FRANKFORT, Ky. — Republican Rand Paul's opposition to federal funding for state and local drug enforcement initiatives could cost him votes in a region likely to be a key battleground in the U.S. Senate race.
Paul wants to cut federal funding for undercover drug investigations and drug treatment programs. Both are badly needed in Appalachia, a hotbed for marijuana growers and drug dealers selling prescription pills and methamphetamines. His Democratic opponent, Jack Conway, favors using federal money.
"I don't think it's a real pressing issue," Paul told The Associated Press, suggesting that eastern Kentucky voters are more concerned about fiscal and social concerns.
"They're socially conservative out there, so am I. Jack's not. They're fiscally conservative. I am. Jack's not. ... I think we'll swamp him," Paul
As a Republican, businesswoman Carrie Cinnamond-Rose leans toward Paul, but she's seen her Pikeville pharmacy burglarized and robbed four times in recent years.
"I'll have to follow my heart, but let my brain enter into it, too," Cinnamond-Rose said.
Desperate addicts in search of a fix have forced some drug stores in Kentucky's mountain region to lock pharmacists behind bulletproof glass and painkillers inside vaults.
Paul's campaign strategy requires winning all of Kentucky's rural vote, including Appalachia, and staying close in Louisville and Lexington, where voters tend to favor Democrats. Conway has been using the drug issue to whittle into Paul's rural base.
Read on.
No comments:
Post a Comment