BERRY CRAIG
AFT Local 1360
With the Democratic gubernatorial primary less than three weeks away, the three main contenders continue to draw union support.
Lexington-based CWA Local 3372 today endorsed Attorney Gen. Andy Beshear, according to the campaign's Sam Newton.
Beshear, House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins and former auditor Adam Edelen are the frontrunners for their party's nod. Perennial candidate Geoff Young rounds out the field.
The primary is May 21.
Here are the union and union-related endorsements as reported to us by the campaigns.
ADKINS
Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 248 (Ashland); Laborers’ Local 576 (Louisville); Covington Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 38; IBEW Local 575 (Portsmouth, Ohio, with many members in Kentucky), Laborers Local 1445 (Catlettsburg), Tri-State Building and Construction Trades Council (Ashland); United Steelworkers Local 14581 (Elkhorn City), the United Mine Workers of America, the Boyd County Education Association (Catlettsburg) and Ashland Education Association.
BESHEAR
Teamsters Local 89 (Louisville), Teamsters Local 783 (Louisville), Teamsters Local 651 (Lexington) Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 184 (Paducah), AFSCME Council 962 (Louisville).
EDELEN
Jefferson County Teachers Association (Louisville), AFSCME Local 4011 (Louisville) and Louisville Federation of Retired Firefighters.
Last month, the state AFL-CIO Executive Board, acting as the state COPE Committee, voted "no recommendation" For Adkins, Beshear, Edelen and Young and state Rep. Robert Goforth, who is one of three challengers to Gov. Matt Bevin in the GOP primary.
"No recommendation" means that union locals can get behind candidates of their choice as long as those candidates don't receive a "no endorsement."
Bevin and his two other primary challengers, Ike Lawrence and William Woods, received a "no endorsement."
The COPE committee made only one endorsement--for former House Speaker Greg Stumbo, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for attorney general, a post he held in 2004-2008.
The COPE committee will meet again after the primary to endorse candidates for the general election, which is Nov. 5.