Beshear’s PAC has raised $493,000 but has given little so far to help other candidates

FRANKFORT — Gov. Andy Beshear’s political action committee has raised $493,000 in its first six months, but so far it has done little to meet its goal of helping “good people” win close elections across the state.

Through June 30, the Beshear PAC, called “In This Together,” has donated just $24,800 to candidates it has supported, according to reports the PAC filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The largest contribution to date was also the most recent: $12,800 was donated on June 20 to the NC Democratic Leadership Committee of Raleigh, North Carolina. In the spring, In This Together supported the campaign of North Carolina Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein for governor, and this donation is apparently intended to support that campaign.

In This Together previously reported that it donated $6,600 to Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana; $3,300 to an Ohio committee supporting the re-election campaign of Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown; and $2,100 to the campaign of Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Pamela Goodwine for the Kentucky Supreme Court.

In This Together reported spending about $107,000 on operating expenses in the first six months — more than four times the amount of donations. Those expenses include strategy consultants, fundraising consultants, a compliance consultant, legal fees, bank fees, credit card processing fees and the cost of running a website.

Most of what the PAC collected — about $361,000 — was still cash on hand as of June 30.

Eric Hyers, the PAC’s political strategist who managed Beshear’s successful campaigns for governor in 2019 and 2023, said the PAC had planned from the start to wait until the fall to do the bulk of its spending to help its endorsed candidates in Kentucky and across the country. And Hyers said the PAC will support its endorsed candidates more through independent spending than through direct donations to the candidates’ campaigns.

He also said that future expenses for the PAC will include travel expenses for Beshear to personally campaign for his endorsed candidates. (So far, the PAC has reported not spending any money on travel expenses for Beshear.)

Hyers said he is pleased with the amount raised so far. “The fundraising has been good so far,” he said, adding that he expects to raise larger amounts in the coming months.

Beshear, who cannot seek a third term as governor, launched In This Together on Jan. 7. The PAC’s website says it will “support good people and good candidates running for local, state and federal office in red or purple states who demonstrate a commitment to leading with empathy and compassion and the backbone to always do what’s right, regardless of politics.”

It’s only half of Beshear’s personal political operation after reelection. The other half is an organization called Heckbent Inc. Unlike In This Together, which must report its donations and expenditures to the FEC, Heckbent is a “dark money” group — a 501(c)(4) committee that does not disclose the names of its donors. According to its website, Heckbent’s goal is to advance Beshear’s policy agenda in Kentucky.

Beshear is widely seen as one of several Democratic leaders in the country who Vice President Kamala Harris — the all-but-official Democratic presidential nominee after President Joe Biden’s abrupt withdrawal — is considering as her running mate. It is unclear what will happen to In This Together and Heckbent if Harris chooses Beshear.

The donors

Here’s a look at who’s provided the big dollars to In This Together so far

A Louisville company, Freedom Senior Share LLC, made the largest donation to In This Together on June 28: $25,000. Freedom Senior Share LLC operates under the assumed name Freedom Adult Day Healthcare, and its website states that its goal is to “provide essential home care services as a great alternative to traditional nursing homes.”

Earlier this year, Nachiketa Bhatt, identified in a report by In This Together as the managing member of Freedom Adult Day Healthcare, donated $5,000 to In This Together. Bhatt was a major contributor to committees supporting Beshear’s re-election as governor and has been a donor to both Republican and Democratic candidates for Jefferson County state legislature.

In February, a Louisville-based political action committee called BlueWaveAmerica made a $20,000 contribution to In This Together. The PAC, based in Louisville and led by former Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Ward, aims to get Democrats elected in rural America, with a focus on red and purple states.

In June, a group of Nashville donors (12 people and one PAC) collectively gave $32,000. The Courier Journal recently reported that Beshear spoke at a “Championing Reproductive Freedom” event in Nashville in June.

Twenty-five attorneys from the law firm Frost Brown Todd – most of them from the Louisville office – collectively donated $23,650 to In This Together between mid-May and early June.

And Edward Britt Brockman, a major political donor to Beshear’s committees and Beshear’s appointee to the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, reportedly donated $10,000 in June, according to In This Together.

Here are other big donors, each listed by In This Together as giving $5,000: