FRANKFORT  — Since January 2023 an obscure political organization named Kentucky Strong Inc. has paid its executive director — state Sen. Julie Raque Adams — $80,500. In fact, 12 payments to Adams totaling $80,500 were the only expenses reported by Kentucky Strong in the three-year period en ding January 2026. Over roughly the same period Kentucky Strong was funded exclusively by interests that actively lobby the Kentucky General Assembly, including $50,000 from Revolutionary Racing, which operates Sandy’s Racing Gaming in Ashland; $25,000 from Churchill Downs; $15,000 from Charter Communications; and $15,000 from LGE and KU Energy. Kentucky Strong Inc. was founded as a political nonprofit organization in 2015 by Adams and two other Republican women from Louisville. Its initial tax return filed with the Internal Revenue Service said it is “dedicated to training Republican women to seek and hold public office.” It hoped to rival the success recruiting female candidates of a nonprofit started by Democratic women in 2009 called Emerge Kentucky. Adams, a Louisville Republican, said in an email reply to questions from the Kentucky Lantern that she has done a lot of work for Kentucky Strong since it was founded: recruited and trained “pro-business women candidates,” created a handbook for candidates, supported conservative women considering running for office as well as women currently in office, accepted speaking engagements and media appearances. She said she does all of the group’s fundraising. ‘Nominal compensation’ “In addition, as executive director of Kentucky Strong, I have received nominal compensation which averages out to a little over $7,300 a year for the last 11 years,” Adams said. “This compensation allows me to be reimbursed for my time, gas expenses, breakfasts/lunches with candidates and various website hosting fees and miscellaneous expenses.”  But reports Kentucky Strong has filed with the IRS show that the $80,500 paid to Adams did not happen over 11 years but over the past three years. That averages $26,833 a year. Adams did not address questions emailed to her by the Lantern asking for examples of the larger out-of-pocket expenses she paid for Kentucky Strong over the three years. Nor did she answer a question asking for examples of conservative women who decided to run for office because of training or encouragement from Kentucky Strong. Kentucky Strong is the type of nonprofit political group seldom scrutinized because it does not report its contributions to the Federal Election Commission or the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. Such groups — called “527 organizations” for their section in the Internal Revenue Code — can accept contributions of unlimited amounts from people, corporations and other entities. They disclose their donations and expenses in periodic reports to the IRS. Those IRS reports show that the group has been funded exclusively by lobbying interests in recent years.  The Lantern’s examination of the records also shows 93% of Kentucky Strong’s spending over its lifetime has been paid to its own officers and lawyer or businesses they are affiliated with. That’s primarily because of the $80,500 paid in recent years to Adams. State ethics laws require legislators to file annual personal financial reports disclosing, among other things, their sources of income. Adams disclosed in a report for 2025 she filed last month with the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission that “reimbursements” from Kentucky Strong were one of her sources of income. (These reports do not ask legislators for the amounts of income from each source.) Michael Beckel Michael Beckel, director of money in politics reform at the Washington watchdog group Issue One, said 527 organizations offer another way special interests can curry favor with elected officials far beyond campaign contributions, which are limited by state and federal law. (For instance, contributions to a candidate in a race for state office in Kentucky are capped at $2,200  per election by a person or political action committee. The legislature recently approved raising the cap to $3,500. Corporation contributions are prohibited.) “Special interests with business before the legislature are frequently looking to maximize the ways they can buy access and influence with legislators,” Beckel said. “Groups like Kentucky Strong represent another avenue to curry favor.” Promising start The disclosures Kentucky Strong has filed with the IRS show the group got off to a promising start in 2015. David Jones Sr., the co-founder of Humana who died in 2019, provided the seed money — a $19,200 donation. Smaller donations provided an equal amount for the group in its first months. But in recent years its visibility seems to have faded. Jennifer Moore, the founder of Emerge Kentucky, said “I am not aware if it is in existence today. I haven’t heard anything about them in many years.” Legally, Kentucky Strong did not exist when the Lantern spoke with Moore in mid-March. Records of the Kentucky secretary of state show Kentucky Strong Inc. was “administratively dissolved” in 2018 for failing to file annual reports. However, on March 27, one day after the Lantern sent an email to Adams asking about the matter, Kentucky Strong filed an application for reinstatement with the Kentucky secretary of state. Its application was approved when the secretary of state sent Kentucky Strong a “Certificate of Existence” later that day. Kentucky Strong has made all of its required financial disclosures with the IRS. However, its most recent filing covering activity for the last half of 2025 was filed 50 days late — and just two days after the Lantern asked Adams if it would be filed. It showed no contributions or expenses during that period. No web presence A search revealed neither a website nor a Facebook page for the organization.. Adams said she still holds domain names for Kentucky Strong, but they are not active because supermajority status for Republicans in the General Assembly means the organization in recent years has been putting more emphasis “on supporting our women who are elected for continued success and less on electing women.” Adams served on the Louisville Metro Council from 2003-09 and in the Kentucky House from 2011-14. Since 2015 she has served as state senator representing the Senate’s 36th District in eastern Jefferson County. She’s risen to prominence in the state Senate over the past decade, selected to chair the Health and Welfare Committee and later elected chair of the majority Republican Caucus. In late 2024 she ran for the post of majority floor leader, but was defeated by Sen. Max Wise, of Campbellsville. She currently chairs the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee. In early March the national online news outlet The Hill named Adams one of 50 Top Women Shaping Policy in America. “In 2018, she championed a bill that prohibited child marriage … She’s also sponsored legislation to fight sexual extortion,” The Hill reported. “Raque Adams has supported reforms to education, including increased teacher pay and principal training, and legislation to boost resources for care givers.” Adams formed Kentucky Strong with two other Republican women from Jefferson County:  Ellen Call, senior director of state government affairs and a lobbyist for Kentucky Strong donor Charter Communications, and Rachel Schrepferman. The trio was aided by attorney Eric Lycan, who served as the group’s incorporator and registered agent. Lycan is an attorney with the law firm Embry Merritt Womack Nance PLLC, but at the time he helped create Kentucky Strong he was with the firm Dinsmore Shohl. Lycan also is general counsel to the Kentucky House’s Republican majority leadership. Donors to Kentucky Strong Reports filed with the IRS show that — in addition to the big donation from Jones — Kentucky Strong got 27 donations during its first two years. Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly Co. gave $5,000. The Kentucky law firm Frost Brown Todd gave $5,000. Mac Brown, then the chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky gave $2,500. Prominent lobbyists — who are prohibited by law from making contributions to a state legislator’s campaign committee — or spouses of lobbyists also made early contributions: David Whitehouse, $5,000; Cindy Whitehouse, $2,500; Cindy McCarthy, $2,000;  Amy Wickliffe, $1,000; Sean Cutter, $1,000; Ronald Pryor, $500; Laura Babbage, $250. But Kentucky Strong has reported no small contributions since October 2017. The donation history for Kentucky Strong since then can be broken down into three parts: The sign outside one of the corporate offices for utility Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) Charter Communications, the national broadband and cable television company that operates under the brand name Spectrum, has made regular contributions since mid-2018 totaling $40,000. Of that $15,000 came in the last three years. Neither Call nor Charter Communications returned messages from the Lantern. Second windfall: Revolutionary Racing gave its donation of $50,000 on Oct. 31, 2022.  The Lantern’s attempts to get a response from Revolutionary Racing were not successful.  Third windfall: Four donors combined to give another $50,000 in the spring of 2024: $25,000 from Churchill Downs; $15,000 from LGE and KU Energy; another $5,000 from lobbyist Whitehouse; and $5,000 from NOLA Education, a New Orleans company that markets a program to help students who have fallen behind. It was registered to lobby the General Assembly in 2023 listing Whitehouse as its contact person. Churchill Downs declined comment. LGE and KU Energy released a statement that said in part, “Decisions around political giving are guided by a variety of factors, including input from policy leaders and alignment with issues important to our customers and communities.” Asked by Kentucky Lantern about why special lobbying interests have made such big contributions to Kentucky Strong, Adams replied, “Entities that donate to Kentucky Strong believe that women should be supported in their roles as leaders. … As the sole fundraiser for Kentucky Strong, I talk to organizations all the time and tell them how important it is to make sure the female voice is present at the table where decisions are made.”  Throughout its history, Kentucky Strong has gotten contributions from 29 donors totaling $195,750. Where the money went Reports to the IRS also show that Kentucky Strong’s early spending included a few smaller expenses typical of a political nonprofit: $4,097 for direct mail; $2,821 in costs to start and maintain a web presence for a while; $642 for printing; $468 to rent meeting space; $35 for shipping. But even long before the $80,500 paid to Adams since early 2023, most of Kentucky Strong’s spending went to Adams, Call, businesses operated by Adams and Call, or law firms where Lycan has worked. Those early expenditures were: $15,500 to Adams and Call for consulting fees $7,000 to Adams and Call for rent $8,500 to ACR Properties for rent $20,525 to Dinsmore for legal services $927 to Embry Merritt Shaffar Womack for legal services Kentucky Strong has reported only 70 expenditures over its lifetime totaling $143,008. Of that total, $132,952 — about 93% — was paid to its officers, lawyer or entities affiliated with them. Kentucky Strong reported some administrative changes when it filed with the secretary of state for reinstatement last week. Adams and Schrepferman remain directors, but Call has been replaced as a director by Kristen Wilson, of Louisville. Adams replaced Lycan as registered agent. Adams also is listed with the title of president. GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE. SUPPORT The post Lobbying interests fund small political nonprofit — and a Republican state senator appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less