It's time now for an end of the week.

Look at the major political news in Kentucky today.

We're taking a closer look at the Kentucky governor's race with University of Kentucky political science professor Stephen Voss.

Steve, thanks for joining us.

Appreciate it.

Well, we'll start with national news because we know that trickles down and impacts local politics.

Former President Donald Trump was indicted this week.

What how is that impacting the GOP primary in Kentucky's governor's race?

Best guess.

Trump's problems are not going to have much of an effect here.

There is some possibility that Trump supporters will feel a.

Little more.

Mobilized.

You often get a sort of backlash to events, but then the question of where those Trump voters would.

Go in the Republican primary is not.

At all clear.

They could scatter across.

The main candidates and and not have a real, real impact from one candidate to another in the GOP primary.

We're seeing that even some of the candidates are using Trump in advertisements and social media posts.

You expect that to continue as this plays out?

Well, insofar as being attached.

To Trump might be a.

Plus with a portion of the electorate that.

They all might go ahead and try to.

Collect.

On those benefits.

But you know, you.

Have.

Daniel Cameron with the Trump administration endorsement, Kelly.

Kraft with her ties to Trump.

Ryan Quarrels has.

You know, for the most part, taken similar positions to them.

And he represents.

A lot of rural voters who associate with Trump.

That's why I say.

I'm not really.

Sure that a mobilization of Trump supporters really.

At the end of the day, has any effect on our primary.

Of course, a big part of these campaigns is television advertisements and Kelly Kraft as far outspent the other candidates right now.

How are television advertisements playing a role in this race?

You know, the problem with assessing how their ads have played out is that we don't have a lot of data over.

Time in terms of polling where the candidates.

Are.

We really have.

One internal poll, one independent poll on that, and they were around the same time period.

Often ads make very little.

Difference that know campaigns try to move the needle with advertising, but we don't.

See things budge.

I expect, though, that with the way the craft.

Campaigns ads.

Have have.

Fallen with a third have not gone over.

Well that she's she's hurt herself.

The the ad.

Where she mentioned having an empty.

Seat at the table because of the opioid.

Epidemic.

Played badly for the teddy bear attacks that have.

You know.

Were supposed to help craft.

Against Cameron.

Cameron went ahead and leaned right into it, I think, because he knew that that wasn't going to hurt him.

CRAFT If you can hurt yourself.

Through your own advertising campaign, may have done that.

Quarrels and Cameron both have money to spend if they want to.

Should we expect to see some advertisements from them start to roll out?

Well, in so far as Cameron is.

Seen as the frontrunner, it's maybe not surprising that he hasn't done a lot.

There may be a sense in the camera camp that.

It's their race to lose.

And Kelly Kraft is one of the main opponents.

Maybe hurting.

Herself.

You know, he didn't have.

To really go after her.

I'm a little more surprised.

Coral's just keeping his powder.

Dry and hasn't been firing a little.

More quickly.

I mean, there is a conventional.

Wisdom that early.

Advertising.

Tends to be more.

Likely to be wasted.

And as you get closer to the.

Campaign, voters.

Start to say, okay.

I need to do my homework and make a.

Decision here.

So possibly Coral's.

Waiting until.

He's got the full.

Attention, the electorate.

To use those resources.

You mentioned Cameron as a front frontrunner.

Some public polling has shown him up with a sizable lead.

But what can be gleaned from this?

We know that the public is a little bit skeptical of polling now.

Yeah, I mean, Kentucky polling hasn't been super successful, although the problems.

Have more often been in a Republican versus Democratic.

Situation where Republicans.

Were being undercounted in poll.

After poll.

You would expect that necessarily.

To have the same effect on a primary.

Especially because the electorate.

We tend to miss again is clearly for one of these gubernatorial candidates.

Versus the other.

Now, the real problem with polling is it's old.

And there could have been significant shifts.

Craft may have.

Dropped.

Corals may have risen.

We wouldn't know that from the polling that's available.

We just have to sort of read the tea leaves.

In a lot of scientific way from what.

We hear people.

Saying.

How successful the ads seem to have.

Been in the public.

Discourse.

You know.

Now current Governor Andy Beshear, of course, is sitting there as we watched this GOP primary play out.

What does he need to do as he preps for the general election?

Well, Bashir's got a real.

Advantage compared.

To what.

A Democrat normally.

Would have.

He seems to be doing.

Better in eastern and western Kentucky.

Now, again, that's from polling data.

You might be skeptical.

But we have.

Explanations for.

Why Bashir would be.

Doing better in eastern western Kentucky.

We had natural.

Disasters as governor.

He was the face of.

Trying to deal with the tornadoes in western Kentucky, the flooding in eastern Kentucky.

You would expect.

An incumbent to be doing better in those.

Places than usual.

The polls suggest he is.

So he just needs to shore up that support that.

Democrats normally would not be receiving in unfavorable.

Territory.

If he wants to.

Stay.

What seems to be ahead.

Whoever the eventual Republican nominee is, how difficult will it be for them to play catch up and kind of say what they want about Bashir?

You know, usually the strategy for a Republican is to.

Try to make an election about cultural and.

Social issues.

The Democrats do very poorly.

When we're thinking in those terms, in terms of the.

Culture war terms.

The difficulty the Republicans have this.

Time in dealing with the.

Culture war is that the legislature just dealt with a whole lot of culture war store, stole a lot of the.

Thunder, maybe.

Made the public a little uncomfortable with.

Republican orientation on those issues.

It's going to be harder for Republicans than usual to play that culture war.

We're seeing abortion play out as a main topic of conversation in a lot of races across the nation.

Is that something that we should expect to hear about here in Kentucky?

Yeah, Abortion was is not really, politically speaking, a good.

Development for Republicans when when people.

Get a success the way pro-life people have gotten.

They usually sort of recede.

You don't get as much.

Support from them.

The people who are upset with what you did.

They turn out in larger numbers.

So you would expect the abortion issue to help Democrats.

Dr. Ross, anything else that people should be looking out for as they watch this GOP primary?

Well, one quarrels is trying to be the.

Idea campaign or, you know, the one who offered an idea.

A week.

The Big.

Thoughts campaign.

I'd be looking for maybe some more surprise.

Policy announcements from him to see.

If he can not just, you know, bus mad.

But get attention from you folks in the in the media.

Yeah.

Dr. Ross, we really appreciate you coming on.

Thanks for taking the time.

Thanks for having me.

Casey.