A former Miss America and an election lawyer are battling for KY secretary of state
Alison Lundergan Grimes couldn’t seek re-election as Kentucky’s secretary of state this year, but she still looms large over the race between Miss America 2000 Heather French Henry and attorney Michael G. Adams.
Henry, a Democrat who has been supportive of Grimes as she’s faced allegations of overstepping her authority, has touted her work on behalf of veterans as the key reason voters should choose her on Nov. 5. She was commissioner of the state Department of Veterans Affairs under former Gov. Steve Beshear and was deputy commissioner under Gov. Matt Bevin until resigning earlier this year.
Adams, an election-law attorney who has represented Republican candidates across the nation, contends he is better equipped “to clean up” alleged corruption in Grimes’ office. He has represented Vice President Mike Pence’s political committee, the National Federation of Republican Women and other conservative candidates, committees and causes across the nation.
The Kentucky Democratic Party, though, points to Adams’s “shady past” as the campaign attorney for former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who abruptly resigned last year under accusations that his campaign and A New Missouri Inc., a dark money nonprofit that Adams incorporated, had engaged in illegal activity.
Greitens, a Republican, was governor of Missouri from January 2017 until his resignation in June 2018. In February 2018, a state prosecutor charged Greitens with felony invasion of privacy relating to alleged actions associated with an extramarital affair he had before becoming governor. Later, Greitens was charged with campaign-related offenses.
All charges were dropped in May 2018 and Greitens resigned from office after Missouri legislators began a special session to consider impeachment. Greitens and his supporters denied any criminal wrongdoing and labeled the allegations “a political witch hunt.”
“The choice between Heather French Henry and Michael Adams couldn’t be more clear,” said Marissa McNee, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Democratic Party. “Heather has been a tireless advocate for veterans while her opponent has been representing a client accused of using a veterans charity for an illegal campaign finance scheme. It’s disgusting, and Mr. Adams owes Kentucky voters an explanation.”
Adams, in response, defended the legal work he has done for Republican candidates.
“I represent high-profile clients at the highest levels of American government and politics due to my reputation for integrity,” he said. “That stands in contrast to the hapless Kentucky Democratic Party’s two-time chairman, who’s facing 110 years in prison after trying to manipulate Kentucky elections with $20,000 of cash left in a couch and other illegal, undisclosed money. “
He was referring to Lexington businessman Jerry Lundergan, Grimes’ father, who a federal jury found guilty in September of funneling illegal corporate campaign contributions into Grimes’ 2014 U.S. Senate campaign.
Adams said he’s “the only candidate for this office promising to root out corruption and vote fraud rather than defending Alison Lundergan Grimes.”
Grimes cannot seek re-election because of term limits. She has overseen since 2012 the constitutional office that maintains state records, registers businesses and oversees election. It has an annual operating budget of about $5 million and 35 employees and pays her $124,113 a year.
Grimes, a Lexington attorney, was considering running for governor this year but decided against that, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family.
Earlier this year, the Lexington Herald-Leader and ProPublica published articles that said Grimes pushed through a no-bid contract with a political donor’s company, had staff search the state’s voter registration system for information about hundreds of state workers and political rivals, and allegedly retaliated against elections board staff when they complained about her actions.
Grimes called the articles a sexist, smear job that was politically motivated. She has denied any wrongdoing as multiple investigations of her actions continue.
Grimes also is challenging in Franklin Circuit Court a new law approved this year by the Republican-led legislature and signed by Gov. Matt Bevin that stripped her of much of her power over the State Board of Elections.
Henry told the Lexington Herald-Leader during her primary election campaign that she thought Republican state lawmakers and Bevin were wrong when they stripped power from Grimes.
Henry did not respond to the newspaper’s repeated requests for an interview this fall.
Adams said he likes parts of the new law and dislikes others. He said it was appropriate to restrict the secretary of state’s access to voter registration files and to give county clerks a louder voice on the elections board.
Adams acknowledged in a recent interview that Henry started the race with much greater name recognition because of her Miss America title — she sometimes displays her crown while campaigning — but said the contest is tightening because “voters know that I am the one who will clean up the mess in the office.”
Adams was a member of the State Board of Elections from July 2016 to February 2018. He said he repeatedly voiced concerns “on and off the record” to board members about Grimes and has provided “state evidence” to investigators looking into the secretary of state’s office.
He declined to say to whom he talked and what he said.
Adams also said Henry enjoys “a mythical image” from her Miss America title and work on behalf of veterans.
“She calls herself non-partisan but that is nonsense,” he said. “She is an enabler of Grimes, endorsed her on social media and was for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in Kentucky. Nothing non-partisan about her.”
Adams also questions why Henry allowed her husband, former Lt. Gov. Steve Henry, to continue as a board member of the Heather Renee French Foundation for Veterans after he improperly used funds from it. Steve Henry accepted a plea deal in 2009 in state court for three misdemeanors related to misusing campaign resources during his failed 2007 run for governor.
Henry improperly used funds from two non-profit charities affiliated with him and his wife, prosecutors said.
The two charities — the Kentucky Prostate Cancer Coalition and the Heather Renee French Foundation for Veterans — paid several hundred dollars for a gubernatorial campaign aide and stamps for the campaign and covered the costs of Henry’s personal cell phone used during the campaign.
Henry’s campaign manager, Will Carle, dismissed Adams’ criticisms, saying Heather French Henry did not have control over who served as a member of the board.
“For over the past 20 years, Heather French Henry has fought for the tens of thousands of veterans and their families that call Kentucky home,” he said. “These kind of negative attacks from Mr. Adams indicate that he is worried about his non-existent record of helping Kentuckians and that voters will remember it on Election Day.”
Henry has said she has worked with both political parties in helping veterans, including finishing a $40 million nursing home in Radcliff and a $6 million cemetery in Hyden for them and registering soldiers to vote.
Her knowledge of administering such programs, she said, will suit her well as secretary of state.
Both campaigns are well-heeled financially.
Adams began the general election with a balance of $161,189, has raised $64,260 for the fall campaign and spent $19,412. He reported a balance of $206,716 on Oct. 21.
His campaign started airing a TV ad Oct. 24 that says he differs from Henry because he wants a photo ID requirement to vote, wants ballots only in English and is experienced in election law and not soft on corruption. The ad also says Henry worked for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Carle said the ad is “false and negative,” but did not provide further details.
Henry reported a starting balance of $96,324 with $42,270 in receipts, $21,638 in disbursements and an ending balance of $116,955 as of Oct. 21.
Candidates On The Issues
Question: Should the secretary of state be the chair and a voting member of the State Board of Elections?
Adams: This office is on probation. The General Assembly changed state law to remove Alison Lundergan Grimes after significant evidence of mismanagement, civil investigations and even the appointment of a special prosecutor to look at possible illegalities. Once she leaves office these powers should be restored.
Henry: Declined to answer.
Question: What one thing will you do to improve voter turnout in Kentucky elections?
Adams: Taking an estimated 300,000 “phantom voters” off our voter rolls will increase the proportion of voter turnout. I’m the only candidate promising to clean up these rolls. Under Alison Grimes Kentucky has not complied with federal and state law and sufficiently removed dead and nonresident voters from the voter rolls.
Henry: Declined to answer.
Question: What letter grade do you give Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes for her job performance over the past eight years?
Adams: A failing grade based on reporting by this very newspaper about apparent misuse of the voter file for personal, political purposes, a no-bid contract to a major donor, attempted discrimination in state hiring, etc. To the ongoing civil and criminal probes of her conduct, I’ll give an “I” for “Incomplete.”
Henry: Declined to answer.
This story was originally published October 30, 2019 at 10:40 AM.
