With the entry of Nate Morris into the 2026 Kentucky Senate Republican Primary race, the salvos back and forth between all the major candidates and their surrogates are in full force. The goal being to point out the wart on your opponent before someone sees the boil on your face.
In the Bible, Jesus tells those who are wanting to condemn a woman to death for adultery, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.” But sometimes in politics, the boulders start flying before anyone considers their own flaws.
I get it. When running a race whether a primary or a general, it is important to draw some distinction between yourself and others. But if the past is any indication, too much vilifying between Primary opponents can create major hurdles for the victor, much like we saw in the 2023 Kentucky Gubernatorial election.

My hope is that all opponents will reduce the negative back-and-forth or at a minimum agree to vigorously support the winner of the Republican Primary to assure leadership consistent with the beliefs of the citizens of Kentucky.
Hopefully there will be more focus on issues important to Kentuckians. Issues such as protecting the innocence of our children from harmful transgender ideology, having men in women locker rooms, and allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports.
Yes, I know Kentucky Republicans have already put laws into place to protect our children facing these issues, but I’m old and I’ve seen too many times someone at the Federal level overrule our laws and so we need to be vigilant.
The standard Republican issues of protecting life, traditional family, and the Second Amendment are very important as well. Though political consultants always tell you to narrow your focus to three or so issues, I would like to offer a few items to consider that may separate a candidate from others without tearing an opponent down.
Having a strong fiscal policy that lowers taxes while also cutting spending is still important to Republicans but unfortunately is no longer in the front row. An increased focus on this issue would go a long way.
Placing a renewed focus on issues consistent with a Biblical world view (some that have already been mentioned) also would be important to create a distinction.
During the debate over the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” much was made about having able-bodied individuals who do not have children to work or volunteer for at least 20 hours. Given this discussion, if one or more of the candidates could offer a solution to the problem, it would provide a better balance than just attacking each other.
As I traveled the state in the 2023 Republican Gubernatorial Primary, one thing I noticed was that there were many on Medicaid who did in fact want to work or work more, but who were terrified of going over the cliff and losing valuable benefits without having an affordable alternative.
I would suggest something that might seem controversial: create an option to allow individuals to stay on Medicaid by paying an actuarially sound percentage of their income above poverty. So basic math would be income minus poverty level times a percentage.
Even if that percentage were 20 to 30% of income above poverty level, you would have a greater incentive to work and increase your take home pay. You would have more people working, which is the goal, and you would also receive some funds into Medicaid from somewhere other than directly from taxpayers.
Some might label this a one-payer system, but this would not be the intent. In a one-payer system, everyone must participate, but this would be optional. It would be an incentive to work and eventually reach a point where you would go back on private or employer insurance.
Regardless of ideas put forth by candidates, I hope that we focus more on solving problems and uplifting the citizens of Kentucky than tearing opponents down. If we can do that, and I pray we do, I think we will see a greater participation in the political process by Kentuckians, and it will indeed be a good day for the Commonwealth.
Mike Harmon is state outreach director for the Commonwealth Policy Center and is the author of the book PaPaw’s POV. Harmon served as Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts for eight years and in the Kentucky House of Representatives for 13 years.