KY governor race heats up with record spending, attack ads

This week on the Sunday Story podcast, LINK nky Government and Politics Reporter Mark Payne dives into campaign spending throughout the 2023 governor's race.<br/><br/>Enjoy this story two ways - listen below or read the full story here.<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>On a cool spring Kentucky Monday in April, an Axiom Strategies staffer stood outside Mokka Sunset on Monmouth Street in Newport, waiting to usher Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Kelly Craft and former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines to their next campaign event of the day in Louisville and then to another in Bowling Green later in the day.Craft, a former United Nations ambassador, forked out nearly $11 million in the Kentucky Republican primary and had one of the most high-profile national political consultants, Axiom, — a Missouri-based GOP political consulting agency — working on her campaign. Despite all this spending and high-profile campaign work, Craft lost her bid to win the Republican nomination for Kentucky governor and instead placed third. Attorney General Daniel Cameron went on to take the nomination. <br/>The Sunday Story by LINK nky is a deep dive into Northern Kentucky issues that impact our communities. This podcast will address important topics that require a closer look. You can experience this story in two ways; read or listen.<br/><br/> Subscribe to our LINK Reader for just $25 a year. Click here to sign up.<br/>Covering the news for NKY takes a lot of work. Help support our mission here.