KY-Gov: Campaign finance reports are out covering the period of Sept. 7 to Oct. 6, and GOP Gov. Matt Bevin is keeping his financial edge over Democrat Andy Beshear thanks to more self-funding. Beshear actually outraised Bevin $771,000 to $673,000, but Bevin threw down another $900,000 of his own money and held a $1.58 million to $628,000 cash-on-hand lead.
Bevin’s allies at the RGA group Putting Kentucky First are also out with another TV spot tying Beshear to the Democratic presidential field. The ad begins with a clip of presidential debate moderator Savannah Guthrie saying, “Raise your hand if your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants,” and the candidates are shown agreeing with that statement. Beshear, of course, is not on that debate stage, and the ad doesn’t even actually accuse him of supporting this policy.
Instead, the commercial shows how the GOP will try and connect red state Democratic candidates to the party’s White House field no matter their actual positions on healthcare. The RGA’s narrator says, “Democrats running for president want to give taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants” and she transitions to attacking Beshear by declaring, “Andy Beshear is extreme on health care too.”
The spot goes on to hit Beshear by arguing, “Just like national liberals, Beshear supported a government takeover of our health care,” and, “Andy Beshear even opposes requiring able-bodied adults to work while receiving taxpayer funded healthcare benefits.”
This spot, like a previous RGA ad, cites a March Associated Press article to make its case that Beshear “supported a government takeover of our health care.” However, as we’ve previously explained, what that AP article actually said is that Beshear wanted the consumer protections from the Affordable Care Act added to state law so Kentuckians "aren't subject to political games" in D.C. Beshear has called for protecting the state's Medicaid expansion.
The RGA also has already attacked Beshear for opposing work requirements for healthcare benefits. Bevin has pushed for a waiver that requires some Medicaid recipients to work, be in school, or do some sort of volunteering, a policy that would take 95,000 people off the state's rolls. A judge blocked the waiver earlier this year, and the issue is still in court. Beshear has denounced Bevin's plan and argued it would hurt rural health care, and the federal Government Accountability Office has estimated that the governor’s proposed changes would cost the state $272 million.