Hannah Beth Rivera went to bat for Matt Bevin on Facebook this week. Far be it from us to give Ms. Rivera political advice, but we’re certainly confused.

Because here’s who she’s defending: a one-term governor Kentuckians already fired once, now accused by his own adopted son of abandonment and abuse. Bevin skipped a court-ordered hearing, got arrested on a warrant, and was jailed for contempt rather than answer to a judge like everyone else has to.

What a winner.

And Rivera’s not alone. Frankfort Republicans just can’t quit him either. GOP lawmakers who used to work for Bevin tried to rewrite Kentucky law to protect deadbeat dads from accountability — barring kids from intervening in their own parents’ divorce case and gutting their ability to get child support. Read that again: elected Republicans used their time in Frankfort to make it harder for an abandoned child to get support, because the deadbeat dad in question used to sign their paychecks. That’s not family law reform. That’s a party protecting its own.

And they’re not done. Ralph Alvarado, Bevin’s 2019 running mate, is the GOP’s pick for Congress in KY-06 — and he brings his own brand of self-dealing. While drawing a $199,586 salary as Tennessee’s state health commissioner, the very official responsible for regulating and inspecting healthcare facilities, Alvarado was quietly cashing in as paid medical director at up to five Kentucky nursing homes, two senior living facilities, and a healthcare staffing company, pocketing at least $126,462 more in 2024 alone. Several of those nursing homes are rated one-star by federal inspectors, racking up dozens of deficiencies and six-figure fines. Now his congressional campaign is stacked with contributions from nursing home executives and lobbyists. (Source: Lexington Herald-Leader, Sept. 9, 2026)

Kentucky Republicans had a chance to leave the Bevin era behind. Instead, they defend him on Facebook, protect him in the legislature, and nominate a running mate with his own pay-to-play scandal to carry the torch to Washington.

Rivera, Alvarado, and the Kentucky GOP — Bevin’s Besties, through and through.