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HOUSEHOLD NAME FOR MANY KENTUCKIANS. BUT MICHAEL ADAMS SAYS HE HAS BEEN POUNDING THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL AND IS ABOUT TO MAKE A HUGE TV AD BUY IN AN EFFORT TO SHAKE UP THIS RACE. >> I WAS ON THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS WHEN I SAW A NUMBER OF SCANDALS OCCUR. MARK REPUBLICAN MICHAEL ADAMS : HAS CONSISTENTLY TRIED TO TIE RECENT ETHICS COMPLAINTS AGAINST CURRENT SECRETARY OF STATE ALISON LUNDERGAN GRIMES TO HIS DEMOCRATIC OPPONENT, HEATHER FRENCH HENRY. >> SHE SUPPORTED ALISON GRIMES HER WHOLE CAREER. SECRETARY STATE, SHE GOT A CONTRIBUTION FROM HEATHER HENRY. MARK ASKED ABOUT ADAMS CAMPAIGN : STRATEGY, HENRY SAID EASY. >> IT IS VERY EASY TO TIE MONEY THE PARTY, ESPECIALLY THE CANDIDATE. MY LEADERSHIP STYLE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. MARK: SHE HAS BEEN TOUTING HER EXPERIENCE RUNNING KENTUCKY’S DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. >> BEING A LEADER OF A LARGE STATEWIDE DEPARTMENT OFFERS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE, ESPECIALLY INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN WORKING IN GOVERNMENT. MARK: SHE SAYS HER PRIORITIES INCLUDE PROTECTING KENTUCKY’S ELECTION SYSTEMS AGAINST CYBER ATTACKS AND HELPING SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS NAVIGATE BUSINESS REGISTRATION. >> THE SECRETARY OF STATE DOESN’T GET KUDOS FOR BEING THE PORTAL TO HELP BUSINESSES START AND GROW. I THINK IT IS A FUNDAMENTALLY IMPACTFUL WAY WE CAN HELP OUR COMMUNITIES AROUND THE STATE. MARK: ADAMS EMPHASIZES FIGHTING ELECTION FRAUD. >> THE FIRST THING IS A PHOTO ID TO VOTE AND THE SECOND THING IS TO TAKE OFF THE HUNDREDS A HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ON THE ROLES WHO SHOULD NOT BE ON THEM. MARK HE SAYS HIS EXPERIENCE : MAKES HIM THE BETTER CANDIDATE. >> I HAVE AN ELECTION LAW PRACTICE, I HAVE DONE ELECTIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, I AM THE VICE PRESIDENT’S ELECTION LAWYER. MARK: WLKY NEWS WILL AIR A HALF-HOUR DEBATE WITH ADAMS AN HENRY ON FOLLOWED BY A THURSDAY, HALF-HOUR DEBATE WITH THE TWO CANDIDATES FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, DANIEL CAMERON AND GREG STUMBO

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A tried-and-true campaign strategy for many political candidates is to link one's opposition to a bugaboo from the opposition's party. Republicans invoke Nancy Pelosi, for example, while Democrats use President Donald Trump.In Kentucky, the Republican candidate for secretary of state hopes he can employ that strategy by associating his Democratic opponent with current Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes. As a subject of irritation for Kentucky's GOP, Grimes is second only to Attorney General Andy Beshear, who is running for governor.In a recent debate, Republican Michael Adams brought up Grimes so many times, his opponent, Democrat Heather French Henry, quipped that Adams must think he's running against Grimes."I'm not going to allege she (Henry) is responsible for any of the misconduct in this office in any way," Adams said in an interview with WLKY News. "However, I will note that she enabled Alison Grimes to get this position. She supported Alison Grimes her whole career. When Alison Grimes ran for secretary of state, she had a max-out contribution from Heather Henry."Asked about Adams' strategy, Henry said she's trying to run a positive campaign."I know that for my own experience over 20 years, I think my leadership style speaks for itself," she said.Henry is in a good position to take the high road, with name recognition throughout Kentucky. The former Miss America is married to former Lieutentant Gov. Steve Henry, served as commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs under former Gov. Steve Beshear and then stayed on as a deputy commissioner of veterans affairs under Gov. Matt Bevin."Being the leader of an extremely large statewide department offers a wealth of experience and knowledge, especially institutional knowledge and working through government," she said.She prefers to talk about forming relationships with county clerks, "the boots on the ground," as she calls them, and protecting Kentucky's elections from cyber attacks. She also notes that much – if perhaps not more – of the office's work involves business records, and she wants to help small businesses navigate the state's bureaucracy while helping them grow.Adams has plenty of his own experience as a well-respected election attorney to tout, but he entered the race as a relative unknown to most Kentuckians. It's unclear whether his strategy will work, because there is no poll gauging Grimes' popularity. She opted out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary this year, saying that she wanted to spend time with her newborn when she leaves the secretary of state's office at the end of this year.But Grimes has had two ethics complaints filed against her alleging, among other things, improper access to voter rolls, accusations she has vehemently denied. Adams has also embraced two voting reform objectives dear to conservatives as his top priorities."The big issue is, who's going to clean up our elections?" he asked. "Who's going to clean up our voter rolls? Mrs. Henry has taken no position on this issue, and to me it's a critical issue. Who's going to pass a photo ID law for our state? Mrs. Henry disagrees with me on this. I'm going to push it and make sure it happens."Whoever wins will have their work cut out for them in 2020, a year that will see presidential and U.S. Senate races at the top of the ballots.