In the homestretch of his first campaign for Kentucky governor in 2019, Democrat Andy Beshear seized on reporting showing then-incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin was using state aircraft to fly to campaign fundraisers, tweeting out a video message.
“(Bevin) has raised nearly a million dollars to his own political campaigns using your plane,” Beshear said. “On Nov. 5, I need your help, because under a Beshear administration, this will never happen again."
Yet, it did.
Campaign finance reports and flight records analyzed by Kentucky Public Radio show that Beshear’s 2023 campaign raised $898,003 — nearly $1 million — at 29 fundraisers last year that were held in or near the same city where the governor flew to on state aircraft the same day.
That total is very close to the $915,299 Bevin had raised at 24 campaign fundraisers that he used state aircraft to attend in 2017, 2018 and the first eight months of 2019, according to the Courier Journal report that Beshear was responding to.
In the final two months of that 2019 gubernatorial campaign, Beshear repeatedly seized on reporting about Bevin’s use of state aircraft. The former Republican governor refused to reveal the purpose of several out-of-state flights that summer, drawing more attention when he told reporters it was “none of their business,” so long as the state was later reimbursed.
Criticism of the governor’s use of state aircraft is a Kentucky tradition dating back at least five decades. Opposing candidates and parties have long criticized governors of both parties for exploiting an incumbency advantage by using the plane for political or campaign purposes and not fully disclosing the purpose of all flights.
During the 2019 campaign and before his inauguration, Beshear contrasted himself from Bevin by making several pledges about how he would appropriately utilize state aircraft as governor. He said he would disclose the purpose of each flight he took on state aircraft and never use it to attend a political debate, as Bevin had.
A week before his inauguration, Beshear said he would never use state aircraft “for purely political purposes.” However, he added there may be times where both official and political events happen at the same flight destination — in which case there would be full disclosure to the public.
"Now, I believe what we've seen in the past is sometimes that there are official events that may be connected," Beshear said. "I want to make sure that in those situations, if we choose to use it in that (way), that we break up the trip and provide the full information on everything we're using it for."
A review of the governor’s flight records, campaign filings and responses from his office to inquiries and open records requests shows a mixed record on such promises, short of the high bar he set before taking office.
Eric Hyers — Beshear’s 2023 campaign manager and strategist for In This Together, his new federal leadership PAC — contended that Beshear’s use of state aircraft is “consistent with his 2019 campaign statements” and is “driven by his official responsibilities.”
“The governor utilizes the state aircraft to maximize his time in his official capacity when traveling outside of Frankfort,” Hyers said. “There are certainly times when unofficial activities fit within his official travel schedule.”
No ‘mystery’ flights, but purposes hard to find
Beshear has repeated the fact that he is the first governor to post online all of the flights he has taken on state planes and helicopters, including the date, aircraft, destination and passengers.
Such information has long been available to the public, but only through open records requests.
An explanation of the full purpose of each flight Beshear took on state aircraft is more difficult to track down — and is still not entirely clear after weeks of questions to his office and campaign representatives.
Not available on the governor’s flight webpage is the purpose for any of his 239 days of flights on state aircraft from December 2019 through this June. Responding to an open records request for any records explaining the purpose of these flights over the past year, the governor’s office responded by saying there are none.
Asked for a list of the purposes of each flight on state aircraft by the governor since last July, spokeswoman Crystal Staley said the public could track these down for themselves by looking at press releases sent to media in advance of events and “detailed news releases that correspond with the Governor’s public announcements.” She added that the office also “publishes information and photos on social media and online about the Governor’s public events.”
A review of these press releases reveal at least one official purpose for all but seven of the governor’s 58 flights on state aircraft over the past year. The majority of these events were either ribbon-cutting or groundbreaking ceremonies, or handing out ceremonial checks to local officials for initiatives funded by the state.
Additionally, the governor tweeted the purpose of another flight, showing he attended a White House roundtable on marijuana policy this March.
As for the purpose of four other flights, Staley said that was “available online” and provided a brief description.
- For his Dec. 7, 2023 flight to Washington D.C., she linked to a White House visitor log showing Beshear signed in, adding that he attended a White House Christmas reception.
- For his Jan. 13, 2024 flight to Flemingsburg, she linked to a story in the Maysville newspaper about Nick Clooney’s 90th birthday party, which was attended by his movie star son George Clooney and Beshear. Staley said the governor was there “to present an acclamation to Nick Clooney.”
- For this Feb. 4, 2024 flight to Washington D.C., Staley again linked to the White House visitor log and stated the governor was “meeting with White House staff to discuss transportation, energy, high-speed internet and other grant applications or possibilities.”
- For his Feb. 22, 2024 flight to Washington D.C. and returning flight two days later, Staley linked to press releases from the National Governors Association, detailing Beshear’s work on a task force at their winter convention. White House logs and transcripts also show Beshear and his wife Britainy visited the White House on two of those days, with President Joe Biden mentioning the governor in public remarks on the 23rd. Staley did not mention why he visited the White House both days.
With this information provided by the governor’s office, there appear to be no out-of-state “mystery flights” by Beshear on state aircraft from last July through this June, as there is at least one explained purpose for such flights on these days. This wasn’t the case for Bevin, who had several unexplained out-of-state flights on state planes in the summer of 2019, including ones to Miami, Chicago and Wisconsin.
However, the governor’s office has not fully detailed the purpose of each of his hundreds of flights, as there are likely dozens of in-state flights during the 2023 campaign where Beshear performed official duties like cutting ribbons and handing out ceremonial checks, but also attended campaign fundraisers where he received checks totaling tens of thousands of dollars.
Beshear flights line up with many campaign fundraisers
Kentucky Public Radio found 22 different dates from March to October of 2023 where Beshear flew on state aircraft to or very near Kentucky cities where his campaign also reported having 29 fundraisers, netting a total of $898,003.
On most of these dates, Beshear also had a known official event in the city, though in four of the cities there is no public record of an official event with the governor, nor has the governor’s office provided such information.
Asked if the governor personally attended each of the 29 campaign fundraisers, Hyers said the governor likely did attend most.
However, Hyers said Beshear’s actions with the state plane are not comparable to Bevin, as he always had an official event on at least one leg of a trip when state aircraft was used.
“The governor’s use of the plane is a refreshing change from Matt Bevin, who frequently used the plane to travel directly to campaign fundraisers and even said that some of his flights were ‘none of their (the taxpayers') business,’” Hyers said.
In addition to pledging in 2019 that he would never use state planes for “purely political purposes,” Beshear said he would provide “full information” for the purpose of flights if there were both official and political events at a destination.
In response to an open records request seeking any reimbursements the state received from a third party for the governor’s use of state aircraft, his office indicated there were no such records. The Kentucky Democratic Party’s federal filings documented five payments last year totaling $15,000 to the state treasurer for “transportation,” but the payments aren’t further detailed.
If Beshear did personally attend the fundraisers in question and his campaign or a related committee did not even partially reimburse the state for use of the aircraft, this is actually a step below what Bevin provided.
Of the 14 Bevin flights on state aircraft detailed by The Courier Journal in 2019 that took the former governor to a campaign fundraiser, his campaign at least partially reimbursed the state for its use. This was a full reimbursement when the flight was for only a political event, but a partial reimbursement in the cases where Bevin held both official events and a campaign fundraiser in the destination city.
For example, on Aug. 22, 2019, Bevin used the Kentucky State Police’s Beechcraft King Air plane to attend two official events in Ashland and Louisa, handing out ceremonial checks for state funding to local officials, though he also had campaign fundraisers in both cities that day, netting $70,450. The total cost of the flight was $1,295, but the Bevin campaign reimbursed the state for $735.
Bevin had at least six days in the 2019 where he took state aircraft to attend a fundraiser and did not have any official events on the day’s trip — something there is no record of Beshear doing in office.
Despite no apparent reimbursement to the state, Beshear clearly mixed official and campaign fundraising events in his reelection campaign last year even more than his predecessor.
For example, here are three separate days last summer where Beshear’s campaign raised more than $100,000 at fundraisers in cities where he flew for official events the same day:
- On June 29, 2023, Beshear took a KSP helicopter to Harlan, where he presented 15 checks totaling $6.2 million to local officials for a wide variety of projects and nonprofits, most of which was federal funding appropriated through state government. The same day, Harlan County Magistrate Robert Miller hosted a fundraiser for Beshear in Harlan that brought in $121,075 for his campaign.
- On Aug. 7, 2023, Beshear took the KSP helicopter to Hazard and Prestonsburg, taking part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new recovery center and announcing a new state contractor for a key highway project. That same day, Beshear’s campaign raised $75,000 from two Hazard fundraisers hosted by the county judge-executive and a local health care CEO, and $43,000 from a Prestonsburg fundraiser hosted by that county’s judge-executive. The total cost to the state of the helicopter flights that day was $2,635.
- On Aug. 14, 2023, Beshear took the KSP plane to Ashland to deliver ceremonial checks of state funding totaling $3.9 million to local officials for a local museum, community college, and road paving. That same day, Beshear’s campaign filing indicates it raised $137,300 from a fundraiser hosted by Rocky Adkins, the governor’s top advisor. Though the listed address of the fundraiser was a P.O. Box in Sandy Hook — Adkins’ home city, about an hour drive away — Adkins was a passenger on the flight. At least four dozen fundraiser contributions from residents of Ashland or nearby cities were processed by the campaign two days later. The total cost of the flight to the state was $1,050.
The governor’s office has not yet explained for what official purpose Beshear used state aircraft on four days during the campaign that he flew to or near a city where his campaign had a fundraiser. These include a March 21 fundraiser in Pikeville, May 15 fundraisers in Mayfield and Paducah, a September 13 fundraiser in Madisonville and an October 3 fundraiser in Bowling Green — which collectively netted $116,240 to the campaign.
Hyers said there was an official event in Pikeville at the University of Pikeville, but likely no official event in the other three cities.
However, he added that the governor’s online flight log is lacking key details, as Beshear flew into nearby cities for official events, then drove to the city of the fundraiser. When the fundraiser ended, the KSP aircraft had already flown to that city, then flying the governor home.
Beshear also committed in 2019 to “never take a state airplane to a political debate.”
Though the governor’s online flight log shows a Murray flight on Oct. 12 — the same day of the first debate between Beshear and his Republican opponent Daniel Cameron in nearby Paducah — Hyers said the governor did not fly there that day. Instead, the governor drove from a Bowling Green fundraiser the previous night to Paducah, where he stayed in a hotel ahead of the debate. After the next day’s debate, Beshear drove to Murray for a ribbon cutting and a fundraiser, and then was flown back to Frankfort on the KSP plane, which had flown to Murray that day to pick him up.
A big factor in Beshear’s win was his dominant fundraising, as his campaign spent $19 million during the general election — nearly five times that of Cameron.
In response to inquiries about Beshear’s flights and his campaign promises, Staley said Beshear “has kept his promise to the people of Kentucky and has been one of the most transparent Governors in our history,” citing the release of his tax returns and hosting roughly 1,250 news conferences where media can ask questions.
Former state auditor Mike Harmon’s office released a report in 2020 examining Bevin’s state aircraft usage, finding that less than 3% of Bevin's flights had a documented purpose. He advocated for new legislation that would require elected officials using state police aircraft to fully document its purpose, but such legislation has not been passed by the Kentucky General Assembly.
Beshear increasingly using private planes as national profile rises
As Beshear’s national profile has risen this year, the governor is increasingly flying across the country to give speeches at political events — but not using state aircraft.
Following Beshear’s surprisingly comfortable reelection victory against Cameron last fall in the otherwise deep-red Kentucky, the governor created his federal leadership PAC In This Together, as well as a dark-money 501(c)(4) called Heckbent that does not have to disclose its donors.
The PAC endorsed and directed contributions to several Democrats across the country this year, seeking to expand his national influence — even before he was thrust onto the national stage this month as one of the potential running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Beshear has taken at least seven flights across the country since March to give speeches at political fundraisers and rallies, with six of those taking place since late June.
Hyers said that Beshear will only take private or commercial aircraft on such political trips, adding that the costs for the trips will either be paid by his PAC, the Kentucky Democratic Party or the event host — but not Kentucky taxpayers.
Hyers and the KDP have not responded to a request for a full list of the political trips Beshear has taken out-of-state in 2024, who paid for those flights and whether he flew on a commercial airline or private jet. However, he did indicate who paid for three of the trips.
Hyers said the KDP paid for Beshear’s trip to Montana in March to speak at a fundraiser for Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and In This Together PAC paid for Beshear’s flight to Nashville on June 21 to speak at an abortion rights advocacy event. Beshear also flew to Los Angeles on June 27 for a presidential debate watch party, which was paid for by Biden’s then-campaign.
None of the payments for these trips have been specifically documented yet in campaign finance filings with the Federal Election Commission, though the Kentucky Democratic Party has made 46 separate payments totaling nearly $20,000 to four commercial airlines this year.
Hyers and the KDP have not answered who paid for Beshear’s other four political trips over the past month, including:
- A June 22 speech at a fundraiser for the Virginia Democratic Party in Richmond.
- His trip to Washington D.C. in mid-July, in which Beshear, according to Politico, was “making the rounds” among political heavy hitters. This included his PAC hosting and Beshear speaking at an event at a big lobbying firm, a Teamsters-hosted fundraiser for his PAC and Beshear headline a fundraiser for the Democratic Governors Association.
- A July 27 speech in Des Moines at an Iowa Democratic Party fundraiser.
- A July 28 campaign rally speech for Harris just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
For the latter two events this past weekend, Beshear flew on a private jet to Iowa and a commercial airline to Georgia.
A jet owned by a company of Ben Breier, the former CEO of Louisville-based Kindred Healthcare, flew from Frankfort to Des Moines ahead of the rally, and then back to Kentucky. Hyers said Beshear flew commercial to outside of Atlanta the following morning, ahead of the Harris rally.
Correction: A previous version misstated the type of flight Beshear may have taken to Georgia. Beshear flew on a commercial airline to Georgia on July 28.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
