Time now for an end of review of some major political news in Kentucky so far this week.

Actually, at the end of the week, with two of our good friends who you often see here at KCET, they're both with McCarthy Strategic Solutions.

Sherman Browne and Amy Wickliffe.

And we welcome them both.

Thank you, guys.

You'll make a return visit on Monday night.

So what we don't get to in this few minutes, we'll research and certainly ham it up on Monday.

Let's talk about where we are with 20 something days out.

Sherman Brown.

Andy Beshear has got some money and he's he's put out a release about how much he raised in this quarter.

A million and a half.

Feeling pretty good.

The polls look like they're pretty favorable toward him.

Yeah, I think if you're in this race right now and you're Andy Beshear, you've got to be pretty happy.

If I were one of the two candidates, I'd want to be Andy Beshear in the spot you're leading on the fundraising side.

Every poll has shown him with the the lowest poll had him at six points up.

There was one that had him at 16 points.

So I don't think that it's a 16 point race, but that is out there.

But I do think that this race is is folks thought that it would be a lot closer than this.

As of right now, it's not there.

The polls haven't shown that.

And then the fundraising, you know, it's just been stellar.

I mean, he just keeps keeps keeps it going.

Yeah.

But we also know, Amy, that raising money doesn't always mean if you got the most money, that you're going to do the best and end up being the victor.

We saw that in the Republican primary, right?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And I think that Republicans tend to have this October surge.

And I think we're starting to see that and feel that out at events.

I've been at a couple of events with Attorney General Cameron just to get a feel for what voters are saying and what they're kind of to see what that energy is like.

And there's a very good energy out there on the campaign trail right now.

It is a very competitive race.

I think when we look at the polls, I think what we've we've actually done some research and to see that Republicans are kind of not being counted appropriately or not being accounted for in a lot of the polling.

So I don't think that.

I'm not saying that Daniel Cameron is up right now, but I think it is a lot closer of a race than some people might be thinking right now.

And I think a lot of that will start to move in these next couple of weeks as people really start to pay attention to the race.

And they had their first really joint debate.

I mean, they've been at venues before, but not on the stage at the same time, certainly not engaging each other as they did just on Thursday in Paducah for the Chamber of Commerce.

And you saw this.

Tell us your impressions of how Daniel Cameron did.

I did.

I thought he did.

Excellent.

You know, the gloves came off a little bit yesterday, which I enjoy.

I love a debate.

I watch all of them.

So I really enjoyed yesterday.

I think this is the first time that Governor Bashir has really been challenged on the stage.

Right.

Because it is the first time that they've really seen each other.

And I think there were points throughout the debate where you could tell, at least I thought that the governor might be getting a little frustrated with some of that pushback coming from Daniel Cameron.

So I think more to come as those more debates come in the next couple of weeks.

But I think all in all, I think it was a friendly crowd.

I heard that Daniel Cameron got a very good reception down in West Kentucky, which is no surprise.

It is a Republican country down there.

And so I think the polls will show will bear out in his favor.

And this was a business community event.

Of course.

This was the Chamber of Commerce there in Paducah.

So you have a very targeted audience there in the room.

What do we know about how Beshear scores in western Kentucky where there he has been on site because of the tornadoes and the relief and all of that is his view, higher than perhaps it might be thought?

Well, I think his view is higher everywhere than it was in 2019, because he's been on TV, you know, all through the pandemic, all through the tornadoes, the flooding in eastern Kentucky.

But to speak to western Kentucky, I mean, the you know, the people know him.

I mean, as you know, his father being from Dawson Springs, the tornadoes that happened to Dawson Springs, what he's doing down there right now with housing, economic development announcement, he just made an announcement yesterday after that at a major in Murray.

So he's getting around.

And that's part of it is the power of incumbency, of being able to be out there and and the conversation not just being a rally, but being an announcement of money coming in grants, broadband, go through all the list of everything, infrastructure, all these different projects that he gets to announce and be a part of present the big check.

All of those come with, you know, local officials and people coming to the event and clapping and hearing that.

But again, they've known him now and they've gotten to see him, you know, like we were talking registering the pandemic, being on.

I think as far as being tested, I think that is the real test that he saw.

And I think that's where any any person, Daniel Cameron, now is not going to be able to affect his numbers and the likability factor because people know him.

There's nothing you can say about him because he's already answered every question.

There's another candidate in a different race who used on in this studio Monday night a question or phrase, Why should Kentucky fire the guy that's doing X, Y, Z?

And we hear Governor Beshear saying, why take the coach out of the game and the quarterback when you're scoring victories?

Has Daniel Cameron answered that question of why Kentuckians should fire Andy Beshear?

Well, I think we're hearing him try to do that right now.

I think, at the debate.

Right.

How many times did we hear Joe Biden's name?

Right.

And Daniel Beaver card, bingo card, Right.

And Daniel Cameron and his camp are sending out a message in a very calculated way to remind voters that a Beshear Biden agenda does not reflect the values of Kentuckians.

Right.

And so the race has been nationalized.

That's no surprise.

They typically are these days.

But I think we are going to continue to hear those messages because Biden's numbers are in the tank here in Kentucky.

They're not great nationally, Right.

I mean, they might be in the 25% mark here in Kentucky.

So so I think that's something that we're going to continue to hear as well.

And I think to back to the debate, too, I think debates are not just about the issues that we're talking about.

It's about how these candidates react.

And so watching how, you know, that person will react to challenges and adversity in those situations shows you what kind of a governor people are going to be.

And that's the test moment, right?

It is.

So before we leave, we do want to tell our friends and who our beloved family members of the Dame of Frankfort, as she was known, Judy Taylor, who was government relations for Keeneland and has been around Frankfort as long as I can remember.

I know you all knew her very well, and we lost her this week.

Yes, Judy was.

And I'll try not to get choked up.

She was a trailblazer for women in Frankfort.

I think she was the very first paid female lobbyist in Frankfort.

And so for someone like me, you know, I owe I have so much gratitude towards her because she really forged a path when not many women were in that role.

And if you had the chance to know, Judy, you learned something from her.

And I think that is what I hope her family and her close friends will always remember the impact that she's had on so many people.

And will continue to have on the people in Frankfurt.

She will be sorely missed.

Yeah, well said.

Well said.

I mean, I think people immediately think of her with cookies.

Yeah.

You know, and it's.

Yes.

And it's so much more than that.

I mean, as Amy said, I don't think I can say it any better.

Yeah, she's.

Well, it will be a very different session in 2024 without her presence.

And our thoughts and prayers go to Marissa, her daughter and family and her our good girl band group.

Right.

Who will miss her and so well.

Thank you all for sharing that time with us.

And we'll see you on Monday night.

Sounds good.

See you then.

You.