Fancy Farm 2025: Which politicians will speak at KY’s biggest political event?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- GOP Senate hopefuls Barr, Cameron and Morris to attend Fancy Farm 2025.
- Democratic presence sparse, with only Comer challenger Drew Williams confirmed to speak.
- Event emcee Ashli Watts becomes first woman to host Fancy Farm’s political speaking event.
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Fancy Farm 2025
See more coverage from the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com about the 145th Annual St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic and its political speeches.
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The stage is set for another political showdown in West Kentucky.
All three Republican candidates with significant name ID running for U.S. Senate have agreed to take the stage at Kentucky’s biggest political event of the year, the 145th annual St. Jerome Church Fancy Farm Picnic.
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, former attorney general Daniel Cameron and Lexington tech entrepreneur Nate Morris are all running for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is not seeking reelection in 2026.
Morris, Cameron and Barr all confirmed with Fancy Farm officials Tuesday that they’d attend.
Cameron is no stranger to the Fancy Farm stage. Last year he spoke as a surrogate for the campaign of President Donald Trump, and the year before that he faced off against Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, to whom he lost the governor’s race by five percentage points.
Others confirmed to attend include local 1st District Rep. James Comer and a Democratic opponent John “Drew” Williams, alongside local elected officials state Rep. Kim Holloway, R-Mayfield, and state Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, according to a release from Fancy Farm political chairman Steven Elder.
Statewide elected officials who have locked in their attendance include Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell and Attorney General Russell Coleman.
Notably, neither Beshear nor Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, the two lone Democrats elected at the statewide level, have responded to their invitations.
State House Minority Floor Leader Pam Stevenson, D-Louisville, who is the only Democrat with significant name ID running for McConnell’s seat, has also not responded to the invitation.
McConnell, a fan of the event, is marked as “pending” in the release, meaning his team has acknowledged the invitation. Sen. Rand Paul’s team has not responded.
Also marked as pending are Auditor Allison Ball and Secretary of State Michael Adams. Treasurer Mark Metcalf’s team has not responded to the invitation.
The responses so far leave only one Democrat, Williams, as confirmed to be attending. The state’s far west used to be considered strong Democratic territory, but has voted reliably Republican for more than a decade now.
Ashli Watts, president of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, is set to serve as emcee for the event. Watts will make history as the first woman to emcee the speaking in its long history.
The annual picnic began in 1881, but it wasn’t until A.B. ‘Happy’ Chandler ran for lieutenant governor in 1931 that the event got popularized statewide, when primaries took place in August and the event date was much closer to an important election. From then on, the event grew in political prominence and overall size.
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 2:27 PM.
