Weekly Round Up: Turnout Trends & The Political Pulse

This week hosts Natalie and Brian break down the Kentucky primary results, including a major upset in the 4th District and what new turnout data reveals about Democratic momentum—especially in rural areas. 

They highlight Governor Beshear’s record-setting economic success, touch on a high-profile Texas Senate primary, and share local updates from Northern Kentucky, including new development projects and the growing debate around data centers. 

The episode wraps with upcoming events and ways to get involved.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Blue Dot, Northern Kentucky's premier political podcast, brought to you by the Kent County Democratic Executive Committee. Welcome back to the Blue Dot Podcast for our weekly roundup. And that means we're here to deliver all the news you need to know in 10 minutes or less. Thanks for joining. I'm Natalie McDonald.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

And I'm Brian Cale. Hey Natalie, now that the dust has settled on last week's primary, seems like a good time to do a little postmortem on the results. And also share some info on other activities, both here in northern Kentucky and across the Commonwealth.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Yeah, it was just last week at this time we were discussing the Kentucky primary results. And there was a bit of shock across the fourth congressional district when Thomas Massey lost to Ed Galarein. And on Sunday, the you know, on all the talk shows, Massey was out there lamenting about what he would do next and how much he enjoyed, loved staying at home and being on the farm with his grandkids and all that. All the things.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

Right. That was pretty short-lived, uh, you know, because within days already he's filed to run for his seat again in 2028. You know, he still has seven months in Congress before he is booted. And honestly, I can't wait to see the damage that he uh does. But uh, I guess he thought, hey, might as well get a jump start on my campaign.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Yeah, uh, filing allows him to legally raise funds as a potential candidate. And unless he finds a member of the Epstein class to bankroll his campaign, he's doing what he should do. He better start raising money now because you know they're gonna be looking to buy that seat again.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Yeah, I don't think there's gonna be a whole lot of backing from the Epstein class for Massey.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Nope.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Um, so we do have a little more data from primary night that I wanted to share. Uh, overall, Democrats increased their turnout by 23% statewide compared to 2022 numbers, whereas the GOP increased theirs by 22%.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Yeah, we even saw an increase in rural turnout. For example, Democratic rural voters in Congressional District 1 grew 19% over the 2022 numbers versus the Republicans 18%. And it was really interesting to see that rural voters really carried that turnout with uh 27% versus 22% of the suburban voters and only 18% of the urban voters, which means this is kind of good news, there's room for growth in the metro areas. And that is good because for Democrats, uh, those areas traditionally lean left. So good for us.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Yeah. Yeah, it's really it's really great to see like out in the rural uh areas, the Democrats have really been doing the work and the turnout has increased. Uh congressional district one is currently held by Republican James Comer, who has been rumored to be eyeing the gubernatorial seat. But there is a Democrat mounting challenge against him for the congressional seat, Drew Williams, and we will have him on the podcast next week to talk about it.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Yes, that'd be a great conversation. And I don't want to get too statistical with all of the data, but to make a long story short, Dems increased turnout in every congressional district with the exception of Congressional District 5, which is that easternmost part of the state.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Yeah, yeah. And district five didn't have a lot of Democrats on the ballot, whereas the other districts did, proving that being visible works. Increases in Democratic turnout can be traced to counties that are politically active and have campaigns engaging with Democratic voters. Even where a county didn't have a primary, turnout improved because of an increase in voter engagement.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Yeah, exactly. So we know Democrats are motivated, but they're even more motivated when there are active campaigns in their area. And this is why local races matter so much. And why we'll be doing everything we can to stay visible and promote our candidates. Because while we saw growth in the Democrat turnout, and we saw larger growth than the Republicans had, ultimately the Republicans won the turnout battle. They delivered over overall more votes. So we cannot let our foot off the gas pedal.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

That's right. And all gas and no break is how Kentucky Governor Bashir has been working, and it is proving to pay off as his administration just delivered the best economic first quarter in Kentucky history, marking a $50 billion investment in the state and 70,000 new jobs.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

That's that's pretty amazing. And Governor Bashir Bashir has secured more private sector investments than any other governor in Kentucky history. $29 billion more than the next highest total. That's incredible. Um the administration has also secured the highest three-year average for new wages in state history, with the average 2026 incentivized wage through April, has risen to 3150. So that is that is very good.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Fantastic numbers.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

And going beyond the bluegrass, hey, how about that Texas Senate primary that saw a jaw dropping $130 million spent on ads? And despite incumbent John Cornyn outspending his opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, by $80 million, it was not enough to overcome Trump's last-minute endorsement of Paxton, who breezed to a victory over Cornyn by 25 points. And, you know, even though Cornyn has voted with Trump over 90% of the time, and I don't know if you ever saw any of these, also engaged in some truly embarrassing suck-up social media posts currying Trump's favor over the years. Trump still decided to back one of his own. Like Trump, Paxton is a little more than an immoral con man. Hey, let's review the list.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

Yeah, there's birds of a feather on this one, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Birds of a feather. Paxton impeached in 2023 by his own Republican counterparts in the Senate for bribery and abuse of office, reported to the FBI in 2020 by his own staff for bribery. And then he, you know, lost a lawsuit brought by these internal whistleblowers due to retribution by Paxton. He either fired him or forced him to resign, and he had to pay out a $6.6 million settlement. He's faced several bar ethics complaints and disciplinary proceedings. He assisted Trump in Texas in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. They just won't give that up. And he's also engaged in several very public extramarital affairs and even publicly admitted his cheating ways. What a class act.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Absolutely. And this is where it gets really fun. So he's got this cheating thing, and you know, with his scaffolders and with Christian influences, all that kind of good stuff. Yeah. And uh, so he'll be facing off against James Tallerica, who is a devout Christian who pursued his degree in the seminary. And the right is really coming out against him hard. They're trying to attack his faith, his sexuality, they're branding him as transgender and even for being vegan.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

So big sin.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Yes, he's neither transgender nor vegan. But I guess we're just gonna throw it at the wall, see what sticks.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

I mean, you can't have somebody in the White House who won't eat cheese. You know what I'm saying? That's you know it's bad when the only thing they have to attack someone on is lying about their diet. I mean, Tallerico really reminds me a lot of Governor Bashir, where he isn't afraid to speak about his faith from a place of love and gratitude rather than as a shield to defend bigotry.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Exactly. And I think that's gonna be a real I think that's gonna be a a really win for him and the way that he's gonna go out with this and his campaign.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

So Right on.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

But let's round third here and bring it back home to Canton County. Uh there are a lot of projects going on right here at home, and this is why those local house races and county commissioner positions are gonna be so critical moving forward.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

Yeah, that's right. There's a really fun project out in Independence that was just approved for groundbreaking this year, which is the the development of a new 225-acre park. It will be the largest of seven parks in the county and promises to be in an excellent new recreational space. Uh, we encourage our audience to check out the park's master plan on the Kenton County website. Just type in new park in the search bar, which will take you right to the correct webpage. It's very interesting.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Yeah, that's gonna be fun. That's gonna be a lot of fun. And then we have maybe a not so fun project with the $4.05 billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project, where construction preparation has already started. And this is going to have major implications to business, especially in coming then. Um, but we're here, we're in it for the long haul.

unknown 8:19

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

The new companion bridge is slated to open to traffic in 2029, but the final completion of the entire corridor and ramp overhaul project isn't scheduled to be completed in 20 until 2033 or 34.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Yeah, I mean, that's a yeah, that's a truly exciting and impactful project. I just hope I'm alive to see its completion.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Me too, Brian.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Yeah, that's a long time, man. And finally, data centers are all the rage. Whether we like it or not, data center projects in Kentucky are rapidly gaining momentum, fueled by the surge in artificial intelligence. Developers are planning more large-scale projects valued at more than $30 billion all across Kentucky. And as we've discussed on the pod in many previous episodes, these massive facilities require significant infrastructure and resources, prompting many valid concerns about their impact on electricity demand, water usage, air quality, and more.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Yeah, and although data centers have existed for many years, their expansion is, of course, accelerating dramatically. And, you know, supporters point to the substantial tax revenue they can bring to local communities and you know, their state incentives that are also being used to attract further investment there. So we'll just have to see how this plays out.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Yeah, yeah. Local communities and governments are are grappling with these developments. And with some considering moratoriums and new zoning regulations due to public opposition, the Courier Journal has a data center tracker, which is following the progress of every data center around Kentucky.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Yeah, and this is really funny now. I I love my geeky uh data, and they're tracking it's great. They're tracking the planned energy demand, capital investment, estimated tax revenue, state incentives, and all of this, like right there. So you can you can like look at that and see how things are going. Yeah, it's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Giga.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

But the only hyperscale data center that is planned right now is in Louisville. But Northern Kentucky is on the radar. So, you know, right now we're seeing more localized tech infrastructure, but we know this is coming our way.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

Yeah, that that tracker is a great resource and well worth checking out to stay on top of what is happening in your local area as well as across the Commonwealth. For instance, the Mason County Fiscal Court just approved a data center in Maysville, despite strong pushback from the community. And this is just one example of why we need strong democratic leadership to help ensure local citizens have a say in what happens in their backyards.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Yeah, and one of those strong Dems that are running for county commissioner, Sarah Frelick, is having her campaign kickoff this Wednesday, June 3rd.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

Yeah, Sarah's having a really fun event where she wants to get things rolling at the American Legion Bowling Alley, located at 3801 Winston Avenue in Cummington. The kickoff is from 6 30 to 9 30 p.m. I mean, how fun is that gonna be?

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Absolutely. I'm gonna find my bowling shoes, pull it all out of it.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

It's like a bowling party. Yeah, that's right. Old school, baby.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Heck yeah. And then the Kenton Campbell and Boontems will also be at NKY Pride this Saturday, June 7th at Gobo Park in Cummington. Then later in the month, this is such a fun, this is such a fun event. Later in the month, the Northern Kentucky Women's Network will be hosting Volunteer Palooza. And yes, uh, they'll be rallying together all three county democratic parties, the young dems, all of the women's clubs to coordinate volunteer support for Democratic candidates across Northern Kentucky. So way to go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Yeah, that's an amazing collaboration. And it shows how fired up people are for change. As we mentioned earlier, visibility and outreach are key to getting people to the polls and flipping seats.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

And flipping seats is what we will do. And we're going to continue to talk about it next week because our 10 minutes are up. Until next time, stay curious, keep the facts in focus, and never ever stop fighting for what matters. Peace out, everybody.