GOP donors with horse ties cross party lines in state Senate race
By Janet Patton - jpatton1@herald-leader.com
Jodie Haydon
Major Republican donors with ties to horse racing are crossing party lines to support a Democrat running for the state Senate who promises he’ll back casino-style gambling at racetracks.
If that trend continues beyond the Dec. 8 special election, it could have long-term implications for control of the state Senate, which Republicans now hold by a thin 19-17-1 margin.
“That is a real danger for the Republicans … to the extent that this is at the forefront in 2010,” said Joe Gershtenson, political science professor at Eastern Kentucky University. “It presents a very interesting dynamic. To some extent, it’s better for Democrats for it not to be resolved before 2010.”
Racehorse owner Virginia “Gigi” Lazenby of Nashville is among the donors who have crossed party lines in the race. She has traditionally supported Republicans, including Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, and was a “bundler” who raised more than $100,000 for Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign last year.
But Lazenby has given $1,000 to Democrat Jodie Haydon’s state Senate campaign in Central Kentucky’s 14th District.
“I strongly believe Kentucky needs to have alternative gaming in order to support racing,” Lazenby said. “I’m very concerned that my Republican friends in Kentucky don’t understand this. … I like the Republicans, but they’re very wrong on this issue. … I would encourage Senator (David) Williams to be a little more bipartisan and not split the party.”
Lazenby also has an interest in Kentucky Downs in Franklin, near the Tennessee line. She said she has owned less than 1 percent of the track for three or four years, an investment eclipsed by the money she has in racehorses.
State Rep. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon
The Farishes, who own Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, have been staunch Republican donors but are vocal in their determination to unseat Williams as Senate president because they say he blocked legislation that would have allowed racetracks to add video slot machines.
Williams on Tuesday countered that big money from racing interests and from highway contractors is bankrolling Haydon up front and behind the scenes through a separate issues committee known as Keep Our Jobs in Kentucky.
The issues group won’t have to report until next year how much money it has raised or from whom.
Of the $243,455 donated directly to Haydon by individuals and political action committees, about a fourth of the money — $58,575 — has ties to the horse industry, with $14,000 donated by Churchill Downs directors and executives and another $9,000 donated by owners of other Kentucky racetracks.
“If they take control of the Senate by putting in thousands, and even millions, of dollars in return for a monopoly, what will happen the next time someone tells them no?” Williams said.
Williams said he suspects that if Haydon wins Tuesday’s special election Gov. Steve Beshear will “find some bogus reason to call a special session … and try to slip this issue (of slots) in” before lawmakers return to Frankfort for their regular legislative session in January.
Williams said the Democrats are using the slots issue as “a ploy for one-party rule of this state.”
Dale Emmons, campaign manager for Haydon, acknowledged that his candidate is getting support from Republicans frustrated with the Senate stalemate. But he said some Democrats are also turned off by Haydon’s support for expanding gambling.
“It’s certainly an issue that cuts both ways,” Emmons said.
State Rep. Jimmy Higdon, the Republican candidate in the special election, said several Democrats have donated to his campaign. “I don’t get a lot of money from one special interest group, just people that want to support Jimmy Higdon,” he said.
About the Author: John Stamper is the government and education editor for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Monticello, Ky., he has been with the Herald-Leader in a variety of roles since graduating from Western Kentucky University in 2000. Reach him at jstamper@herald-leader.com
Dum Dims | Dec 1, 2009 | Reply
I hear that Kentucky Chrysler dealers want slots in showrooms. If only Beshear worked half as hard at anything as he has expanded gambling. Name one accomplishment of this leftover hack. Anyone? Bueller?
Buck Feshear | Dec 1, 2009 | Reply
If the horse industry cannot stand on its own four legs without being propped up by a gimmick like slot machines, it deserves to fail.
Threelinks1 | Dec 1, 2009 | Reply
This is pitiful.
Moderate Republican | Dec 1, 2009 | Reply
Capitalist Vs Conservative: A Republican House Divided - The horse industry needs the expanded gambling to compete with neighboring states and prevent Kentucky from becoming nothing more than a federal welfare recipient, something capitalist & conservatives loathe, but the extreme right is too stubborn to admit they have been wrong and they have no solution to offer either. They are content to let 300,000+ people go unemployed, cripple the KY economy and kiss the horse capital of the world goodbye. Fellow Republicans, I’m not a big fan of expanded gambling, but I do understand KY’s competitive edge depends upon it, and I strongly compel you to join bi-partisan and vote for the expanded gambling. Voting against it is wagering against Kentucky and a bet for any other state to succeed. See it THAT way… because THAT is the way it is.
Moderate Republican | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
Expanded gambling would not be “propping up” the horse industry. How do you think other states are able to offer larger purse prizes than Kentucky’s race tracks? Hardly a “gimmick”. Just cold hard facts and good solid economics.
Miranda | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
Sending some serious love vibes to rich republicans. My first time.
Big Ben 4 liberty | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
Wow the horse racing industry is pathetic. I sorry to to all the lovers of the one-arm bandits, but it s not going to help the horse racing in Kentucky. As i said before only real free market policies will do that. And it will absolutely not bring any meaningful economic development to the state. Only actual pro-growth policies like lower taxes, cutting wasteful spending, eliminating the prevailing wage scam, and a right-to-work law would genuinely help this state’s economy. Sorry Moderate RINO, this isn’t about capitalists verses conservatives, this is about corporatist crony capitalists versus plain basic common sense.
It is no surprise to me, that they would all line up to support their new political whore, even if is another recycled partisan hack of the Beshear machine. This why both parties in this state are rapidly becoming a bad joke that will lead us into continued decline.
Same Ol' | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
Same ole’, same ole’. Conservatives want to say individuals should be accountable for their own actions but… Bring in the racetracks, betting and all the other vices.
You can’t have it both ways.
Outside money and lobbyist will drive change, one direction or another, until they are taken out of the equation.
McConnell has benefited for years by this and Bully Williams says one thing but does many others.
Gotta love it when others try to drive your life.
Moderate Republican | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
Ben 4 lib, how is any of that rhetoric going to make a larger purse prize for winning a horse race in Kentucky? How is any of that going to allow tracks to offer larger bonuses for breeding in Kentucky? If the tracks do not have the money to offer, then the horse industry will go to where the money is. Now THAT is basic common sense. Your Palin-esque rhetoric offers no details and is only talking points that have no substance. If we do not give the KY horse industry the tools to compete, we won\’t have a horse industry to give a tax break or any of that other parrot-repeated bullcrap you hear on FOX News.
Buck Feshear | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
I support casino gambling in Kentucky, but only if it is NOT tied to the horse industry. Casinos should be built in regions with high unemployment (to provide jobs) and small property tax bases (to increase the flow of tax revenue to poor counties) and they should be full-blown resort casinos, not slot machine havens. I am no fan of the horse industry and I still say that I am against propping it up with a gimmick like slot machines. If it can’t survive on entertainment value (personally, I wouldn’t walk across the street to see a horse race for free) or the take from parimutuel betting, it deserves to fail.
jimbo | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
It’s raining and cold outside but I’m warmed by the thought that the Bully from Burkesville is going down over gambling. Irony is soooo sweet. And the news that the nat GOP is developing a litmus test for republican leadership is frosting on the cake. Some days are just better than others.
True Conservative | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
Same Ole - it’s precisely because Conservatives believe that individuals are responsible for their own actions that any true Conservative would not oppose slots or horseracing. Whether or not to gamble is an individual choice that should be left to the individual. David Williams may be a Republican on the far right of the moralizing spectrum, but he’s not a Conservative.
That said, I’m sorry that slots are needed to save Kentucky’s horse industry. Horse racing is a fabulous, exciting sport with great competition, great drama and great stars. It’s not succeeding on its own, in my opinion, because it’s micro-managed and micro-marketed on a state-by-state basis rather than as the national pastime it could be with national, rational management and marketing.
George Baldwin | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
Giving the horse industry control over expanded gambling is as ignorant as can be. I will NEVER again vote for anyone who votes for it. This includes our local loud mouth supporter Dennis Keene who also played follow the leader by voting for the liquor and cigarette taxes. H can probably retire with his payola bank anyway.
Buck Feshear | Dec 3, 2009 | Reply
Would anyone actually care about — or attend — horse racing if there was not gambling involved? Take away the betting aspect and you would probably have fewer people at a horse race than you would get at a Republican county meeting in Knott County. As a spectator sport horse racing does not have the appeal of basketball, football, NASCAR or baseball.