Tessa Duvall

@tessaduvall

Politics & Public Affairs Editor for the Lexington @kentucky.com‬ & @bluegrasspolitics.bsky.social. Kentuckian. Hilltopper. Parks & Rec aficionado. Pen snob. Aspiring adult.

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Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· 22d

I think he said "his cell phone," because... that looks like a cell phone? x.com/LtGovColeman...

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· 23d

Correct. Beshear does not get to appoint a replacement.

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· 23d

On Threads, the answer to those questions actually seems to be yes.

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· 23d

Oh, look, Mitch McConnell is trending again, thanks in part to posts like these. Genuinely at a loss for what they think Gov. Beshear should be doing. Kicking down hospital doors? Hacking medical charts? Bribing doctors to violate HIPAA?

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· 23d

We're in Day 1 of having two declared Democratic candidates for Kentucky governor and already I detect some shade...

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· Jul 9

We're cooked.

Reading has come to seem extraneous even to some of the best-educated members of society. Margaret Rennix, Harvard’s assistant director for humanities and social-sciences support, told me she’d spoken with a student who was struggling to read a book written in Old English. The culprit: Anthony Burgess’s 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange. (The student used ChatGPT to “translate” the book into easier language.)

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· Jul 9

"Ask ten people what Appalachia means and you'll hear ten different answers. For some, it's Kentucky. For others, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio or Tennessee."

THE MOUNTAINS KEEP THEIR SECRETS.
Ask ten people what Appalachia means and you'll hear ten different answers. For some, it's Kentucky. For others, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio or Tennessee.

The region stretches across thousands of miles, but what connects it has never been geography alone. It's a way of thinking.

Cooking close to home. Preserving what the season gives you. Making use of everything. Finding comfort in simplicity.

Not because it's fashionable. Because it's always made sense.

SOME STORIES TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME.
The foodways of Appalachia began long before Appalachia itself.

Families arrived in America carrying recipes, techniques and traditions from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. In the mountains of Eastern America, those traditions met unfamiliar landscapes, different seasons and new ingredients.

Over time, they became something else.

Not British. Not American. Something in between.

Appalachia is inspired by that evolution.

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· Jul 2

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, the only major candidate declared for Kentucky governor in 2027, has a news release out saying she is dominating the race.

Jacqueline for Kentucky Dominates First 10 Weeks: 10 Stats Detailing the Campaign’s Momentum

FRANKFORT, KY — Just 10 weeks after officially launching her campaign for Governor of Kentucky, Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman—a former high school basketball coach and teacher—has captured a remarkable amount of momentum. Today, the Jacqueline for Kentucky campaign is releasing 10 stats from the first 10 weeks that establishes her as the clear frontrunner in 2027.

"Kentuckians want to keep building on the great progress made by the Beshear-Coleman administration,” said Coleman. “I'll continue that work and be a governor who shows up, listens, and delivers results."

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· Jul 1

🥲

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· Jun 10

Gut-wrenching.

Asher’s sister, Miranda Hamilton, told WKYT that Hale wanted to break off her relationship with Priddy, and she said Hale texted her Saturday night saying she was “so scared.” Hamilton told the television station the couple came to her house Saturday night and talked. During the visit, Hale told Priddy she was afraid to go get something to eat with him alone, so Asher volunteered to accompany them to McDonald’s, Hamilton said. They never returned.

Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article316069487.html#storylink=cpy

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· Jun 10

Per this story, Glenna Bevin and some of Jonah Bevin's siblings make several allegations about Jonah, including that he was violent. Glenna says that this entire saga is about "humiliating" former Gov. Matt Bevin.

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· Jun 10

Welp.

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· Jun 8

Benjamin Landa, who last October was nominated by President Donald Trump to be U.S. ambassador to Hungary, two months after he paid $5 million to MAGA Inc., a political action committee that backs Trump, has ties to this troubled Kentucky nursing home. And what a quote he gave John Cheves!

“Since when is the landlord responsible for the care in the facility? The landlord is not the operator,” Landa added. “If someone is a landlord — if I owned a building in Manhattan and (convicted financial con artist) Bernie Madoff was my tenant and Bernie Madoff did something bad, is the landlord responsible?” In an essay on his personal Medium page, Landa describes himself as “an entrepreneur who built an empire of nursing homes.” He called himself a “healthcare investor” when he made his MAGA Inc. donation.

Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article315969122.html#storylink=cpy

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· Jun 5

This was written by a woman who has clearly had it up to *here* with Matt Bevin.

Matt’s motion references the volume of documents already provided. It does not
reference any efforts to produce documents more expeditiously nor what obstacles remain to
producing those documents other than redactions. In his motion, he requests, “a reasonable time
period to complete the production of documents.” Matt has already been granted more than
reasonable time to produce documents.
Further, his emergency motion requesting a stay was filed minutes before the deadline of
12:00 PM today, June 5, 2026. The Court finds the motion to be untimely. He was aware of the
deadline on May 29, 2026 and waited until the deadline had arrived to inform the Court he did
not intend to comply in a timely manner.
This Court has the authority “to insist upon respect for its processes and compliance with
its rulings and judgments.”1 Where an Order is intended properly to confer a benefit to another
litigant, the Court has a duty to that litigant to enforce its Orders. Matt, as the perpetrator of civil
contempt, holds the keys to his own jail cell.2 By consistently refusing to comply with Orders
that he produce documents after having multiple chances to comply, he has locked the door
behind himself.

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· Jun 2

Further supporting evidence that Parks & Rec is real life: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Even the messaging around the project was designed with skeptical residents in mind. Boyd County Judge-Executive Eric Chaney, who quickly emerged as the face for the project, openly calls himself “one of the biggest conspiracy theorists that exists” and says he “hates government with a passion.” “TeraWulf plans to be different,” Chaney pleaded with residents Monday night.

Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article315976498.html#storylink=cpy

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 29

Every day we encounter a new series of words that has never before been strung together in that particular order. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Breaking: Pentagon recruiting troops to watch White House UFC fights, memos show

The Pentagon is moving to recruit hundreds of troops to appear as spectators next month at President Donald Trump’s UFC cage-fighting event on the White House lawn, and requiring those who attend to pay their own way and meet height and weight requirements, according to people familiar with the matter and internal memos reviewed by The Washington Post.

The Defense Department in recent days has solicited troops across the services to attend the June 14 event. Officials are seeking junior enlisted personnel and junior officers specifically, according to internal messages that make clear travel will be “member-procured.”

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 29

Meet the Press has an "exclusive" with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear this Sunday.

INTERVIEWS WITH FMR. VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE AND GOV. ANDY BESHEAR THIS SUNDAY ON “MEET THE PRESS WITH KRISTEN WELKER”
__

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 26

🥲

Neither the Richmond Police Department nor the Medical Review Office responded to the Herald-Leader’s requests for comment on Smith’s case. But days after the newspaper asked the agencies to answer some questions, on May 19, the Medical Review Office suddenly dropped its case against Smith and told him it would delete its files related to Haddix’s affidavit. The sequence of events is self-explanatory, Smith told the Herald-Leader later that day. “I believe that the Medical Board’s reversal is the result of your investigation of the situation,” Smith said. “Thank you so much.” In a prepared statement, Transportation Cabinet spokesman Allen Blair said Smith’s reprieve was due to “a missing requested document” the Medical Review Office wanted that finally turned up.

Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article315796468.html#storylink=cpy

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 21

INBOX: A group dedicated to electing Democratic lieutenant governors has a new poll out showing Kentucky's Democratic lieutenant governor (and the only declared candidate) is the "unambiguous frontrunner" for the party's 2027 gubernatorial nomination.

To: Interested Parties

From: Kevin Holst, Executive Director, DLGA

Re: New Poll: Coleman Dominates Kentucky Democratic Primary for Governor

A new Public Policy Polling survey of 650 likely Kentucky Democratic primary voters establishes that Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman is the unambiguous frontrunner in the 2027 Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Before voters hear a single word about either candidate, Coleman leads Rocky Adkins 40% to 14%, a 26-point gap. After voters receive biographical information about both candidates, that lead grows to 49% to 19%, with undecideds decreasing from 45% to 32%. The data tells a consistent story at every turn: Coleman is not merely ahead, she is consolidating.

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 20

You don't often see a party chair celebrate the ouster of one of their own, and yet...

colmon
@colmonelridge
Come January 2027…

Former State “Representative” Daniel Grossberg….

Well done HD 30!
10:25 PM · May 19, 2026
·
479
Views

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 20

Incumbent Democratic Kentucky state Rep. Beverly Chester-Burton may also lose her reelection bid. It's close with more than 95% of votes reported, per AP/NYT. She has had a couple of brushes with the law for drunk driving, which gave us some truly iconic quotes. www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 20

I can't say definitively how many votes remain in this district because this isn't on the Secretary of State's website yet, but Daniel Grossberg remains in a distant third behind Mitra Subedi and Cassie Lyles. NYT/AP is showing 63% of votes counted.

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 20

Thomas Massie has previously not ruled out a run for Kentucky governor in 2027, by the way. From January: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 20

Taking a lil peek at the results here so far and it looks like Louisville Democratic voters in District 30 are largely not supporting the embattled incumbent.

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 19

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is quick to congratulate Barr:

NRSC Chairman Tim Scott Congratulates Kentucky's Next Senator, Andy Barr, on Primary Win

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NRSC Chairman Tim Scott issued the following statement congratulating Andy Barr on his primary win in Kentucky tonight:
“Congratulations to Kentucky’s next senator, Andy Barr. Andy is a proven conservative champion who puts Kentucky first. He will make a great addition to our Senate Majority as we work to keep taxes low, protect our borders, and ensure America remains the greatest country on God’s green Earth.”

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 19

What could have been...

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 19

As someone who likes going to bed at a reasonable hour, I very much hope we don't see this put to use tonight, but... The threshold for automatic recounts in Kentucky elections is a margin of 0.5% of the vote or less.

120.157 Automatic recount -- Determination by State Board of Elections -- Custody
of materials -- Proceedings of county board of elections -- Costs.
(1) In any regular election or special election for any member of the General Assembly,
the United States Senate or the United States House of Representatives, Governor
and Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Commissioner of
Agriculture, Labor and Statistics, Secretary of State, and Attorney General, a
recount of the vote shall be required when a candidate is defeated by a margin of not
more than one-half of one percent (0.5%) of the votes cast for the office.

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 18

Belatedly catching up on the many Thomas Massie race preview stories in national media, and what a headline on this one from Mother Jones: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Thomas Massie Has Always Been a Pain in the Ass
Can the Kentucky Republican—inventor, farmer, gadfly, genius—survive standing up to Trump?
Stephanie MencimerMay 12, 2026

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 8

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg is also calling on Daniel Grossberg to resign. (He's making this call "again." I do not remember him making this statement before, and I haven't found it reported elsewhere. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, so please prove me wrong if you've seen otherwise.)

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall· May 7

State Sen. Keturah Herron, who represents many of the same constituents as Grossberg, also calls on him to resign and drop out of the race. “With these allegations, we are now well past the three strikes rule. It is time for him to go."