Tagged: President Barack Obama

As the Democratic National Convention wraps up, Kentucky Democrats are trying to present a more unified front for President Barack Obama.

In this year’s primary, 42 percent of Democrats who cast ballots voted uncommitted rather than for the president. That created a problem for delegates to the party’s national convention, since uncommitted isn’t a candidate.

But this week, almost every Kentucky delegate supported this president's formal nomination.

As Democrats head to Charlotte, North Carolina this week for the Democratic National Convention, many Kentucky delegates will be going for the first time.

Auditor Adam Edelen is one of those first-timers. Edelen says he thinks his party will show why they truly are the best representatives and supporters of the middle class.

Edelen says former President Bill Clinton will likely be the best messenger for that campaign at the convention.

Several Kentucky delegates are headed to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention this week.

The delegation will include Governor Steve Beshear, Attorney General Jack Conway and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, who are all backing President Obama’s re-election bid this year. But Sixth District Congressman Ben Chandler is skipping the convention to campaign in central Kentucky instead.

Critics also point out that 42 percent of Kentucky Democrats voted “uncommitted” over the president in the May primary and are not all supportive of Mr. Obama’s agenda.

Third District Congressman John Yarmuth is among the delegation. He says he is concerned about a split among the delegates, but remains optimistic that their vote will be unanimous.

"I and others will spend part of the convention trying to argue with those uncertain delegates that unanimous support for the president is important because we’ve got down ballot races across Kentucky. We’ve got many state House races that promise to be competitive and we need to be unified in the fall campaign," he says.

Unlike their GOP counterparts, zero Kentucky officials will be taking the main stage to speak at this week’s Democratic National Convention.

Democrats hold the majority of statewide offices in Kentucky, including the governor’s office. But that’s not enough to get any of those elected officials onto the DNC stage this week.

Last week, Republicans heard from three Kentuckians during their convention: Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul and congressional candidate Andy Barr.