LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky's battle against the overdose crisis has now become a fight in the race for governor, and it was fueled by the state Supreme Court.
The high court ruled Thursday that Gov. Matt Bevin can cancel the contracts of the outside lawyers hired by his rival, Attorney Andy Beshear, to help sue drug companies accused of flooding the state with pain pills.
Bevin claims Beshear directed those contracts to his allies and campaign donors.
“That kind of corruption is exactly what got smacked down by the Supreme Court,” Bevin told WDRB News. “This state is fed up with attorney generals greasing the wheels of their friends, greasing their own wheels, feathering their own nests.”
Beshear has filed nine lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, accusing them of flooding the state with pain pills and sparking the addiction crisis.
“What's clear here is I'm going to fight against the opioid companies and hold them responsible. And Matt Bevin is going to try to stop us each and every step of the way,” Beshear told reporters.
Beshear said the firms were hired by competitive bid, and he was not directly involved.
The dispute comes as the state of Oklahoma won a half-billion dollar judgment against drug giant Johnson and Johnson.
“How much has Kentucky gotten in the last three years? Anybody? Zero,” Bevin said.
But Beshear said Kentucky is following Oklahoma's model, and accused Bevin of siding with the drug companies.
“I can say the way that Kentucky is going about their lawsuits, we are in position to do better than Oklahoma. And the governor is trying to stop us,” said Beshear.
Bevin said he does plan to cancel the contracts, but has not said whether he plans to replace them.
“Our state should not be for sale to the highest legal bidder. So I applaud the Supreme Court, they did the right thing,” he said.
Emily Walden, who lost a son to an overdose, told WDRB News she hopes this political fight does not end with big pharma as the winners.
The lawsuits mean the world to us, those of us who have lost children and have been affected by this epidemic, she said. “I don't want to see Kentucky get into a battle and miss what we should be doing.”
Beshear said he will ask the Supreme Court to rehear the case, and the lawsuits will continue - for now.
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