What do political parties and holiday parties have in common?
Both can leave you with an achy head and a sick stomach.
But what the heck, let's party with the parties.
GOP elite
Are you on the Republican Party party "A" list? If you weren't at or invited to state Sen. Dick Roeding's Lakeside Park condo last night, consider yourself a political pariah.
That may be a little harsh. Still, just about anybody who is anybody in GOP circles was supposed to be at the Roedings' Saturday night holiday party.
And not just Kenton County Republicans. Some GOP faithful were expected to come in from other counties for the bash.
Plans called for lots of holiday cheer so a good time could be had by all. The tree was trimmed and the halls were decked and that whole Christmas thing was going down. And a toast was probably made to Bill Clinton's impeachment. (Remember, this was a Republican Party party.)
But some of those on the list of invitees said some "serious" political discussions were planned.
Like who will run for governor against Democratic incumbent Paul Patton? Will Mr. Roeding seek another state Senate term in 2000? If he doesn't, what Republican will run for that seat - lame duck state Sen. Gex "Jay" Williams of Verona, state Rep. Charlie Walton of Florence or lame duck and current Democratic Kenton County Commissioner Steve Arlinghaus of Villa Hills, who has been testing the waters - again - about switching parties?
And when will the Northern Kentucky GOP field a candidate for statewide office?
That's what Kenton County Republican Party Chairman Greg Shumate was prepared to talk about.
"Republicans run extremely well up here" in Northern Kentucky, Mr. Shumate said Friday from his Covington law office.
"Any Republican on the statewide ballot is going to capture a lot of votes in this area. I've had people from downstate talking to me about us getting a candidate for statewide office from Northern Kentucky," he said.
Any Republican on the ballot is going to get a huge boost from Northern Kentucky and come out of the region with a big pile of votes.
Witness how Northern Kentucky, and the 4th Congressional District, came through in Jim Bunning's U.S. Senate race.
"Without the 4th District," which includes Northern Kentucky, Mr. Bunning said, "I would not have beat (Democrat) Scotty Baesler."
Mr. Bunning, the Southgate Republican and six-term U.S. House member, won by less than 7,000 votes.
But he won the 22-county 4th District by about 38,000 votes and burst out of Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties with a margin of more than 33,000 votes.
"The majorities we received in Northern Kentucky and the Fourth District were pretty darn nice," Mr. Bunning said. "Those who know us best don't love us least."
Mr. Shumate isn't playing all his cards just yet, but does see a Northern Kentucky Republican running as lieutenant governor with either Eastern Kentucky banker Mike Duncan or Glasgow state Rep. Steve Nunn, who appear to be the party's two leading candidates for the governor's race.
Those considering making such a play, or who are being recruited to do so or to at least think about it, include Fort Thomas state lawmaker Katie Stine; Kenton County Judge-executive-elect Dick Murgatroyd; Campbell County Judge-executive-elect Steve Pendery; Villa Hills attorney Lawson Walker; and Mr. Roeding.
But the Northern Kentucky GOP may find it is a victim of its own success.
A gubernatorial candidate will look at a lieutenant governor running mate much the same way a presidential candidate looks for a vice president: basically, what can the running mate do to help the top of the ticket.
In 1995 Gov. Paul Patton chose Jefferson County Commissioner Steve Henry as his running mate for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was that Mr. Henry resided in Louisville.
Mr. Patton saw an opportunity to pick up the city and county with one of its favorite sons on the ticket, and it looked to be a shrewd move. Mr. Patton won Jefferson County by about 26,000 votes, which was close to his statewide margin of victory.
But some downstate Republicans, including state party leaders, don't see the wisdom of putting a Northern Kentucky Republican on a statewide governor - lieutenant governor.
They figure Northern Kentucky will come out big for any Republican on the ticket, which is probably true. So there are some who think the better strategy would be to pick a GOP lieutenant governor candidate from an area where the Republicans need to gain strength, not where they are already strong.
Dollars for Dems
Boone County Democrat Ken Lucas put up some big numbers when it came to money in winning the 4th District seat Mr. Bunning is vacating.
Mr. Lucas raised and spent almost $1 million in beating Gex Williams. The amount was the most ever spent by a 4th District candidate.
That could rattle the Republicans, who want desperately to win the seat back in two years. If Mr. Lucas came up with a million bucks as a Democrat running in what has long been a Republican district, think how much he'll bring in as a sitting incumbent.
Still, you have to wonder how much money Mr. Lucas would have raised had his opponent not been a hard-line right-winger like Mr. Williams. A more traditional Republican might have taken some of those contributions away from Mr. Lucas.
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for the Enquirer. He can be reached at 578-5581, or (502) 875-7526 in Frankfort.
CROWLEY ARCHIVE
