Andy Beshear

Democrat Andy Beshear's push to legalize casino gambling in Kentucky is facing strong resistance from two leading Republican lawmakers, including one who supported the idea previously.

Beshear, who is running for governor, says Kentucky could reap $500 million-plus in yearly revenue by allowing expanded gambling. He wants the money to support public pension systems.

Senate President Robert Stivers and Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said Thursday that the proposal would be "dead on arrival" in the Republican-dominated Senate.

A new poll shows Gov. Matt Bevin and Attorney General Andy Beshear in a dead heat ahead of next month’s gubernatorial election.

The same polling firm showed Bevin trailing Beshear by eight percentage points last December.

Now, 46 percent of likely voters say they’ll vote for Bevin, 46 percent say they’ll vote for Beshear and 7 percent are undecided.

Bevin leads among men, older and rural voters while Beshear has more support with women, younger voters in metropolitan areas, according to the poll.

Eight minutes into the governor’s debate on Tuesday, moderator Shannon Cogan urged the audience at Lexington’s Singletary Center to remain silent. The candidates’ verbal jousts elicited whoops, boos, cheers and rare bits of laughter through the hour-long debate reflecting an audience as clearly divided on policy as the two men on stage.

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin and Democratic challenger Andy Beshear found little common ground during the debate on the University of Kentucky campus; that was evident on the hot-button issue of abortion.

Gov. Matt Bevin held a press conference Friday to remind voters that he opposes abortion and has signed several anti-abortion bills into law.

Standing next to a poster that proclaimed him as “America’s most pro-life governor,” Bevin accused reporters of not reporting on the fact that his opponent, Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear, supports abortion rights.

“The sad reality, if we don’t gather people and put this in your face to this degree, you don’t cover it,” Bevin said.

Kentucky Commissioner of Education Wayne Lewis says it is not within the Kentucky Department of Education’s authority to investigate political emails sent from a private individual to teachers’ professional email accounts.

On Wednesday, the Kentucky Education Association called for Lewis or the Kentucky Board of Education to lead a state investigation into political emails teachers in several rural Kentucky school districts received at work. 

The teachers in at least eight districts received emails criticizing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andy Beshear over the last two weeks. The emails went to the teachers’ public school email addresses and were sent from an unknown supporter of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. Bevin has said that his campaign was not behind the effort.

The Kentucky Education Association is calling for a state investigation into political emails teachers in several rural Kentucky school districts received at work.

The teachers in at least eight districts received emails criticizing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andy Beshear over the last two weeks. The emails went to the teachers’ public school email addresses and were sent from an unknown supporter of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. Bevin has said that his campaign was not behind the effort.

Teachers are not allowed to use their emails for political purposes.

Calling for smaller class sizes and fewer standardized tests, Democrat Andy Beshear offered a public education plan Wednesday that he said sets him apart from his opponent in Kentucky’s governor’s race, incumbent Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.

Beshear said there’s no bigger contrast between the two candidates than their approach to education. The state attorney general’s plan also calls for expanding early childhood education, ending a teacher shortage and increasing mental health services for children.

The Democratic challenger vowed to not sign a budget bill unless it sufficiently funds education.

The Kentucky Senate's top leader says he'll introduce a measure calling for an investigation into the state's $24 million settlement with the makers of the prescription painkiller OxyContin.

Senate President Robert Stivers said Tuesday he'll introduce the joint resolution — which carries the force of law — on the first day of the 2020 legislative session in January.

Stivers says Kentucky was "shortchanged" in the Purdue Pharma settlement. Former Attorney General Jack Conway settled the case in late 2015, a few days before he left office.

A judge has denied Gov. Matt Bevin’s request that he no longer preside over a lawsuit against the state’s investigation into protesting teachers.

The Bevin administration argued that Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd should be disqualified from the case because he “liked” a Facebook post that was supportive of Bevin’s rival, Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear.

But in a three-page order, Shepherd denied Bevin’s request, pointing out that he has liked posts that are supportive of Bevin as well.