Bruce Schreiner | AP

The request for contributions occurred during a call Cameron made early this year to a representative of Edgewater Recovery Centers, Edgewater attorney Michael Denbow told The Associated Press.

Republicans had criticized Beshear last week for inaction in dealing with the board’s membership. The controversy surfaced when the Courier Journal reported that the two seats had sat idle for more than a year on the 11 voting-member board.

In his first sit-down interview since Tuesday's primary, Beshear also tried to contrast his steady leadership with the just-concluded bitter GOP campaign in which state Attorney General Daniel Cameron prevailed in a 12-candidate field.

The federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Seven Kentucky families with transgender children are listed as plaintiffs.

While GOP candidates were treading cautiously on a core issue for many Republican voters, professing strong support for gun rights, some prominent Democrats spoke forcefully for action after the shooting Monday in which a bank employee used an assault-style rifle to kill five coworkers.

Kentucky's legislature voted to completely phase out the property tax on the value of barrels of aging spirits. The action — taken in the final hours of this year's session — was toasted by the booming bourbon industry but left a bitter taste among some local leaders whose communities rely on the tax money.

The Senate scaled back the bill on a razor-thin vote Wednesday night, but action then abruptly halted as the GOP-dominated chamber looked to regroup Thursday.

In a recent TV commercial, Craft said the fight against drug abuse is personal, confiding she's experienced “that empty chair at my table.” She didn't disclose personal details in the widely aired ad.

The Kentucky GOP wants to dig into pandemic-era correspondence received or sent by Beshear and key administration members, looking for any opportunities to inflict damage on education and pandemic management issues that Beshear has championed as governor.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has hired former state representative and U.S. Senate candidate Charles Booker for a lead role in efforts to connect state government with community and faith-based groups in policy partnerships.