‘Republican show.’ GOP holds sway at annual Fancy Farm picnic as Democrats pass.
It’s not unusual for politicians at the annual Fancy Farm political event to take some licks, but Gov. Andy Beshear got roughed up in absentia Saturday.
Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, both Democrats, declined invitations to attend the 141st edition of the picnic, one of the premier political events in Kentucky, on Saturday. Beshear said that with no elections in Kentucky this year, he would take the opportunity to spend time with his family.
Beshear also raised a concern about the potential to spread COVID-19 as the more dangerous delta variant drives up cases. Few people at the event wore masks.
That left only Republicans speaking except for Democrat Bob Babbage, a former state auditor and secretary of state who served as master of ceremonies.
1st District U.S. Rep. James Comer, with a contingent of supporters at the event, said it was the first time in the history of the event with no Democrat on stage.
Beshear sent a statement that said, “At a time when we have already lost 7,300 Kentuckians to COVID-19 and the delta variant is increasing cases and hospitalizations at an alarming rate, my hope is that the speakers spent more time encouraging folks to get vaccinated than they did attacking me.”
No such luck.
At the the picnic and other GOP events in Graves and Marshall counties, Republicans criticized President Joe Biden and national Democrats, but also kicked Beshear for not attending, and for orders he issued last year aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus through capacity limits at businesses, churches and family gatherings.
“The fact that Gov. Andy Beshear did not show up today proves that he has abandoned rural Kentucky,” Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said.
State Auditor Mike Harmon said Beshear over-reached his authority with orders that hurt businesses and infringed on people’s liberty.
“I can assure you, sadly, that our governor has been corrupted absolutely,” Harmon said at a GOP breakfast before the Fancy Farm speeches.
Attorney General Danial Cameron said he missed Beshear’s frequent news conferences early in the coronavirus pandemic because “it was the only hour of the day that he wasn’t signing something unconstitutional.” Cameron sued Beshear over several of his orders.
“Someday we’ll have a governor who sits down with the other side,” said Secretary of State Michael Adams.
Treasurer Allison Ball, who recently had her second child, was the only statewide Republican constitutional officer who didn’t attend. Kentucky’s U.S. Senators, Republicans Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, also pulled out of the event last week, citing the Senate’s continued work on an infrastructure bill.
Harmon is in the 2023 race for governor, and Quarles is seen as a likely candidate. There were other potential candidates at events in the area, including Kelly Knight Craft, former U.S. representative to the United Nations, and Somerset Mayor Alan Keck.
Craft, who also served as the ambassador to Canada under President Donald Trump, spoke to Marshall County Republicans Friday night, lauding Trump and American exceptionalism and blasting domestic critics of America.
“To them, the one country in the world that is the first choice of immigrants of every nation, creed and color is ‘systemically racist,’ “ Craft said.
Afterward, Craft said she is “seriously considering” entering the race. Keck also confirmed he is considering the race, while state Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, told the Herald-Leader she intends to run.
Western Kentucky was once a reliable stronghold for Democrats, but the GOP has pulled nearly even with many people changing their party registration in recent years.
In November 1999 there were 290,720 registered Democrats in the 1st Congressional District and 108,927 Republicans. In June, there were 266,574 Democrats and 254,949 Republicans, according to state voters rolls.
The common refrain is that the Democratic Party moved too far left on issues such as gun control and abortion for many voters. Many registered Democrats in the region are conservative in politics and religion.
“I think the party left the people,” said Keith Travis, an official with the Marshall County Republican Party and former Democrat.
Steven Elder, political director of the picnic, said he was disappointed Beshear passed. Even with no election, Fancy Farm is still a top political event, and a family event as well, he said.
“It’s a Republican show today,” he said.
The event usually features raucous partisans of both parties yelling at the speakers, but it was relatively quiet Saturday. Republicans cheered their politicians, but there was no chorus of Democrats to make noise as in past years.
Terry Thompson, a Democrat from Paducah wearing a T-shirt depicting Trump as a clown, knew he was outnumbered but wanted to keep the faith.
“The only thing they’re good at is restricting voting” and cutting taxes for rich people, Thompson said of Republicans.
The picnic is also a homecoming for St. Jerome Catholic Church in the tiny hamlet surrounded by fields of corn and soybeans, and raises money for the church. Volunteers fixed about 20,000 pounds of pork and mutton barbecue.
This story was originally published August 7, 2021 at 5:59 PM.
