Heart break: Because of this, I refuse to acknowledge that I will accept it…. more details ⬇️
Heart break: Because of this, I refuse to acknowledge that I will accept it…. more details ⬇️⬇️
The Jefferson County Teachers Association’s PAC is spending $200,000 on ads for Judge Pamela Goodwine in her Kentucky Supreme Court race, extending her fundraising advantage.
Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Pamela Goodwine already had a massive fundraising advantage in her Kentucky Supreme Court race, but now the Louisville teachers’ union is helping her widen that margin.
Better Schools Kentucky, the Jefferson County Teachers Association’s political action committee, reported Monday it will spend $200,000 on advertising to support Goodwine’s candidacy.
Last week, Goodwine’s campaign reported raising $223,165 for the general election, more than ten times that of her opponent in the race, Frankfort attorney Erin Izzo, who had raised only $20,679, according to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.
The heavy union spending in the nonpartisan judicial race follows Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s high-profile endorsement of Goodwine, which an independent judicial watchdog group criticized for its potential to “further blur the line between judicial and partisan elections.”
The Louisville teachers’ union is no stranger to making large political contributions. The group spent $500,000 to help elect Beshear in 2019 and chipped in $300,000 for his reelection in 2023. While the union typically supports Democratic candidates, it also spent $300,000 on ads in several state House primaries this year to support Republican candidates it deemed more supportive of public education.
JCTA president Maddie Shepherd told Kentucky Public Radio they were getting involved in the Supreme Court race because they’ve “seen a number of issues that affect both education, teachers and unions make their way to the courts” over the past several years.
Citing an interest in making sure that there are “reasonable, pro-public education, pro-union folks that are in positions of power,” Shepherd said a review of Goodwine’s record showed she was the candidate “most aligned with our values.
