Victory Fund Didn't Offer Endorsement to Vanderpool

A representative for the Victory Fund says reports are false that 25-year-old Kentucky state House candidate Matthew Vanderpool turned down an offer of funding and the group's endorsement.

"The Victory Fund does not offer endorsements, it's something someone has to apply for; even Barney Frank had to apply for his," Denis Dison, vice president of communications for Victory Fund, told The Advocate.

According to reports, Vanderpool said he turned down an endorsement because he says while he is gay, he has no "gay agenda" and doesn't want to be in the fund's "back pocket."

But Dison says those reports are wrong, and the group would likely never endorse Vanderpool.

"Endorsements are hard to get. [Vanderpool's statements] are nothing more than a stunt from a person who probably wouldn't have gotten one," Dison says. "You have to prove the validity of your campaign, which he has not."

In May, Vanderpool won the Democratic primary with just $150 in campaign donations. He is trying to oust the incumbent, antigay Republican state representative Stan Lee.