Defending Bluegrass Values is a left-of-center unauthorized campaign committee formed and funded in part by the Democratic Governors Association to support Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) against Republican candidate and then-state Attorney General Daniel Cameron in the 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election. The race was notable for its record-breaking levels of spending, in nominal terms, with Defending Bluegrass Values contributing a significant part of the total spending amounting to over $19 million dollars. In addition to the Democratic Governors Association, funding came from several different labor unions. ^{1 2 3}

Founding and History

Defending Bluegrass Values is a 527 political action committee (PAC) active in the 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election between Democratic incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Daniel Cameron. The committee was registered on August 3, 2023, with Andrew Whalen as the director and Jill Stellar as the treasurer. ⁴

The race was notable for cumulative spending on both the primaries and general elections surpassing $44 million, a record for a Kentucky governor’s race in nominal terms. ⁵ By far the largest spender in this race was Defending Bluegrass Values, which reported total expenditures of over $19 million, with nearly $14 million in television and mail ads alone. ^{6 7}

Reporting noted that the groups ads were almost entirely negative and focused on attacking Daniel Cameron, often seeking to connect him to former Republican Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin. ⁸

Affiliation with Democratic Governors Association

In media reports, Defending Bluegrass Values was often noted as being affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association. The chairperson of the committee, Andrew Whalen, is employed by the association, and it contributed millions of dollars to the group. ^{9 10}

Financials

Defending Bluegrass Values reported $19,183,119.49 in expenses through the campaign, over $14 million of which was spent on television and mail ad buys attacking Republican candidate Daniel Cameron. The Democratic Governors Association was the primary funder of the group, spending over $3 million, with the rest of the funding being provided by the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association and labor unions, such as the National Education Association Advocacy Fund and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry. ^{11 12 13}

Leadership

Andrew Whalen is the executive director of Defending Bluegrass Values, the committee that he ran in the 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial race as part of his job as the independent expenditure director for the Democratic Governors Association. Whalen is based in North Carolina, and is originally from Ohio, not Kentucky. His X/Twitter bio states that he is a “Democratic campaign hack.” Prior to this role at the Democratic Governors Association, which he has held since 2021, Whalen worked for the pro-abortion group Emily’s List, and was involved in a number of political campaigns as a campaign director, dating back to 2005. ^{14 15}

1. “Defending Bluegrass Values 1/6/2024 Financial Statement.” Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, January 6, 2024. Accessed June 24, 2024. https://secure.kentucky.gov/kref/publicsearch/OrganizationalSearch/OrganizationDetails/200249.
2. Cloutier, Anna Massoglia and Jimmy. “Kentucky’s Gubernatorial Race Breaks Records, Exceeds $44 Million.” OpenSecrets News, November 16, 2023. Accessed June 24, 2024.  https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/11/kentucky-gubernatorial-race-breaks-fundraising-records-exceeds-44-million/.
3. Horn, Austin. “Which Outside Groups Are Fueling Kentucky Governor Ad Wars.” Lexington Herald Leader, November 17, 2023. Accessed June 24, 2024. https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article279209259.html.
4.  Defending Bluegrass Values. “Political Organization Registration.” Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, August 3, 2023. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://secure.kentucky.gov/kref/publicsearch/OrganizationalSearch/PoliticalOrganizationReport/3233
5. Cloutier, Anna Massoglia and Jimmy. “Kentucky’s Gubernatorial Race Breaks Records, Exceeds $44 Million.” OpenSecrets News, November 16, 2023. Accessed June 24, 2024.  https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/11/kentucky-gubernatorial-race-breaks-fundraising-records-exceeds-44-million/
6. Horn, Austin. “Which Outside Groups Are Fueling Kentucky Governor Ad Wars.” Lexington Herald Leader, November 17, 2023. Accessed June 24, 2024. https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article279209259.html.
7. “Defending Bluegrass Values 1/6/2024 Financial Statement.” Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, January 6, 2024. Accessed June 24, 2024. https://secure.kentucky.gov/kref/publicsearch/OrganizationalSearch/OrganizationDetails/200249.
8. Horn, Austin. “Outside groups are dominating the Kentucky governor ad wars. Who are they?” Lexington Herald Leader, September 13, 2023. Accessed June 24, 2024. https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article279209259.html
9. “Andrew Whalen.” LinkedIn.com. Accessed June 24, 2024. Accessed June 24, 2024.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-whalen-127b9a7/.
10. Horn, Austin. “Which Outside Groups Are Fueling Kentucky Governor Ad Wars.” Lexington Herald Leader, November 17, 2023. Accessed June 24, 2024. https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article279209259.html.
11. “Defending Bluegrass Values 1/6/2024 Financial Statement.” Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, January 6, 2024. Accessed June 24, 2024. https://secure.kentucky.gov/kref/publicsearch/OrganizationalSearch/OrganizationDetails/200249.
12. Horn, Austin. “Which Outside Groups Are Fueling Kentucky Governor Ad Wars.” Lexington Herald Leader, November 17, 2023. Accessed June 24, 2024.  https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article279209259.html.
13. “Defending Bluegrass Values 10/23/2023 Financial Statement.” Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, October 23, 2023. Accessed June 24, 2024. https://secure.kentucky.gov/kref/publicsearch/AllContributors?reportId=197891&contributionTypes%5B0%5D=COLLECTIONS&contributionTypes%5B1%5D=DUES&contributionTypes%5B2%5D=ECF_TRANSFER&contributionTypes%5B3%5D=GENERAL_FUNDS&contributionTypes%5B4%5D=GOVERNOR&contributionTypes%5B5%5D=INDIVIDUAL&contributionTypes%5B6%5D=CONTRIBUTINGORGANIZATION&paymentCodes%5B0%5D=MONETARY&paymentCodes%5B1%5D=NONE.
14. “Andrew Whalen (@APWhalen) / X.” X (formerly Twitter). Accessed June 24, 2024. https://x.com/apwhalen.
15. “Andrew Whalen.” LinkedIn.com. Accessed June 24, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-whalen-127b9a7/.