Ben Chandler opponent, Ernie Fletcher protege and Rand Paul Rally Man Andy Barr (Center)
Although it hasn’t yet become a battle as public as Rand Paul and Trey Grayson’s has, there is tension building up in the GOP 6th District. Andy Barr is running in the Republican primary race for the 6th Congressional District seat currently held by Democrat Ben Chandler, and the tensions are like those in the upstate New York congressional special election in December, and like those in conflicts brewing across the nation between GOP mainstreamers and teabaggers.
The most obvious signal is a dissatisfaction from coal money, which never has yet lined up in any significant way at all behind Barr. Coupled with the late but loud entry by retired coal executive Mike Templeman, and there is a very clear line against Barr in the primary from coal money.
Barr’s donor list is still very little more than the “Friends and Family” plan, with massive $4,000 shots from many relatives and those who appear to be college friends. There is no widespread rush among the Republican faithful and/or usual suspects to line up and contribute to Barr. Several local and state Republican elected officials, as well as former UK athletes and radio personalities were all contacted by the NRCC in January and asked to consider running. In early January the NRCC reportedly contacted the Barr campaign and informed him that his race was not on their targeted list and they would not be participating financially in his campaign since he didn‘t come close to meeting the minimums set for a year-end total of $400,000.
Barr also made a curious selection choice for his campaign manager, selecting Brad Shattuck. Instead of going with a McConnell-pedigreed consultant/manager, he chose Shattuck. Shattuck made news headlines in 2006 during the Lexington mayoral race for lying about his identity to a call-in show while trying to plant a question for an opponent of his client, Bill Farmer. Although Farmer did not fire Shattuck for lying, it was a memorable gaffe from which Farmer never recovered. Since then, Shattuck has done mailings for noted fringe GOP candidates like Sarah Palin and U.S. Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, who is so fringe he makes Palin look mainstream.
Aside from the coal money, if Templeman can tap into the major money veins, he may be the nominee. Templeman sent out a glossy flier immediately after he filed claiming that it was he who shared the cliché conservative values of residents of the district. The bigger question is who will wind up being the tea bagger candidate and who will be the mainstream Republican candidate. If Templeman starts getting money and endorsements from the state and national Republican leaders, it will set up in Kentucky the same sort of tea party vs. mainstream battle that has been shaping up across the country. Once Templeman identifies his campaign personnel and files his initial financial report, how strong he is with the main stream of the party will be more clear.
Barr is an odd mix of old school Ernie Fletcher scandal taint from serving as Fletcher’s attorney during his term as governor, and Club for Growth ties like Andy Hightower and Warren Rogers. Club for Growth has been more aligned with the tea baggers. The Fletcher scandal would seem to be one that “leaves a mark”, although Barr did not personally show up named as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the merit hiring scandal. He did advise Fletcher throughout the scandal, and remains a public and ardent defender of the disgraceful lawbreaking that occurred under Fletcher.
Chandler of course made no friends in coal with his cap and trade vote, and upset liberals with his recent health care vote. But the theory put forth here over the past several months has been that the traditionally vulnerable mid-year elections, combined with the obviously harsh environment of 2010 for Democrats could be softened. When Republicans are eating their own through infighting, the chance to capitalize could evaporate, especially if the teabagger candidate wins their primary. In Barr’s case, there is a unease based partly on his Fletcher connections, partly on his distancing from traditional Republican resources, and partly because of uncertainty about how well he’s been vetted as a candidate, and whether Barr has any past undisclosed legal problems.
