Sheriffs come forward to deny falsely announced endorsements

Kaitlynn Smith

Rand Paul’s Senate campaign released a statement on Sept. 14 named 10 sheriffs, mostly from the Eastern and Southern parts of Kentucky, as supporters of his campaign, according to an article published on Sept. 17 by “The Courier-Journal.”

However, two of the sheriffs have come forward since then and stated that they did not formally announce support of Paul, according to the article.

Clay County Sheriff Kevin Johnson said he never endorsed either candidate for Senate, Paul or Attorney General Jack Conway, according to the article.

McCreary County Sheriff Gus Skinner said he supports the Republican Party and its candidates, but never mentioned formal support of Paul, according to the article.

Skinner and Johnson both said, they were cautious of supporting Paul, at first, due to his views on illegal drug control, according to the article.

Johnson said he recently endorsed Paul after he spoke with him about his beliefs on the issue, according to a Sept. 18 article by the Associated Press.

Paul told Johnson he will not cut the federal budget for drug task forces, according to the article.