Primary challenger to embattled KY Rep. Grossberg emerges year and a half before election
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Investigation into Louisville Rep. Daniel Grossberg
A Herald-Leader investigation into allegations of sexual harassment involving Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville, revealed he intimidated and harassed multiple women in and around Kentucky politics. He also was allegedly aggressive and threatening toward dancers in a Louisville strip club.
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Embattled state representative Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville, has a primary challenger 18 months before he’s on the ballot again.
Max Morley, a Democrat from Louisville, launched an unusually early campaign on Wednesday to unseat Grossberg, who has been accused of sexual harassment and unwanted touching by multiple women. The incumbent lawmaker is being investigated by the state ethics commission and has faced calls to resign from his party and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear after Herald-Leader reporting revealed the allegations.
The reporting included alleged sexual harassment in Grossberg’s office, as well as an incident where he inappropriately touched a dancer at a Louisville strip club, earning him a lifetime ban from the business.
Morley’s campaign website and press release do not explicitly mention Grossberg, but the candidate wrote that he wants to be a new voice who can offer “principled leadership,” and indicated that many believe House District 30 is not being represented well.
“Our hard-working community deserves better; they deserve quality education, affordable healthcare, and to be treated with respect by their government. Unfortunately, there are too many people in Frankfort who seem to think that isn’t the case,” Morley wrote. “... I am going to fight every day to make sure the people of our community get the principled leadership they deserve.”
A former Jefferson County Public Schools teacher, Morley has worked in both education and politics — in the latter as a campaign operative. His LinkedIn profile lists experience in local, state and federal campaigns in Kentucky, as well as Democratic politics in Florida and Pennsylvania.
Morley is a native of Pikeville but has mostly remained in the Louisville area since graduating from the University of Louisville in 2013.
Grossberg beat a longtime incumbent in a 2022 primary to win the seat and narrowly beat a well-funded challenger in the 2024 Democratic primary. The first round of allegations broke in late July, after the primary, and he won the general election in the deep blue district unopposed.
Grossberg has denied any impropriety but said in September he was in treatment to help curb his “impulsive behavior.”
Beyond the calls for his resignation, Grossberg’s Democratic peers also voted to remove him from their caucus, putting him on a political island in Frankfort.
Grossberg’s lawyer, Anna Whites, did not offer comment or respond to a question about whether Grossberg intended to run again in 2026, but she said in an email it’s always “wonderful to see Democrats running for office.”
“I hope KDP (Kentucky Democratic Party) and the Governor join me in encouraging Democrats to have no uncontested seats in 2024,” Whites wrote. “While it’s more exciting to see candidates in races where we don’t have an incumbent, all candidates are welcomed and encouraged.”
The only other non-incumbent to already file an intent to spend on a state representative race in the 2026 primary election is Greg Toller, a Republican seeking the House District 70 seat held by William Lawrence, R-Maysville.
This story was originally published December 18, 2024 at 8:15 AM.
