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COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE: REPUBLICANS
Candidates were asked to
answer each question in
45 words or fewer.
Do you support or oppose
legislation that would
ban smoking statewide in
public places, businesses
and workplaces?
What letter grade do you
give the job performance
of outgoing Commissioner
of Agriculture James
Comer?
Do you support or oppose legalizing the use
of marijuana for medical
purposes in Kentucky?
What would be your top
priority as commissioner
of agriculture?
What is one change
What is one action you
you would make to the
would take to improve the
Kentucky Proud program, state’s equine industry?
which promotes the use of
Kentucky-grown products?
Richard Heath
I oppose efforts to create a
larger and more obtrusive
government and have
consistently opposed all
efforts to ban smoking
statewide in Kentucky. I
believe this is a local issue
best left up to individual
communities.
I give him an A+. I supported his efforts to grow
hemp in Kentucky and was
proud to have supported
that bill. I look forward to
expanding the Kentucky
Proud program and giving
our farmers even more
avenues to sell their Kentucky products.
Absolutely not. I am
opposed to any and all efforts to legalize marijuana
in Kentucky.
I believe we need to expand the Kentucky Proud
program and continue
opening up new markets
for Kentucky products
and Kentucky farmers.
When given the choice,
consumers love buying
homegrown products, and
expanding the program will
help create additional jobs
outside of agriculture.
I think we need to aggressively promote the
program in other stores
such as Trader Joe’s,
Whole Foods, Fresh Market
and the like. There are also
opportunities to expand
across state lines like our
bourbon industry has done
to successfully market
their product.
I would support legislation
to make feed, bedding and
vet supplies tax exempt.
Laws like smoking bans
should be left up to local
governments to decide.
Commissioner Comer has
earned an A for increasing
transparency and efficiency at the Department
of Agriculture, pushing for
the legalization of industrial hemp and bringing
Kentucky Proud to new
heights.
Instead of having the legislature guess, the scientific
and medical communities
should be involved to determine if there is a legitimate medical benefit, like
with any other prescription
drug trial.
The American Farm Bureau
identified federal regulations as the top threat
to agriculture. I will do
everything in my power to
push back against the EPA
and other regulators. We
cannot allow them to do to
our farmers what they’ve
done to the coal industry.
Kentucky Proud is easily identified by most
Kentuckians. As commissioner, I will push that
brand beyond our borders
and make Kentucky Proud
a nationally and internationally known symbol of
outstanding farm products.
I have continuously
sponsored agriculture and
horse-friendly bills which
would give horses the
same tax exemptions as
cattle and livestock. This
would give immediate help
to the equine industry as
other states have already
done.
Born: Aug.
8, 1955
Residence:
Mayfield
Occupation: Owner
of Heath Building Material
Inc.; state representative,
2012-present
Website: richardheathky.com
Ryan Quarles
Born: Oct.
20, 1983
Residence:
Georgetown
Occupation:
Farmer; attorney; state representative, 2011-present
Website: Ryanquarles.com
ATTORNEY GENERAL: REPUBLICANS
Candidates were asked to
answer each question in
45 words or fewer.
What would be your
top priority as attorney
general?
The Office of Attorney
General is charged with
protecting consumers from
all manner of fraud and
investigating a wide array
of crimes. Is the office’s
annual budget of more
than $30 million adequate
to perform these tasks?
The attorney general is
charged with investigating public corruption.
What is one example from
your career where you
confronted members of
your own political party in
order to root out fraud or
abuse?
What is one action you
would take to reduce
heroin abuse in Kentucky?
Is it appropriate for a
candidate for attorney
general to accept campaign contributions from
individuals who have been
previously investigated or
regulated by the Office of
Attorney General?
What letter grade do you
give the job performance
of outgoing Attorney
General Jack Conway?
Michael Hogan
My top priority as attorney
general will be to enforce
the laws of Kentucky while
running an administration
free from conflicts of interest and control of special
interests.
Yes. I’d like to cut frivolous
and wasteful spending
in the Office of Attorney
General while working for
increased funding for our
local prosecutors. Kentucky’s commonwealth’s
attorneys and county
attorneys need more help
because they’re the ones
truly on the front lines of
justice.
I can think of no case
I’ve been involved in as a
prosecutor in Lawrence
County where public corruption was an issue. But
if I ever faced a situation
of public corruption, party
lines would have no bearing on my decision to hold
wrongdoers accountable.
With probable cause
and full due process
rights intact, I support
the legislation previously introduced by former
Rep. Lonnie Napier and
co-sponsored by House
Speaker Greg Stumbo that
would mandate drug testing for welfare recipients
on public assistance.
Politics has unfortunately
played an ugly role in administrations of governors
and attorneys general. I
would not do anything that
was illegal or unethical. I
would not accept any contributions from donors who
I felt tainted my candidacy
or my office.
I would give him a C overall. While I have applauded
General Conway’s work on
cybercrimes, he has been
a very political attorney
general who has used
the office primarily as a
platform to run for U.S.
senator and governor.
My top priority will be protecting Kentucky families
from threats both within
and outside the state. This
ranges from continuing to
fight the drug problem and
increasing efforts against
cybercrime, to standing
up for state and individual
rights against an overreaching federal government.
I plan to improve the
efficiency of the office
and align resources to
give more attention to
the growing problem of
cybercrime, but I will work
within the given budget to
protect Kentucky families
through both education
and enforcement.
As I’ve done as a prosecutor and in the legislature,
such as 2013’s House Bill
1 regarding special taxing
districts, I would actively
and aggressively prosecute
fraud and promote transparency at all levels of
government without regard
to political party affiliation.
Disinfecting sunlight shines
indiscriminately.
I will continue the bipartisan work I’ve done as
Senate Judiciary Chairman
by actively engaging with
the legislature to shape
policies to increase access
to treatment for addicts,
penalties for traffickers,
and educate prosecutors
and law enforcement on
developing substance
abuse trends.
It is not appropriate to
accept contributions that
create a conflict with the
Attorney General’s ability
to fairly and impartially
enforce the laws of the
commonwealth and serve
as a protector of public
safety.
D, because he has selectively done his job based
on his own political whims.
He avoids an F only because he joined other state
attorneys general in challenging the EPA’s job-killing
regulations.
Born: April
17, 1968
Residence:
Louisa
Occupation:
Attorney; Lawrence County
Attorney, 2002-present
Website:
Hoganforkentucky.com
Whitney Westerfield
Born: Nov.
29, 1980
Residence:
Hopkinsville
Occupation:
Attorney; state senator,
2013-present
Website: Whitneywesterfield.com
SECRETARY OF STATE: DEMOCRATS
Candidates were asked to
answer each question in
45 words or fewer.
What is one action you
would take to increase
voter turnout?
Will you advocate for or
against allowing independent voters to participate
in the primary elections of
political parties?
Do you support or oppose
legislation that would automatically restore the voting
rights of most non-violent
felons who have completed
their sentences?
Do you support or oppose
requiring photo identification at polling places to
vote?
What is one action you
would take to improve the
Kentucky One Stop Business Portal, which helps
businesses interact with
state government?
What would be your top
priority as secretary of
state?
Alison Lundergan
Grimes
To generate excitement in
our elections, I released
Kentucky’s first-ever civic
health report and challenge, held 15 civic health
roundtables across Kentucky, expanded Kentucky’s
Election Integrity Task
Force and updated our
election laws. Your vote is
your voice, and I want all
eligible Kentuckians heard.
I believe our current
system is fair. I believe we
must educate Kentuckians
so they understand the
effect of their registration.
As citizens, the most important thing we can do is
vote, and ensuring everyone is part of that process
is important to me.
I’m proud to be a leader
on this issue, and I’ll
continue to advocate for
restoring voting rights to
non-violent felons who
have served out their sentences. It’s sound policy
supported by key members
of both parties. It’s the fair
and just thing to do.
Kentucky law requires that
an ID be shown at the
polls or the voter be known
by a precinct worker. I
believe the laws on the
books are sufficient and
should be enforced. I do
not believe we should build
barriers to the ballot box.
Implementing and expanding the One Stop Portal
(onestop.ky.gov) is an
enormous achievement
of my administration.
Kentucky now leads the
nation, and it saves businesses time and money
in interacting with state
government. Maintaining
this work is critical for
Kentucky to truly be “open
for business.”
Growing our economy and
guaranteeing our elections
remain free and fair are
my top priorities. Already
100,000 businesses have
started under my tenure,
and we’ve implemented
vital programs for military
voters and victims of
domestic violence. Continuing this work ensures
a brighter future for
Kentucky.
Working with constituents
and community organizers,
I will convene community panels to discuss and
assess the state of the
community. Using that information, we will facilitate
traditional and nontraditional ways towards
reaching more individuals
for a greater voter turnout.
I would advocate for allowing independent voters
to participate in primary
elections, which is why
I’m an advocate for open
primaries. Just like in the
general election, every
Kentuckian, no matter their
party affiliation, deserves
the right to participate
in any and every voting
process.
I would support legislation
restoring offender voting
rights, once an offender
has completed their sentence. And as a member
of our community, having
been reintegrated back
into society, I believe it is
their right and expectation
to want to take part in the
voting process.
In an effort to combat
voter election error and
fraud, I would support requiring photo identification
at polling places to vote.
Making sure our businesses have the help and
guidance needed to start
and maintain successful
businesses here in the
Commonwealth, I will
continue the work started
to improve and enhance
the effectiveness of the
portal, while emphasizing
its importance.
In favor of modernizing
Kentucky’s state elections
and its laws, where needed
and appropriate, my top
priority will be to evaluate
all aspects of the office
and the election system to
look for areas of improvements, to combat possible
areas of waste, fraud and
abuse.
Born: Nov.
23, 1978
Residence:
Lexington
Occupation:
Attorney;
Secretary of state since 2011
Website:
Alisonforkentucky.com
Charles Lovett
Born: April
24, 1985
Residence:
Louisville
Occupation:
Substitute teacher
Website: Votelovettky.
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