Both candidates were endorsed by Better Schools Kentucky, the JCTA-affiliated, teacher-led organization that received the donation through its PAC. The ads are part of the coalition’s spending in this year’s general-election cycle, which has included more than $254,000 so far, the records show.

JCTA communications director Devyn Melvin said Better Schools Kentucky made contributions to super PACs during the primaries to help elect candidates it considered supportive of public education. The group said it had not contributed to super PACs during the general election and was focusing on school board candidates.

“BSK has not made any contributions in the general election,” Melvin said in an email. The organization described itself as nonpartisan and focused on teachers and public education, adding that it supports candidates with records of standing up for public schools.

The Commonwealth Conservative Coalition also spent about $370,000 backing or opposing candidates in Republican primaries this year. Its support included several Republican incumbents. One of them, Rep. Kim Banta, lost her primary.

The coalition received other major donations around the time of the JCTA PAC’s contribution, including $250,000 from GOPAC Election Fund and $140,000 from the Kentucky Chamber Advocacy Committee, both generally supportive of conservative causes, federal records show. Better Schools Kentucky also gave the coalition $200,000 before the 2024 primary.

Hall is challenging Republican Rep. Susan Tyler Witten in the 31st House District. His senior adviser, Jason Perkey, said JCTA’s PAC could have directed its support to an organization more closely aligned with public education and teachers. He questioned why the money went to a group that spent it on races beyond Jefferson County.

Perkey noted that some Republicans backed by the coalition, including Reps. Kimberly Poore Moser and Deanna Frazier Gordon, voted for a 2024 constitutional amendment that would have allowed the legislature to fund nonpublic schools. JCTA opposed the amendment, which Kentucky voters rejected that November.

“I think the overarching argument about investing in races that will impact their membership and students across Kentucky is the right intention,” Perkey said, “but they could have found an organization that was trying to elect people who want the best for our public schools, teachers and students.” He said Hall was grateful for JCTA’s support.

Kulkarni, who is running against Republican Rep. Ken Fleming in the 48th District, said corporations and special interests were spending to support Fleming. He pointed to contributions from Churchill Downs and data center developers and criticized what he called a pay-to-play political system. Fleming’s campaign was not quoted in the provided reporting.

Kentucky law prohibits candidates from coordinating with political action committees. The donation itself does not establish that JCTA or its PAC coordinated with the coalition’s later ad campaign. Commonwealth Conservative Coalition treasurer Don Parkinson did not respond to requests for comment.

Republicans have held a supermajority in the Kentucky General Assembly for several years. The spending illustrates how money given to political groups during primaries can be followed by independent spending in general-election contests, including races involving candidates backed by the original donors’ affiliated organizations. Kentucky’s general election is Nov. 3.