Republican candidate for governor Kelly Craft and her husband Joe Craft each contributed $10,000 to the Republican Party of Kentucky last month.
The two Crafts were among 12 donors who each gave $10,000 to the RPK in February, according to a report the party filed late last week with the Federal Election Commission.
Five of the others who gave $10,000 are registered lobbyists.
The dozen big donations, and many smaller ones, allowed the RPK to report that it had $231,076 in receipts during the month. It spent $115,892.
As of Feb. 28 the RPK reported it had $1,594,850 on hand.
The Kentucky Democratic Party reported similar numbers to the FEC on Monday for its fundraising in February. It reported $222,334 in total receipts, $138,055 in spending, and $1,146,679 on hand as of Feb. 28.
Kelly Craft, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada and to the United Nations, is among a dozen candidates vying for the Republican nomination for governor in the May 16 primary election.
She and Joe Craft have been major political donors for some time. Joe Craft, identified in the FEC report as president of Alliance Coal, is often referred to in news stories as a “billionaire.”
Joe Craft is president and CEO of Tulsa-based Alliance Resource Partners which operates seven underground mining complexes in two geologic regions, the Illinois Basin and Central Appalachia, including mines in Eastern and Western Kentucky. Alliance also controls oil and gas reserves.
Kelly Craft’s campaign is attacking both President Joe Biden and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, one of her Republican primary opponents, in advertisements asserting that they are undermining coal’s future as a fuel for generating electricity.
The most an individual can contribute to a state political party’s committee regulated by the FEC is $10,000 a year.
Here are the names of the others who gave $10,000 to the Republican Party of Kentucky in February:
Raymond Ashcraft, Georgetown, Northstar, manager of government affairs
Carolyn Hamby, Clarksville, Tennessee, Facilities Services Management, president
Terry Hamby, Cadiz, retired
Frank Harshaw, Louisville, W. Frank Harshaw & Associates, business management
Wayne Hunt, Hopkinsville, AgriPower, owner
Patrick Jennings, Prospect, Commonwealth Alliances, government affairs
Collin Johnson, Shelbyville, Commonwealth Alliances, government affairs
Garry McNabb, Cookeville, Tennessee, Check Express, CEO
David Whitehouse, Lexington, The Bluegrass Group, managing partner
Amy Wickliffe, Lexington, McCarthy Strategic Solutions, partner
Here are the names of those who gave $10,000 in February to the Kentucky Democratic Party’s FEC-regulated committee:
Claude A. Berry III, Eminence, Wehr Construction, CEO
Diana L. Britton, Louisville, homemaker
William C. Britton, Louisville, retired
Clay M. Corman, Nicholasville, CMC Inc., president
Michael R. Eaves, Richmond, retired
Judith Hanekamp, Masonic Home, retired
John B. Haydon, Bardstown, Nally & Haydon, manager
David Haydon, Bardstown, Nally & Haydon, general contractor
Paul Haydon, Louisville, Armtag Corp., executive vice president
Gary C. Johnson, Pikeville, attorney
Donna Rogers, Otisco, Indiana, Aunt D’s Market & Gifts, owner
Edward Squires, Louisville, Senior Helpers of Kentucky, community relations coordinator
Barbara S. Young, Lexington, homemaker
William T. Young Jr., Lexington, W.T. Young LLC, president
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Written by Tom Loftus. Cross-posted from the Kentucky Lantern.
