Lobbying interests fund small political nonprofit -- and a Republican state senator

FRANKFORT — Since January 2023 an obscure political organization named Kentucky Strong Inc. has paid its executive director — state Sen. Julie Raque Adams — $80,500.

In fact, 12 payments to Adams totaling $80,500 were the only expenses reported by Kentucky Strong in the three-year period ending January 2026.

Over roughly the same period Kentucky Strong was funded exclusively by interests that actively lobby the Kentucky General Assembly, including $50,000 from Revolutionary Racing, which operates Sandy’s Racing & Gaming in Ashland; $25,000 from Churchill Downs; $15,000 from Charter Communications; and $15,000 from LG&E and KU Energy.

Kentucky Strong Inc. was founded as a political nonprofit organization in 2015 by Adams and two other Republican women from Louisville. Its initial tax return filed with the Internal Revenue Service said it is “dedicated to training Republican women to seek and hold public office.” It hoped to rival the success recruiting female candidates of a nonprofit started by Democratic women in 2009 called Emerge Kentucky.




https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/lobbying-interests-fund-small-political-nonprofit-and-republican-state-senator