House District 31, centered on Jeffersontown, backed Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in 2024, but Witten won the seat that year. For her bid for a third term, the Republican has attracted outside support that her Democratic challenger, longtime Jeffersontown city councilman Tim Hall, has yet to match.
LPM reported that three political action committees had spent a combined $156,749 on ads supporting Witten. More than $100,000 came from the Commonwealth Conservative Coalition, while the House Republican Caucus campaign committee directed another $53,000 to Witten's campaign, according to LPM. No PACs had reported buying ads for Hall. Building Our Future PAC has indicated it will support him after raising $50,000 from an electrical workers union.
The spending gap reflects a broader pattern this cycle. Six conservative PACs have already spent $889,000 on ads and canvassing to help Republican candidates statewide, the station reports, while Democratic candidates are largely left to fund their own campaigns.
A Teachers Union's Conspicuous Silence
Better Schools Kentucky, the political arm of the Jefferson County Teachers Association, did not endorse either candidate in District 31 this cycle. The group’s website lists 14 state House and Senate endorsements during the midterm cycle, including Democrats, but neither Witten nor Hall made its list, according to WHAS11.
The omission followed the group’s endorsement of Hall in the primary, WHAS11 reported. Hall told the station he found the general-election decision confusing; Witten said she took it as a compliment to her work on Kentucky schools.
Sam Corbett, a former Jefferson County Board of Education member and WHAS11 education analyst, said campaign advertising can help candidates with limited fundraising, whether it appears on television, radio, billboards, direct mail or social media. He described endorsements as strategic choices intended to build relationships with candidates who may offer support after taking office, and said an unexpected decision can hurt the overlooked candidate while benefiting the other.
WHAS11 said it did not receive a statement from the Jefferson County Teachers Association. Corbett told the station the association changed its strategy after Republicans took control of both chambers of the Kentucky legislature, a shift that echoes the group’s public rationale in earlier election cycles.
Building GOP Relationships Since 2024
Better Schools Kentucky's pivot toward funding Republican candidates is not new. In 2024, the group contributed at least $300,000 toward PAC advertisements in seven competitive GOP primary races, according to an earlier LPM report. At the time, Better Schools Kentucky President Cassie Lyles said the group needed to build relationships with Republicans because Democrats were unlikely to regain legislative control soon, telling the outlet, “we've got to find a way to build relationships in our current reality.” Republicans held 80% of the seats in each chamber of the General Assembly as of that April 2024 report.
The pattern has continued into this year's general election. Better Schools Kentucky donated $200,000 to the Commonwealth Conservative Coalition on April 1 ahead of Kentucky's primary elections, according to the Kentucky Lantern. That same conservative coalition went on to spend about $163,000 on ads against Hall in the District 31 race, the Lantern reported. Better Schools Kentucky has said its contributions were made during primaries to help elect pro-public-education candidates and that it has not made any contributions in the general election.
Taxes and Turnout Shape the Contest
Both candidates support cutting state income taxes, though they frame the issue differently. Hall argues rates can be reduced without cutting services, citing Jeffersontown’s property-tax rate cut as an example. Witten has also argued that lower income taxes would leave working Kentuckians with more money. She has urged voters not to blame state lawmakers for frustrations with federal policies, saying legislators in Frankfort cannot control gas and beef prices, WHAS11 reported.
Hall has also emphasized public education and fully funded pre-K, according to WHAS11. The station reported that Gov. Andy Beshear sees the race as an opportunity to flip a Republican-held seat, while Republicans have expressed confidence in Witten despite national political headwinds.
Tax cuts and school budgeting
A 0.5% income-tax cut was expected to mean $718 million in lost state revenue, according to WLKY. That figure adds fiscal context to the candidates’ tax-cut arguments; it does not establish the conditions governing any additional rate reductions. On education funding, Jefferson County Public Schools says its board approves enrollment projections and initial school budget allocations each January. That districtwide process does not establish pre-K access or funding conditions specifically in House District 31.
The district has flipped before: it was held by a Democrat before Witten won the seat in 2023, and Kentucky lawmakers redrew the state's district maps in 2022, reshaping the political terrain Hall and Witten are now navigating. House District 31 is one of 18 seats located entirely or partially within Jefferson County up for election this year, part of a statewide cycle in which all of Kentucky's House seats are on the ballot, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
