Politics

Longtime budget and policy expert Jane Driskell will join Governor Steve Beshear's administration in January, to serve as State Budget Director. Driskell has 27 years of experience in government, and she will oversee the daily activities of the budget office. She will also be responsible for overseeing the formulation and execution of the Governor's budget.

Ashley Judd is the most discussed potential Democratic candidate to challenge U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell' for his seat in 2014, but not all Kentucky Democratic statewide officers are supporting the idea. Auditor Adam Edelen said he'll be encouraging and supporting Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Kentucky secretary of state, for the 2014 senate race -- because of Grimes' focus on state, not national, issues.

Taken together, Kentucky's special taxing districts spend more money than the state spends on Medicaid and infrastructure -- and nearly half of those districts are not following rules on filing budgets or submitting audits, said a report from State Auditor Adam Edelen released Wednesday.

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has been re-elected to serve as Republican Leader for the 113th Congress. The lawmaker from Louisville is only the second Kentuckian to lead his party in the U.S. Senate.