Tuesday, September 16, 2014

HOT Jesse Benton Stopped Consulting for Kentucky State GOP as He Left McConnell Campaign

Jesse Benton, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s former campaign manager, severed ties with the Republican Party of Kentucky around the time he resigned from the McConnell campaign Aug. 29, RPK Chairman Steve Robertson told Pure Politics.

Benton was the highest-paid consultant for RPK in the time he worked for the party, according to a review of federal and state finance reports. While Benton earned $90,000 with the state GOP, all other consultants combined received $77,580 since January 2013, according to federal finance reports.

Robertson said he received an email from Benton as he stepped down as McConnell’s campaign manager.

“He just indicated that he would obviously be extracting himself from consulting services for the party, and certainly based on press coverage, we understood why he felt he needed to make that decision,” Robertson said in a phone interview, reports Kevin Wheatley at  PP.

“We had an agreement for services,” Robertson said. “He performed those services to my satisfaction. Obviously the relationship ended, and that’s the full life of it.”

Kentucky Democratic Party Executive Director Dan Logsdon, though, said in a statement Benton’s involvement with RPK “has tainted and poisoned the campaign of every one of their state house candidates.”

“Every single Republican on the ballot needs to explain to Kentucky voters why they feel comfortable placing their campaigns in the soiled hands of a man like Jesse Benton,” Logsdon said.

(ht L.Goldman)

1 comment:

  1. This is great news for Rand Paul--should he run for President, and only wish it came before Ron Paul's last Presidential run.

    Jesse Benton was the least talented political operative ever to curse the rightwing--Bay Buchanan, a close second.

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