges at the time, but reported Grossberg’s behavior to local police and campus security at Grinnell College in Iowa and documented the incident contemporaneously.
Responding to that latest story, Grossberg said it was the first time he had heard of “these false claims,” adding that he was “disappointed but not surprised by this desperate attempt to discredit me on the eve of my reelection in order to clear the way for my political opponents.”
Grossberg says that voters in his district rarely bring up the allegations against him, “but when it does come up, it's much more with the skepticism of, ‘Why are they doing this to you? Why won't they leave you alone and let you do your job’ much more than ‘What's the truth behind all of these allegations?'”
He added that constituents believe the Democratic “political machine” is behind the attacks, as “they don't know the individual actors as they all connect together, but they sense that there's more to the story than just these allegations.”
As for why he would be targeted in such a way, Grossberg said there was animosity over his defeat of longtime Rep. Tom Burch in the 2022 Democratic primary, but his vocal defense of Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas “was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
He alleges that Democratic leaders in his caucus were driven by antisemitism to target him after he invited the Consul General of Israel to do a security briefing for lawmakers in Frankfort and show footage of the Hamas attack.
Asked if he would be able to overcome the vocal condemnation he’s received from Beshear, a very popular governor among Democrats in Louisville, Grossberg said the Democratic Party “frequently underestimate the intelligence of the average voter, and they can see through it.”
“I don't share the cynical view of the Democratic Party that it should be a top down process where the party elite dictates to the voters what they should think and do,” Grossberg said. “I think the Democratic Party has a lot of growing to do and realizing they should do a lot more listening and responding rather than lecturing.”
The primary is this Tuesday, May 19th.
