Top Kentucky Democrats decline but plenty of GOP will speak at 142nd Fancy Farm Picnic

The dust is beginning to settle on which Kentucky politicians will show up, and which won’t, to one of the state’s biggest political events of the year.

The 142nd annual Fancy Farm Picnic will not feature the state’s top elected Democrats in Gov. Andy Beshear or Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, both politicians announced last week.

Because of their non-attendance, no elected Democrats will speak at the Aug. 6 event. Meanwhile, Republican officials from the Senate down to the statehouse will speak at the event, traditionally held in rural Graves County and emceed this year by House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect.

But the Democrats won’t go unrepresented at the Western Kentucky political staple event. Former state representative and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Charles Booker is set to speak; his opponent, Sen. Rand Paul, will attend if Senate is in recess.

“As the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, I’m ready to bring our message of standing together as family. Yeah, I’m going to light Rand Paul up too,” Booker tweeted on Wednesday.

Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge was added to the lineup, per a press release sent by Fancy Farm Political Chairman Steven Elder Wednesday. Elder also announced that 1st Congressional District Democratic nominee Jimmy Ausbrooks will get the chance to speak alongside his opponent, longtime Kentucky GOP politician Rep. James Comer. Comer represents much of Western Kentucky, including Graves County, in Congress.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s invitation response is still pending.

Fancy Farm is an historic event for both statewide politics and the local community. Aside from being one of the most prominent stages for political speeches in Kentucky, the picnic is also a fundraiser for St. Jerome Catholic Church in the tiny hamlet surrounded by fields of corn and soybeans. Last year, volunteers fixed about 20,000 pounds of pork and mutton barbecue.

Beshear announced last week that he and his wife Britainy will be in Israel while the picnic, hosted the first Saturday of August, takes place. Coleman simply stated that she won’t attend but “will be in western Kentucky to highlight the great work Team Kentucky is doing.”

The pair did not attend last year, with Beshear citing as reasons that there were no elections in 2021 and that the spread of COVID-19 had been increasing at the time with the proliferation of the virus’ delta variant.

Who else is speaking?

Elected statewide constitutional officers, a majority of whom are running for the GOP nomination for governor, are set to speak, including Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles, Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Auditor Mike Harmon. Treasurer Allison Ball and Secretary of State Michael Adams are also set to speak; Ball recently announced her intention to run for auditor while Adams has yet to declare.

One notable addition announced on Wednesday: Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge. Maddox is running as a staunch conservative for the 2023 GOP gubernatorial nomination.

Unlike the other GOP candidates, she’s not a current statewide officeholder, but she did raise more than $110,000 in a relatively short amount of time after announcing her candidacy for the state’s top post.

When asked why Maddox was added, Elder said that Maddox’s following across the state merited consideration and that the event committee reserves the right to adjust the speakers as needed.

“We research a great deal of information on viable candidates to invite to speak at the Fancy Farm Picnic. We felt Savannah had the following and broad support from across the state to justify a speaking invitation,” Elder said. “We haven’t added any other gubernatorial candidates since we invited Savannah Maddox.”

The decision didn’t exactly go over well with Eric Deters, a former Northern Kentucky attorney who hosted a popular conservative event in his neck of the woods last year. Deters had previously told the Herald-Leader, following Cameron’s announcement that he was endorsed by former president Donald Trump, that he would run as an Independent but has since changed his tune. Now Deters says he’s running as a Republican, but will consider switching to Independent based on late-year polling.

“If they don’t let me speak on stage, I’m giving a speech (from the) back of my truck when they least want it,” Deters said. “It will be the best speech of the day.”

Area State Senator Jason Howell and Representative Richard Heath, who is also running for commissioner of agriculture, are also set to speak.