Tweets, teases, a long speech to the media – then Matt Bevin walks out of the Capitol

After a day of teasing on Twitter and a long speech in the Capitol rotunda, controversial former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin on Friday walked out of the state Capitol without filing to run again for the office.

True to his off-the-cuff and blustering style, Bevin waited until the day of the filing deadline to weigh in on the 2023 governor’s race. He spoke to the media for 20 minutes on a variety of issues, then walked out of the Capitol and drove off, without filing to run again.

Bevin waltzed into the capitol just before 3:00 p.m. and launched into a speech on several items that he believes “still need to be addressed.” Those issues included some favorite policy talking points from his administration: Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), child welfare, juvenile justice, infrastructure, economic growth, the state’s public pension system, the state of Louisville’s West End and more.

The former governor did not bring up the raft of controversial pardons he handed out near the end of his term as governor.

He also did not say anything about a potential run for governor before, during, or after his lengthy speech in the rotunda or answer directly answer questions from reporters about it. Instead, he focused on the policy issues he wanted to talk about.

“Today I want to mention several things that still need to be addressed,” Bevin said. “... This is really a call out to the legislators, to those that have already filed in this race, to our current governor, to those of you in the media.”

So, what did actually he say in his unusual 20-plus minute speech?

Bevin started off his speech by criticizing JCPS, in particular the relatively low percentage of children reading at grade level there.

“We live in a day and age where impeaching is all the rage. If you want to talk about impeachment, talk about a dereliction of duty: the Jefferson County School Board, which is the same bunch of people over and over the same tired pathetic ideas producing increasingly less and less results. It’s an absolute failure,” Bevin said.

Also on the topic of Louisville, Bevin spent a lot of time advocating for the improvement of Louisville’s predominantly Black West End.

“We have failed the Black community in this state for a long time,” Bevin said.

He also applauded the Republican-controlled legislature’s efforts to get Kentucky’s state income tax all the way down to zero.

One controversial subject he broached was Kentucky’s public pension system, which Bevin says needs to move to a defined contribution plan.

Bevin stoked controversy in 2018 when he backed a bill that overhauled the system. The bill caused uproar and massive protests among the state’s teachers.

“I never brought the pension system up in the first place because I thought it would be a popular idea. Turns out it wasn’t – shocker,” Bevin said. “Truth be told, it’s still broken.”

Bevin did not endorse a specific candidate and instead called five of the candidates in the race for GOP governor friends, saying that he thinks highly of Attorney General Daniel Cameron, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft, Auditor Mike Harmon, Somerset Mayor Alan Keck and Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles.

“Let’s not eat each other up,” he implored the GOP candidates.

Sean Southard, spokesperson for Republican Party of Kentucky, said the party already “has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to candidates who have filed for the 2023 constitutional officer races,” including governor, and that they especially looked forward to taking on Beshear.

Former GOP Secretary of State and U.S. Senate candidate Trey Grayson said that he believes Bevin’s decision to not run for the Republican nomination helps the party.

“It allows the primary candidates to focus on the future, and Beshear, rather than also having to litigate the past. Beshear is obviously the favorite, but a strong GOP candidate will still be formidable given the strength of the party,” Grayson said.

While some Frankfort politicos applauded Bevin’s perceived expert-level trolling of the news media, Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Crofton, had a different take.

“Whatever value there may have been in his remarks and the substance of any issues he highlighted is lost in the stunt,” Westerfield tweeted. “What a waste.”

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear defeated the Republican Bevin by little more than 5,000 votes in 2019.

Four years before that, as a political newcomer, Bevin rode the Tea Party wave to a surprise primary victory over James Comer, then Kentucky’s Commissioner of Agriculture, and Louisville businessman Hal Heiner. He went on to best then-Attorney General Jack Conway in the general election.

As rumors of a third run for governor heated up on Friday, Bevin first posted cryptically on Twitter that “a beautiful day (was) dawning In Kentucky.”

Later, he tweeted that he would be in the Capitol rotunda and “share a few thoughts before proceeding down the hall.” He did not specify which hall.

Bevin left office in a flurry of controversy. Initially, he refused to concede the Beshear. On his way out of office, he issued hundreds of pardons and commutations, including for people convicted of murder and sexual assault.

The GOP field hoping to face Beshear for governor is crowded, which Bevin noted in his remarks. Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, Auditor Mike Harmon, former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft and Somerset Mayor Alan Keck are among the Republicans already vying for the chance to take on Beshear.

There are a total of 12 Republicans running, and three Democrats, including perennial candidate Geoff Young and 1999 Republican gubernatorial nominee Peppy Martin.

Some of Bevin’s speech was directed at state media and state legislators, asking them to deeply cover and legislate to make change on the topics he referenced.

“Thank you guys for covering,” Bevin said as he was walking down the capitol steps. “Be bold out there. Wear the legislature out on these issues.”