Could Cathy Bailey Potential Senate Run Be Derailed Early By Domicile Questions?

In 2002 Hunter Bates served as Mitch McConnell's campaign manager.  In 2003 he was chosen to run for Lieutenant Governor on the ticket with Ernie Fletcher.  A lawsuit in Oldham County resulted in an order disqualifying Hunter for lack of sufficient residency due to the time he spent working for McConnell in Washington D.C.  Rather than appeal that decision, Bates left the ticket.

Now it appears that Cathy Bailey, McConnell's 2008 campaign chair, is being pushed into the spotlight for a potential primary run against two term United States Senator Jim Bunning.  There can be little doubt who is pushing her.

However, it appears that Bailey will likely face serious questions regarding her residency hauntingly similar to those faced by Hunter Bates.

Legal questions aside, it appears that Bailey's husband may be a resident of the State of Florida.  Bailey is married to successful businessman Irving W. Bailey II.  "Irv" as he is known to many, has declared Florida to be his domicile as a search of the Palm Beach County Clerks records would seem to suggest.  Listing his wife Catherine Bailey on the form pictured below, "Irv" became a Florida domiciliary in 1997:

And apparently that status has continued through 2008 when he received a homestead exemption for his property in Florida as evidenced by the following documents:

There is nothing unusual about wealthy people establishing domicile in Florida to avoid paying Kentucky income taxes.  Florida has no state income tax.

However, Kentucky requires proof of the amount of time one spends living out of state in order to grant an exemption from paying Kentucky income taxes and for good reason.  Kentucky is strapped for cash, and while no one likes to pay taxes, Kentucky requires that any advantages of foreign residency must have a legal basis in fact.

If Catherine Todd Bailey enters the race, her husband might not even be eligible to vote for her. 

This scenario calls for answers to some very important questions:  Has Cathy Bailey ever established domicile anywhere other than Kentucky?  Is she, like her husband, spending more days in Florida than here in the Commonwealth?

Once again McConnell may be pushing a candidate into a controversy over domicile in his lust to create a self fulfilling prophesy.  And considering that the republican party's mascot is known for its legendary memory, this scenario is beginning to look all too familiar.

Comments

[air yeezys]

All the plans on your proposal are totally acceptable. Thank you for you hard work.

[Edy]

Bunning, though right about many things in the past, is no longer in great mental condition. He would probably lose in the general election this round. Grayson is really a Democrat, and the work of his short life only relates to red-tape, and being king of the bureaucrats. There is no chance for David Williams in the general election after his nonsense about gambling at KY horse tracks + People just don't like him (not to mention he doesn't want a few personal things brought up publicly). Bailey is a KY tax dodger and her supporter McConnell is losing support with each election and costing the national party its members (and in turn the strongest young Republicans that are left are more libertarian than ever.)

This leaves the only person that seems to have worked for a living and that honestly sticks to his extremely reasonable positions - Rand Paul. Rand can also raise funds once he starts trying to do so. He already has over $100,000 before he has even had one official fundraiser (and there are several planned all across the country after July 1). His first public speech was in a debate with Senator Phil Gramm of Texas when Rand was just 21. Dr. Paul will likely do just fine with fundraisers, debates, and with getting votes - not to mention shaping the Republican Party at the national level (there are already sites set up pushing for Dr. Paul to run for president).

[Anon E. Moose]

Sarah, except that Jim Bunning did the same thing to Ernie Fletcher that Bunning is now crying about McConnell doing to him.

I'd support David Williams over any and all of the candidates listed in these comments, and that includes the incumbent Bunning. At least Williams supported the governor from his own party when the Democrats started attacking him. McConnell and Bunning threw their former fellow federal delegation member under Stumbo's bus.

Loyalty is a conservative value.

[AlternativeCandidate?]

The ideologies of the leadership of both major parties use the US Constitution as an after-thought rather than the sacred foundation of their principles. That’s not to say there aren’t individual candidates within those parties that do adhere to the Constitution, but the party heads tend to support like-minded candidates to rid themselves of those who would rather follow the Constitution over toeing the party line. The simple fact is that we need more people like Sen. Bunning, but if his own party and party members are not willing to support him then the people should no longer support that party or those other members. The GOP’s bickering over Bunning speaks clearly to me that they are not concerned about real conservatives. And the more talk radio I listen to, the more I get the impression that a wide range of supposed conservatives are willing and even trying to distance themselves from the principles of our Founding Fathers – all for the sake of attracting more votes. Quite frankly, that scares the bejesus out of me. As much of a longshot as it may be, it’s time we have a alternative choice that rejects the party premise and big money campaigns, and simply embraces our Founding documents and upholds the judeo-christian philosophy of our fore-fathers.

Those attempting to run a campaign that praises the efforts of the current administration, or even seeks support of the same, should be run out of the state on a rail-road tie soaked in tar and covered in feathers.

[Perez]

So Trey Grayson is a democrat opportunist who ran as a republican when the winds changed in Northern Kentucky, Cathy Bailey is a rich chick whose husband is a tax dodger, David Williams can't afford the public scrutiny, Randy Paul will be lucky to get 90% of the John Birch Society vote and Jim Bunning will be the nominee.

Conway will flip his wig before it's all over since he is the favorite of the gay community and Mongiardo is pegged as a homophobe in a state that went 70-30 AGAINST gay marriage, and both of them will get on their knees to have Obama come here to campaign for them eventhough hatred for him is growing everyday among the bitter clingers.

Jim Bunning will win a third term and Mitch McConnell can queen out all he wants.

I'm sorry, I don't really see the problem here.

[GOPrex]

Great question by Robert at 7:30. I went to a Lincoln Day Dinner where Bailey spoke (for 30 long minutes) and a film crew was there to capture her speech.

How can money like that be expended without there being a declaration of a campaign?

DEAD on ARRIVAL!

[Noah]

There is absolutely no reason Jim Bunning is not "electable" except that Mitch McConnell doesn't want him up there.

[Robert]

What the Republican party in Kentucky should be asking Cathy Bailey is how she plans to respond to the Federal Elections Commission investigation about how she's paying Sarah Provancher of Pro Communications (http://www.prprocom.com) to promote her U.S. Senate candidacy with members of the media? Ms. Bailey does not have a federal elections committee to raise or spend money on her behalf.

Smells like some fishy business.

[Sarah]

Okay, so let me get this straight.

Of all the republicans talking about running for the GOP nomination for the US Senate, one is totally unknown except for his tin foil hat father, another one either doesn't live in Kentucky or doesn't live with her husband, one is a well known elected official but he and his wife have separate addresses, and another well known elected official who wants the GOP nomination was a democratic delegate for Clinton and lives with his wife who is still actively helping democrats raise money to run against republicasns.

And the one they are all trying to take out?

He's the one who has been married for decades to the same woman, is the father and grandfather of a very big and very loyal family and according to everybody (even those who are thinking about running against him) has a long history of and a very solid conservative voting record.

Hmmmmmm....... Which one should it be?

Seems like a pretty clear choice to me.

What are these people thinking?

[Louis]

Legal or not for her to run for Senate, this is a political liability.

I guess it could be the case that she and her husband don't live together.

That oughta make for a good commercial when the Dems take her out at the knees as a representative of the party of family values.

[Damon's Friend]

Great points, Harold. But there are some other significant issues that someone needs to raise.

* How many private dinners honoring Senator McConnell have Cathy and Irv paid for over the years? Did these circumvent campaign finance rules?

*How many times have Mitch and Elaine stayed at the Bailey's Palm Beach outpost? Did they reimburse the Baileys for their stay?

*What donations have the Baileys made to the McConnell Center for Political Leadership at the University of Louisville? Cathy used to serve on this organization's board of directors.

* Does Irv claim Florida residency for 11 months a year or for twelve? His compound in the State of Maine is quite nice in August, I hear.

* Is she going to open the books on her charity, Operation Open Arms, to see if it was revived within the past year?

* How did the sit-down go with Trey Grayson, organized by their mutual friend? And did it occur beneath Cathy's large self-portrait, featuring sash and scepter?

* How will Bailey deal with her failed attempt to become Kentucky's Republican National Committeewoman, against Betty Holmes, when her pro-life credentials were questioned?

Many interested parties await responses to these questions.

[GOPrex]

I don't care where Cathy Bailey is domiciled. That's not the issue for me.

The Baily family is dodging Ky income taxes.

We're in one helluva budget mess right now. I am offended by someone who dodges taxes (albeit state income taxes) and says she wants to represent me in Washington.

[Harold]

I have not yet decided on who I will support in the Republican primary next year, so these comments are not from a Bailey partisan. However, the difference between the two offices' residency requirements are rooted in their respective governing documents, and Bailey's difficulties are of a different sort than Bates's.

The Kentucky Constitution (Sec. 72) requires that a candidate for governor or lieutenant governor have been a resident of Kentucky for the six years immediately preceding his election. The United States Constitution (Art. I, Sec. 3) governs residency requirements for Senate candidates, and merely requires that the candidate be an "inhabitant" of the State from which he is elected at the time of his election. While the documents above might present a political obstacle for Ms. Bailey, I do not think they pose a legal obstacle to her candidacy, even if she is currently domiciled in Florida (see Hillary Clinton).

[Noah]

dont forget after mcconnell lost that one he pushed hunter bates to run against geoff davis in northern kentucky in 04. that went over like a lead balloon.

[Old 5th]

I want the benefits of living here w/o the taxes too.

[GOPrex]

Maybe her husband can use all of those tax savings to buy her some name ID!