LEXINGTON — A televised debate Monday evening among four Republican candidates for lieutenant governor was overshadowed by a Louisville Courier-Journal story quoting a woman who said GOP gubernatorial candidate James Comer mentally and physically abused her when they dated during college.

The allegations have long been the subject of online posts by a Lexington blogger, Michael J. Adams, and the subject of whispers in political circles. Comer has flatly denied the allegations.

But the story, by Courier-Journal political reporter Joe Gerth, suddenly turns inside out the four-way race for the Republican nomination. In addition to Comer, the state agriculture commissioner, the other candidates are Louisville developer Hal Heiner, Louisville investment manager Matt Bevin and former Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott.

According to the story, Marilyn Thomas, who lives in the New York area but is originally from Kentucky and attended Western Kentucky University at roughly the same time as Comer, sent the paper a letter in which she said Comer hit her and mentally and physically abused her.

The same story quotes an attorney for Comer saying the Republican from Tompkinsville “profusely denies” the allegations.

The subject came up in a different way on the Kentucky Education Television program, “Kentucky Tonight” with Bill Goodman, where the four GOP lieutenant governor candidates appeared. Comer running mate Chris McDaniel used his opening remarks to allege that Adams had several months ago sent him emails threatening his school-aged daughters.

McDaniel went on to say he’d turned the emails over to Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders who is investigating. Then he told Heiner’s running mate, K.C. Crosbie, he was appalled by a story last week in the Lexington Herald-Leader that her husband, Scott, had met with Adams.

Crosbie said she and Heiner have tried to run a positive campaign and did not directly address the controversy of the blogger or the allegations against Comer. After the show, Crosbie said she had never spoken with Adams.

But if McDaniel or Comer thought they had scored a hit on the Heiner campaign, the Courier-Journal article probably erased any notice of it.

As for the forum with McDaniel, Crosbie, Bevin’s running mate Jenean Hampton and Scott’s running mate Rodney Coffey, there wasn’t much disagreement on the issues: jobs are everyone’s first priority; a right-to-work law is essential to achieving that first priority; and the federal Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for lost coal jobs.

“The first thing we would do is pass right to work in this state,” McDaniel said, claiming 35 percent of businesses considering relocation won’t consider Kentucky because is isn’t a right-to-work state. The others agreed, although Hampton said the state’s unfunded pension system is equally serious.

All said they support, in some form or other, charter schools and called for the end to Common Core standards.

All promised their administrations would champion coal and fight back against the federal EPA and its “assault” on coal jobs. When Goodman asked if market factors may also play a part in the demise of coal jobs, the four candidates insisted the problem is the federal government and the policies of President Barack Obama.