Meet the Local Judge Mitch McConnell's PAC Wants to Unseat

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:

Bolts
@boltsmag
·
Follow
National conservative groups have poured money into dominating local judicial races. A small court with outsized importance for civil rights in Kentucky is among the November battlegrounds.

boltsmag.org
Meet the Local Judge Mitch McConnell’s PAC Wants to Unseat
A conservative gain in a small Kentucky county this year could further narrow one of the remaining paths for civil rights litigation in the state.
2:02 PM · Aug 29, 2022

https://boltsmag.org/judicial-election-and-voting-rights-in-franklin-kentucky/

A small court in Franklin County, Kentucky, will hold a trial to decide whether the state’s new election districts are unconstitutional. The lawsuit, backed by the state Democratic Party, argues that the new maps unduly entrench Republican power by carving up urban areas.

Franklin may be a county of just over 50,000 residents, but it is also a rare Democratic-leaning jurisdiction in this conservative state and home to the state capital, Frankfort. That has long made Franklin County an inviting place for groups looking to file lawsuits against the state, giving its circuit court outsized importance when it comes to voting rights, education, labor rights, and a lot else in state politics. That has also made it a target for Kentucky Republicans.

Last year, they stripped Franklin County’s circuit court of some of its jurisdiction over statewide matters, overriding a veto by Democratic Governor Andy Beshear to get there. In 2022, they’re going after a seat on the court, where a conservative gain could further narrow one of the remaining paths for civil rights litigation in Kentucky.

One of the two judges sitting on the court, longtime incumbent Phillip Shepherd, faces a well-funded challenger this year. The race is nonpartisan, but Shepherd has long drawn Republican fire. His opponent Joe Bilby is a lawyer who describes himself as a “constitutional conservative” and who once worked as a legislative aide for U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell.

*snip*

[Hermit-The-Prog]

1. MoscowMitch wants permanent rule.

[crickets]

2. K&R for visibility.