An initiative aimed at rehabilitating politics in Kentucky is quietly winding down. The New Kentucky Project, cofounded by former State Auditor and current gubernatorial candidate Adam Edelen, is reportedly closing up shop.
The effort, also spearheaded by Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones, aimed to reinvent Democratic politics by bringing in new voices, expanding grassroots outreach, and creating a stable of new Democratic candidates in an increasingly red state.
"We've got a lot going," Edelen said in 2017. "It's all about trying to take the information that people need to win the kitchen counter debate, getting it to them. It's about training people to step up and be the next generation of leaders in Kentucky because lord knows we need them."
But the Lexington Herald-Leader reports the project is shutting down a little more than two years after it was launched.
Edelen tells the news outlet the decision was driven largely by economics and Jones reports he lost money on the project. Still, both say the initiative did successfully recruit new leaders – though it may have fallen short of its goal of fostering more conversations between Republicans and Democrats.
