By RONNIE ELLIS
FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear is rolling the political dice. He’s moving quickly to change the makeup of the state Senate which is controlled by Republicans and killed Beshear’s bill to allow video lottery terminals at horse tracks.
But it’s not just about slots – the congressional delegation will be watching closely, too. The stakes are just as high for Republicans and state Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, as they are for Beshear.
On Wednesday, Beshear appointed Republican Sen. Charlie Borders to the Public Service Commission and called a special election in the 18th Senate District. On the Republican side, Dr. Jack Ditty, a Greenup County dermatologist, has expressed interest in the seat while state Rep. Robin Webb of Grayson wants the Democratic nomination. She seems to be Beshear’s choice – she voted in the House for the slots at the tracks bill.
But there’s a hitch. On Thursday, Todd Eastham, a Greenup County business safety consultant, told the Greenup County Democratic Party Executive Committee he wants to run. And he opposes expanded gambling if it’s only at the tracks because they would benefit the tracks more than the state budget. He said if he’s elected he will hold town meetings with constituents to try to determine their position on expanded gambling and vote that way.
Beshear apparently is already looking for other opportunities. It’s widely believed he will offer to appoint Republican Majority Leader Dan Kelly, R-Springfield, to a vacant circuit judge position to create another opportunity to elect a Democrat in a special election. Thursday, Beshear sidestepped a question about trying to recruit an opponent for Sen. Bob Leeper, I-Paducah, the Senate’s only Independent who typically votes with Republicans. But Leeper said Democrats have previously tried to recruit Paducah attorney Glenn Denton to run against him.
Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, told me Thursday he and Beshear have discussed a job in the administration. But Buford is willing to vote for the slots legislation, so he doesn’t think any job offer will come “until this slots thing is out of the way.”
If Beshear’s gambit fails in the 18th as it did last year in the 30th Senate District where Republican Brandon Smith won a special election fought largely on the issue of gambling, the slots bill could be dead and Beshear significantly weakened. If his strategy of picking off individual Republican seats succeeds, not only will tracks get slot machines, but Republicans will suffer a crippling loss. Democrats might take control of the Senate and even if they don’t they might get close enough to broker a deal with a couple of Republican Senators and dethrone Williams as President.
If they should gain control, Democrats would then control both chambers in Frankfort as re-districting approaches. That’s why Republicans will fight tenaciously to retain every Senate seat. And it’s why some of Congressman Geoff Davis’ team is already on the ground in the 18th Senate District, working to find a viable candidate and to hold onto the seat. The Republican Congressional delegation doesn’t want to see districts re-drawn which would make it harder for them to hold onto their seats. That’s why Beshear might subsequently offer Buford a job even if the slots bill passes the Senate.
The 18th District special election is about more than slots and it could have significant effects ranging far beyond the northeastern Kentucky counties of Bracken, Carter, Greenup, Lewis, Mason and Robertson counties.
RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com.
