FRANKFORT, Ky. – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jack Conway criticized Republican opponent Rand Paul's comments about the Americans with Disabilities Act during a celebration Monday in the Capitol Rotunda of the 20th anniversary of the act's passage.

“What a shame it is 20 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act we would have a major candidate stand up, stand up and say he is against the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Jack Conway said, drawing cheers from more than 100 people gathered for the celebration.

FRANKFORT — Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Jack Conway blasted Republican opponent Rand Paul Monday for questioning aspects of a 20-year-old federal act that makes it illegal to discriminate against disabled persons.

Conway said it was ironic that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose father, President George H.W. Bush, championed and signed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, was holding a $1,000-a-person private fund-raiser for Paul’s campaign in Louisville on Monday.

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul has risked alienating constituencies in both Eastern and Western Kentucky in recent weeks as he has pressed his smaller-government message and challenged programs that are considered by some in those areas to be sacred cows. 

While Paul has challenged the status quo, his opponent Jack Conway has stuck to his more traditional Democratic message on the role of government and has defended the programs that Paul has questioned.

At a debate in May, Paul said flatly that he doesn't like farm subsidies. That's got even some of his supporters in the western part of the state worried that it could hurt him in a region steeped in agriculture and where he needs to do well in November.

Two weeks ago, he began trying to refocus attention on waste in the farm subsidy program and on subsidies that go to farmers who earn more than $2million a year, instead of taking aim at the family farmers who rely on subsidies to stay in business.

New numbers from Public Policy Polling on the Kentucky Senate race show Republican Rand Paul and Democrat Jack Conway in a tie — each candidate has 43 percent of the vote.

Pollster Tom Jensen says the latest numbers suggest Paul’s national press attention has hurt him with voters in the state. The poll found 38 percent of voters said it made them less likely to support him in November, while 29 percent said it made them more likely to do so. Another 33 percent said it made no difference.

LOUISVILLE - United States Senate candidate Jack Conway issued the following statement today:

Rand Paul is promoting a narrow and rigid ideology and has repeatedly rejected a fundamental provision of the Civil Rights Act. He is focused on the Tea Party whereas I am running to be a senator for all the people of Kentucky, who are really hurting right now.
 
No matter how he tries to spin to the contrary, the fact is that Paul's ideology has dangerous consequences for working families, veterans, students, the disabled, and those without a voice in the halls of power. Kentucky voters have a choice between Rand Paul's ideology and our campaign to create jobs, cut the deficit, and bring accountability to Wall Street and Washington. We are reaching out to Democrats, Independents and Republicans across Kentucky to ask them to join our campaign and stand up for Kentucky families.

During this spring's Democratic primary campaign for Kentucky's U.S. Senate seat, there's been no love lost between the two main contenders, Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo and Attorney General Jack Conway. They have traded barrages of ethics accusations, with some of the more bizarre allegations coming out of Mongiardo's camp in recent days as the race has tightened up in the polls.

Conway accuses Mongiardo of taking undue advantage of his office's travel money and living allowance, pointing to a farmhouse Mongiardo bought in part using state funds - but hasn't been living in. Mongiardo says Conway approved rate increases for utility companies from which he received contributions, although his office - which has nothing to do with rate approvals - actually has intervened to challenge excessive increases.

With less than a week before voters head to the polls, U.S. Senate candidate Jack Conway has picked a major endorsement in his bid to win the Democratic nomination.

Former Senator Wendell Ford, who once held the very seat for which Conway is running, announced his support for Conway this week, an endorsement the Conway camp is calling a “game changer” in his bid to overcome Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, who himself was endorsed by Gov. Steve Beshear early on.

In a new campaign ad released this week, Conway says he’s humbled to receive Sen. Ford’s support.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this endorsement. Senator Ford inspired me to enter public service,” Conway said.

Candidates are making a final push with the election only days away.

Attorney General Jack Conway and Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo are making their way through the mountains.

Conway will be touring several areas of the state in the next six days.

He stopped in eastern Kentucky to speak with voters about their concerns and to make sure they had a face to put with his name when they head to the polls next Tuesday.

Jack Conway stopped into the McDonalds on 15 in Jackson first.

Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway (D) released a new ad Monday in which he announced the endorsement of former Sen. Wendell Ford (D.

Ford, who served in the Senate for 24 years and was also governor of Kentucky in the early 1970's, remains a popular figure in Kentucky Democratic circles.

Ford's decision to wade into the hotly contested primary that also features Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo is a clear indication that Kentucky's Democratic establishment (with the notable exception of Gov. Steve Beshear) is firmly in Conway's corner. Other top Kentucky Democrats who have endorsed Conway are state House Speaker Greg Stumbo, state Auditor Crit Luallen, and Reps. Ben Chandler and John Yarmuth.

Ford's endorsement could help strengthen Conway's support in the former Senator's home in the western part of the state and could also make a strong impression with party activists who still view the former Senator as a hero in state politics.

The leading Republican candidates are Secretary of State Trey Grayson and anti-tax activist Rand Paul. Both party primaries will be May 18.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), himself a hero in state GOP circles, has come out publically for Grayson.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jack Conway is releasing a new television ad that features an endorsement from one of Kentucky's best-known Democrats - former Sen. Wendell Ford.

The ad shows Ford's picture along with some other high-profile Democrats who are backing Conway, the state's attorney general. Conway and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo are waging a hard-fought campaign for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat that Ford held for years. In a release by the Conway campaign, Ford calls Conway the best candidate for Kentucky.

The Senate seat has been held for 12 years by Republican Jim Bunning, who succeeded Ford after the long-time Democratic senator retired. Bunning is now retiring after two terms.

Read more: Kentucky.Com

Kentucky Democrats find themselves in a win-win situation as they prepare to pick their nominee to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning.

Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo and Attorney General Jack Conway are well qualified for the office. Each one understands the needs of the state and has the vision to address them in a thoughtful manner.

Except, unfortunately, where coal is concerned. There, each seems more than willing to put the interests of coal ahead of some of the state's more pressing environmental needs

Read more:Herald-Leader.com

The Democratic contest for the U.S. Senate is very close, and, predictably, it's getting nasty. But some of the mud that Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo is throwing at Attorney General Jack Conway is over the top.

Chief among these is the allegation that Mr. Conway behaved unethically by accepting campaign contributions from utility company executives and their lobbyists. Dr. Mongiardo declares that Mr. Conway personally approved saddling Kentucky ratepayers with more than $120 million in increases.

The fact is this: The attorney general of Kentucky doesn't approve rate increases. That is the role of the state's Public Service Commission. The attorney general's office can intervene, when it feels that increases are out of line, and Mr. Conway has done precisely that. Indeed, he contends that he has saved ratepayers more than $100 million.

Two former attorneys general — U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler and House Speaker Greg Stumbo — have come to Mr. Conway's defense, calling Dr. Mongiardo's attacks “baseless.”

Jack Conway's campaign for United States Senate today released the results of a new poll conducted by nationally-acclaimed pollster Peter Brodnitz of Benenson Strategies, which shows Conway leading in the Democratic primary. With less than two weeks to go, Conway now leads his chief opponent Dan Mongiardo by 4 %. In fact, when undecided voters are asked if they lean toward a candidate and then counted accordingly, the results "with leaners" show Conway leads by 6%.

FRANKFORT — Steelworkers Local 14581, based in Elkhorn City, has endorsed Attorney General Jack Conway in his Democratic bid for the U.S. Senate.  Gypsy Cantrell-Ratliff, vice president of the union, which represents 2,500 active and retired members along with their families, said in a statement, “Jack has a proven record of standing up for Kentucky working families and getting result

Kentucky voters have an opportunity this year to upgrade their representation in the U.S. Senate. Republican Sen. Jim Bunning, whose list of legislative accomplishments in 12 years is negligible and list of embarrassing utterances and actions is long, is retiring. It will be an easy record for hopefuls of either party to surpass.

On the Democratic side, state Attorney General Jack Conway of Louisville stands out as a superior candidate, and we endorse him for his party's nomination. He has an enviable record of policy-making accomplishment in state government and ran a principled though unsuccessful race for Congress in 2002.

Mr. Conway served for six years as a senior cabinet-level official in the administration of Gov. Paul Patton, where he was a key player in the state's 1997 higher education reforms, as well as in energy and criminal justice policy. After being elected attorney general in 2007, Mr. Conway pushed bipartisan legislation to protect children from online predators, created a cybercrime unit and successfully sued drug companies on behalf of the state's Medicaid program.

Read More: Courier-Journal

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway has gained ground on Lt. Governor Dan Mongiardo in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, according to the latest Courier-Journal/WHAS11 Bluegrass Poll.

The poll, conducted by Survey USA, gives Mongiardo a three-point lead over Conway, 35 percent to 32 percent. The margin of error is 3.9 percent.

The previous poll, conducted in March, gave Mongiardo an 18-point lead.

Read More: WFPL.Com

Attorney General Jack Conway has nearly caught Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo in the Democratic race for the U.S. Senate, cutting an 18-point margin to just 3 percentage points, according to the latest Courier-Journal/ WHAS11 Bluegrass Poll.

But in the Republican Senate primary, Bowling Green ophthalmologist Rand Paul has maintained his 15-point lead over Secretary of State Trey Grayson, according to the poll.

The random polling, conducted by telephone April 9-11 by SurveyUSA, surveyed 446 Republicans and 659 Democrats likely to vote in the May 18 primary election. The Democratic poll has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points, while the Republican poll's margin is 4.7 percentage points.

Mongiardo led 35 percent to 32 percent, with 11 percent of Democratic voters divided among three other candidates and 21 percent undecided.

FRANKFORT — The "old farmhouse" Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo recently said he bought last year in Franklin County with the help of a $30,000-a-year state housing allowance is on 54 acres, about 20 of which are zoned for development as a city-style subdivision.

But Mongiardo and his wife, Allison, have no plans to develop the property they bought last year for $753,069, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate said Friday.

"I'm not a developer," he said. "I bought it because it's a great opportunity."

Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo purchased this farmhouse and 54 acres of land in Franklin County for $753,069 last year from Jerry T. Lunsford.

FRANKFORT — Attorney General Jack Conway's Democratic campaign for U.S. Senate launched a TV ad Friday criticizing travel expenses of his chief rival, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo.
Kim Geveden, a spokesman for the Mongiardo campaign, noted that Conway trails in the polls and said Conway's "false negative attack on Lt. Governor Mongiardo's legitimate travels on behalf of Kentucky reeks of desperation."

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported on Sunday that Mongiardo has spent more than four times as much in taxpayer money on travel expenses as Conway since taking office in late 2007.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo has been staying with his in-laws in Frankfort while receiving a $30,000-a-year housing allowance from the state in an arrangement that hasn't gone unnoticed by budget negotiators and political rivals.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Leeper, a Paducah independent, acknowledged Tuesday that he had heard "quips" in recent weeks from some state lawmakers about the $2,500 monthly payments, but that the money hasn't been stricken from any versions of a state budget being drafted in Frankfort.

Mongiardo, one of 10 candidates in Kentucky's U.S. Senate race, also is being criticized for the arrangement by his political foes. Mongiardo is running for the seat being vacated by Republican Jim Bunning, a 78-year-old baseball icon who opted to retire than seek a third term.

"No one likes to see this kind of waste of taxpayer money," said David Adams, campaign manager for Bowling Green physician Rand Paul, one of the Republican U.S. Senate candidates. "But it gives us another opportunity to point out that Rand Paul is a taxpayer running against a group of professional politicians."

The attorney general of Kentucky is dismissing calls from leading Republican officials to sue the federal government to block the recently passed health care legislation.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Jack Conway, a Democratic candidate for Senate and current Kentucky AG, described talk of health care lawsuits as the baseless meandering of Tea Party conspiracy theorists; not to mention a potentially large waste of taxpayer money.

(April 5) -- "My copy of the Constitution doesn't have an individual right not to be insured. If you don't sign up for insurance, then you're going to be some kind of drag on the system."

Those aren't my words. They are the words of Charles Fried, former U.S. solicitor general under President Ronald Reagan and now a Harvard constitutional law professor. They are also the sentiments of most constitutional law experts who have examined the question of the constitutionality of the new health care reform legislation.

FRANKFORT — Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo has spent more than four times as much in taxpayer money on travel expenses as his primary opponent in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, Attorney General Jack Conway.

Across the land, state attorneys general are lining up to support — or not — a legal case challenging the constitutionality of President Obama's health care reform act. In our region, we have a case of one attorney general acting in the public's best interest and the other playing putrid politics.

Kentucky's Jack Conway refuses to join in what he sees as a political, not legal action, destined to make headlines but to achieve nothing for average citizens in need of health insurance. Some may believe that it would have been better politics for Mr. Conway, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, to have joined in the suit. His chief opponent, Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo, has taken the low road and says if in the Senate he would have voted against health reform. For shame, for a doctor from one of the poorest, most underserved areas in America.

Across the river, Indiana's Greg Zoeller has put his state in league with 13 others supporting a legal challenge to the law. Mr. Zoeller, a Republican, contends that the mandatory provisions of the law are neither constitutional nor fair.
Mr. Conway says it's an unwise use of taxpayer dollars to pursue a “political stunt.” We agree.

A Lawrenceburg man was indicted on child porn charges Monday, and police have issued a warrant for his arrest.

An Anderson County grand jury indicted 55-year-old Mark C. Whitaker on three counts of possession of matter portraying a sex performance by a minor, a Class D felony.

Investigators report that Whitaker is still at large.  If anyone has information about his whereabouts, he or she should contact the nearest local law enforcement agency. Whitaker’s indictment is the result of a lengthy investigation by the Attorney General's Cybercrimes Unit.

Since its creation in June 2008, Attorney General Jack Conway’s Cybercrimes Unit has removed almost 45,000 child pornographic images from the Internet and investigated more than 100 child pornography cases.

The two Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate made their way to Centre College on Friday for the last day of the Kentucky Association Economic Development gathering, laying out plans for turning around the state’s economy.

The Republican candidates, Secretary of State Trey Grayson and Dr. Rand Paul, were invited to speak but were unable to attend.

Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, a practicing doctor from Hazard, took the podium first in the Vahlkamp Theater at the Grace Doherty Library.

He spoke about energy and the importance of coal, highlighting the liquification plant that is being built in Henderson as an example of industrial jobs that could be generated by a commitment to the process.

Attorney General Jack Conway says Kentucky will not join a lawsuit claiming that health care reform is unconstitutional.

Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway, like many other Democrats in tough primaries, is making healthcare an issue.

And he's doing it by trying to tie primary opponent Dan Mongiardo to Kentucky's other senator, Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- There's a push for Kentucky and Indiana to join several other states in a lawsuit against the federal government's new health care reform package.

Much like the debate in Washington, D.C., that push is split along partisan lines.

Kentucky Republican state House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover sent a letter to Attorney General Jack Conway in January requesting the state sue over the issue.

Hoover said with the measure signed into law, he will send another letter signed by all the Republicans in the state House requesting Conway to look at the constitutionality of health care reform.

Hoover said the new measure will cost Kentucky about $300 million a year at a time when lawmakers are cutting the state's budget.

The Lieutenant Governor was the guest of Dan Rudloff, who is running for Warren County Magistrate in District Two.

It gave us the chance to ask Mongiardo why as a doctor and a Democrat, he opposes the health care reform bill.

"I would be for this bill," said Mongiardo, "if I had assurances that this is not the end of the process. Because this really doesn't do anything to lower the cost or improve the health care outcomes of our patients. This is not in itself the end all be all. So I would support it, if this were the first step to a much broader health care reform."

Mongiardo's chief opponent in the Democratic Primary is Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway.

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway announced Wednesday that Kentucky has joined other states and the federal government to reach an agreement in principle with pharmaceutical manufacturer, Alpharma Inc., to settle fraud allegations.

The settlement involves allegations that Alpharma caused false or fraudulent claims for Kadian, a sustained release morphine sulfate product for management of severe pain, to be submitted to the Medicaid program.

Under the agreement, Alpharma has agreed to pay the participating states and the United States $42.5 million, plus interest. The Medicaid programs nationwide will receive approximately $19.2 million of the total settlement. Kentucky’s total portion of the settlement is $281,699.89. Medicaid is funded jointly by the federal and state governments.

A resolution addressing utility rate increases will be given first reading in Thursday’s Metro Council meeting.

KY AG Jack Conway (D) is using his first ad to hammer Sen. Jim Bunning's (R-KY) failed filibuster this week on a bill to extend unemployment benefits in the midst of a recession. But while his ad got him earned media, sources say it's not really reaching KY voters.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jack Conway began airing his first TV ad Wednesday, touting his record as state attorney general and criticizing his Republican opponents for supporting U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning's blockade of unemployment benefits and other federal programs.

In he 30-second ad, which airs on Lexington and Louisville staions, Conway called Bunning and U.S. Senate GOP candidates Trey Grayson and Rand Paul "completely out of touch with the economic needs of Kentucky workers and families," because of their stand against the unemployment benefit renewal.

GOP Sen. Jim Bunning blocking the extension of unemployment insurance and transportation spending has now spilled over to the Senate race to succeed him.

Democrat Jack Conway, who's running to replace the retiring Bunning, has issued a petition demanding that Bunning end his blockage.

Conway is competing against Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo in the Democratic primary, and Mongiardo also has criticized Bunning here. The Republicans in the race are Rand Paul (Ron Paul's son) and Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, and both are supporting Bunning's block.

Below is Conway's petition....

In an appalling display of political posturing, Jim Bunning is blocking an urgent extension of unemployment and health care benefits. These critical benefits help over 100,000 Kentucky families and more than 1 million people across the nation. Jim Bunning's filibuster put them in great jeopardy.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — After receiving dozens of calls and complaints from Kentuckians, Attorney General Jack Conway this week asked Topix.com, an interactive message board website host, to provide information regarding its policies dealing with abusive posts that violate the website’s terms of service.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jack Conway is making several stops in the mountains as part of his "Kentucky Jobs Tour."

He spent time in Hazard Tuesday night, and Wednesday visited Knott and Breathitt Counties.

The Attorney General says this Senate campaign is all about job creation.

Conway says one component of his jobs tour is to give businesses an incentive to hire again.
"I think if you're going to create a net new job, in this economy, you ought to get a tax credit for a significant period of time for the cost of creating that job, not just the social security taxes, I mean we need to actually be doing more," Conway says.