Time now to go inside Kentucky politics on this derby week.

And we've got a pair with us both who are founders of their own political consulting firms.

On screen left, you see Will Kali, who is founder of Open Strategies, and Iris Wilbur Glick, who has been on several times before.

But now she is the founder of her very own boutique firm, government relations firm A.W.

Strategies.

And we are so proud of you, Miss Iris.

Congratulations.

Thanks, Renee.

So let's talk about that.

Another type of horse race.

That's the political races that are going on in Kentucky and it really seems like, Iris, I will begin with you that the state House races on the GOP side of the ledger.

Some of those are pretty intense.

You want to give us tick off a few that stand out to you that we should keep our eyes on.

Absolutely.

Thanks, Renee.

You know, we just were able to review the 30 day free reports.

And so, you know, those of us following it closely, that's a really good marker regarding funds coming in and out, the dollars being spent by these individual candidates and campaigns.

A little bit of insight as to, you know, outside groups as well.

But yes, very much Republican primaries across the board, across the map.

You know, I'm monitoring a couple, you know, in western Kentucky, northern Kentucky and in central, of course, there's some key races, including chairmanship.

Right.

And so I know this program, you all have talked about it before, but there's probably a handful of Republican primaries in a state House and state Senate that are really heating up.

One particularly is getting quite nasty, which we can dive into.

And then again, for me, I'm looking at dollar spent looking at District 19 with incumbent Michael Meredith, chairman of banking and sharp phrasing in 130 4k That's a great number.

Some of that was carryover, but it looks like he'll be well a going into the May primary.

And we also know that another notable one in northern Kentucky, House District 66.

This is a pretty interesting race as well.

See, Ed Massie, who's taking another stab at this seat, but he's got a pretty substantial challenger.

And T.J. Roberts will quickly talk about that race and that race.

Unfortunately, I think it's colorful for all the wrong reasons.

You know, some of the attacks that I've seen and heard about are getting quite personal and a bit off topic.

You know, I think, for instance, you know, in Boone County, there are so many issues about putting northern Kentucky on the map when it comes to economic development.

You know, I would I wish both candidates would focus on the issues at hand.

But, yes, we're seeing a lot of activity, lots lots of social media activity coming from the individual campaigns.

And we've already heard about some outside dollars from some unexpected stakeholders, such as the J.C. to the Jefferson County Teachers Association there, their political action committee, better schools for Kentucky, spending a significant amount in support of Ed Massey.

Yeah.

So I want to go to you.

Well, Kali, not to leave you out of this conversation, there is a pretty interesting race in this state Senate, almost a pair of incumbents, but not quite Gerald Neal, who has been in the state Senate, what, since 1989.

He's facing a challenge from former state rep and failed congressional candidate Attica Scott.

What's the dynamics in this race?

I think those dynamics are basically that Attica Scott, who has run for numerous offices, whether it's Metro Council, Congress state representative, is now running to unseat Gerald Neal.

Senator Neal's done a great job over the years.

I think, you know, his position in leadership has has made him an invaluable part of our team, not only within the Senate caucus, but within the party.

And I think you're going to see some some people like Attica, Scott, that run these insurgent style campaigns that are a little bit upset with the status quo, but are really outside what mainstream Democratic Party voters are thinking even in the west end of Louisville.

So I'm going to be really interested to see how that race turns out.

It could be a real bellwether for how primaries will be shaped going into the future for our party.

But yes, I do feel confident, though, that Senator Neal will pull that out and continue to work with him.

I'll be looking forward to that.

Let's talk about in Washington Congressman Thomas Massie of the fourth Congressional District, Northern Kentucky area, has joined with Marjorie Taylor GREENE calling for the ousting of House Speaker Mike Johnson.

They say they're going to call for a vote.

They're going to weigh the options over the weekend, Iris, And then they're going to call for a vote when they return.

Tell us your thoughts about this.

Oh, I wish we had more time, Renee, But but to really drill down into it, you know, there's two things happening here.

I think sort of the reality of the political landscape and then the process and procedures that go into the motion to vacate.

I'll start with sort of the political landscape first.

You know, as recent as yesterday, Congressman Thomas Massie was being interviewed on a political commentary show, and he couldn't even commit that he had the support of the Freedom Caucus.

And so right there, that illustrates that.

You know, I don't know exactly, you know, the momentum going into the weekend for the procedural portion of this.

I definitely do not want to call it a political stunt.

You know, he's made the plea.

You know, he did edit that he's doing this on principle, but just the practical implications of it.

You know, the Republicans have a slim majority.

I don't know why it's such a toxic affiliation for bipartisanship and governing and getting stuff done.

The reality is it's in D.C. you need to have bypass and support to advance policy, to actually govern.

And so, you know, I'm encouraged that Mike Johnson, Speaker Johnson, has worked across the aisle to get important pieces of legislation done, most recently like tons of work in the past month.

But process wise, you know, there will be a motion to table.

And I don't even think the motion of Vicki will even be brought forward to the to the floor because the motion to table will will prevail.

And essentially we'll sidestep any ability for them to force the vote to vacate.

And so I don't think they have the votes there.

And we'll continue to see people like Congressman Thomas Massie try to make political points, and then we'll have other leaders in Washington ready to govern and get something done.

Your take on all this?

Well, I think they're just really extreme strains to the Republican Party right now that aren't interested in governing.

They're interested in a circus.

And that's unfortunate.

I think Mike Johnson has done some actually good things in partnering with the Democrats to govern.

You know, the Congress, govern our country, move our country forward, whether it's the debt relief building, how to write a debt relief bill or aid to Ukraine and Israel.

You know, they're working together for the first time in these very extreme out of the mainstream candidates like Marjorie Taylor GREENE and Thomas Massie and a few others are still making it very difficult for the Congress to get the American people's business done.

Yeah.

And finally, let's talk about the Kentucky Democratic Party is doing a split fundraiser with Florida Democrats.

Will and this is concerning carve outs for abortion bands.

Tell us more about this.

So Florida has now instituted one of the most stringent abortion bans in the country.

They are seeing a lot of activity around this new law that's gone into place.

It's very similar to the amendment that the Kentucky Republicans tried to pass last year in Kentucky, and obviously the voters roundly rejected that.

So we've actually been able, as a party and as a commonwealth, been able to figure out a way to defeat these kinds of extreme laws from getting on the books that are absolutely an attack on women's health care rights.

And so we're hoping to partner with our friends in Florida and our brothers and sisters down there to make sure that hopefully we can push back against this rising tired of anti reproductive health and attacks on women.

Iris, do you have anything to add?

This is a complicated one.

You know, politically, we, you know, will just, you know, make a right observation there.

Right.

You know, as recent as last November, you know, everyone's bill that August will never remember before ability to to vote on on the amendment number two.

But, you know, I think for Kentucky, the Kentucky Democratic Party, if this is the issue, they want to lean in on.

You know, I think time will tell.

And history is an indicator on this.

Although that constitutional amendment did not succeed.

You know, the majority of Kentucky voters are not necessarily in the column of you know, that they are, you know, for abortion.

So I think it's going to be sort of a delicate issue.

And it's interesting to see the Kentucky Democratic Party fundraise off of it, you know, based off of records I've seen.

You know, they've already hit sort of the floor when it comes to being able to gather resources.

And so I guess I commend them for seizing a political opportunity to try to raise, most likely outside dollars.

But when it comes to impacting policy, again, you know, for elections, winners make policy and losers go home.

And right now we have safe supermajorities in the House and Senate.

Can I answer?

Yes, Go ahead real quick.

So last last year, during the election season, Iris and I actually share the stage on Kentucky tonight.

And I brought up the point about these crazy bills about, you know, bathroom bills, bills targeting transgender individuals, abortion, things like that, that I thought that they would be an interesting you know, the election results would bear that out.

Right.

But this is Iris again, saying like I hope Democrats lean in on an issue and we're obviously leaning into these issues and winning on them right now.

Yes.

People are more concerned with, you know, bigger problems.

So I just wanted to say that, like we're not losing on these issues and that we actually have the ability to change some people's minds.

Well, I guess the true test will be in the general election in November, if that turns out to be a winning message or not, for Democrats or Republican and either side taking advantage of that messaging on that particular issue and others.

Well, thank you, as always to both of you, Iris and Will, we appreciate you.

Have a good derby weekend.