Bevin and Beshear tussle over Purdue Pharma settlement in first televised debate

The first televised debate in Kentucky’s gubernatorial election, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in Paducah, was supposed to be about economic development.

More than halfway through the hour-long debate, though, after Gov. Matt Bevin and Attorney General Andy Beshear had made their pitches about bringing more jobs to Western Kentucky, a long simmering feud spilled to the surface.

Responding to a question about Kentucky’s overcrowded prisons, Beshear launched into one of his talking points about the opioid epidemic, complete with a story from two years ago when he helped revive an overdosing man on the streets of downtown Lexington.

“We have all been touched by addiction,” said Beshear, a Democrat. “We have all seen it in our friends and our family members. It’s time that we invest in a real way for prevention, for treatment, for recovery.”

The answer gave Bevin, a Republican, the opportunity to jump on a topic with which the GOP has been hitting Beshear for weeks — his connection to a 2014 settlement Kentucky made with Purdue Pharmaceuticals for $24 million, right before Beshear took office.

“If you remember nothing else from the time that you spend here with the two of us on this stage, please understand as a straight up matter of fact that for all the talk about attacking the opioid crisis, for all the talk about suing opioid makers, for all the talk about being tough on this issue, the man to my immediate left, to your right, is a man who has been involved in one settlement ever in his entire life with an opioid producer,” Bevin said.

At the time of the settlement, Beshear was a partner at Stites and Harbison, the law firm that defended Purdue Pharma in that lawsuit. Beshear has repeatedly said he was not a part of the Purdue Pharma litigation team nor involved in any settlement talks, but he has refused to answer whether he, as a partner at the firm, did any work for Purdue Pharma on other matters. Beshear did not make any money from the settlement, campaign spokesman Sam Newton said Thursday.

As Bevin was answering, Beshear began to defend himself.

“Purdue Pharma was a client of the firm, I wasn’t involved in any of the negotiations, this is a conspiracy,” Beshear said.

The moderator cut him off, providing Bevin the opportunity to strike.

“Shame on you for pretending to represent this,” Bevin said. “For speaking so eloquently about your heartbreak about this, when you have done nothing, you have brought zero dollars for all your efforts. You’ve sued me more than you’ve sued these drug makers.”

The renewed spotlight on the Purdue Pharma lawsuit comes after Oklahoma received a settlement of more than $200 million and 23 other states combined forces to negotiate a potential settlement of about $12 billion. Legal experts say the amount Kentucky received was reasonable, based on what was known at the time.

In response to another question, Beshear pushed back against Bevin’s attack.

“We both just had an opportunity to talk about this drug epidemic: the challenge to our times and the threat to our kids,” Beshear said. “I talked about what I’m doing in creating a safer world, I talked about the efforts we need to make as a state, and the governor used his time to attack for political points. That ought to tell you everything you need to know.”

Beshear has filed lawsuits against 10 pharmaceutical companies since 2017 as attorney general. None of the lawsuits have been completed. He has also launched an initiative to help people dispose of their leftover painkillers so they don’t get sold on the black market.

The debate, one of five the candidates have agreed to attend before Election Day, mostly stuck to the economy otherwise. Bevin has touted the economy over the course of his campaign, highlighting his effort to recruit more businesses and bring investments to the state. Thursday was no different.

When asked about the need for more revenue to fund state services, Bevin knocked Beshear’s plan of expanding casino gaming and legalizing medicinal marijuana as potential solutions, calling them fools gold.

“The only solution is to create jobs here in the commonwealth,” Bevin said. “Elect someone who has done it for real, in the private sector.”

Beshear, meanwhile, criticized the governor’s economic development efforts, saying they weren’t benefiting all of Kentucky.

“If Western Kentucky isn’t thriving, then none of Kentucky is thriving,” Beshear said.

Both candidates ended the debate by asking the audience to make their decision in November based on who they’d rather run a business. Beshear criticized Bevin’s leadership and his tendency to make controversial comments about his opponents, while Bevin pointed to his experience in the private sector.

“What values would you vote for?” Bevin said. “Vote those values, not your party.”

This story was originally published October 3, 2019 at 3:27 PM.