A year out from KY Senate race, Fancy Farm-goers consider their candidates
While Republican candidates dominated the Fancy Farm stage Saturday, a range of Kentucky voters turned up for the political speeches.
Some were more interested in the bingo and barbecue than the barbs thrown between candidates. Many were happy with the commonwealth’s conservative status quo. Others made their frustrations with the state’s Republican agenda heard either in their attire or their jeering.
All showed their commitment to the annual event, which celebrated its 145th year.
Andy Gamblin, a retired elementary school custodian from Owensboro, cheered with excitement during the speeches of Senate candidate Rep. Andy Barr and Rep. James Comer, who is running for reelection, during the Republican breakfast before the picnic’s main event.
Once a passionate Democrat, Gamblin changed parties some years ago and has aligned himself with the GOP’s social views on gender and reproductive health care.
But he’s ready to move on from Sen. Mitch McConnell, saying he’s overstayed his welcome in Washington. In the Senate since 1985, McConnell is in his seventh term and is the longest-serving senator in the commonwealth’s history.
“I think when you stay up there too long, you kind of get your hand in the cookie jar,” Gamblin said. “It seems we need term limits.”
Torn between Barr and former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron in the Republican primary to pick McConnell’s replacement, Gamblin is less swayed by business entrepreneur Nate Morris — especially for his jabs at the two.
This was the first Fancy Farm for retired University of Kentucky hospital worker Kathy Fuqua. Having added it to her bucket list alongside a visit to Bermuda, the Danville local was expecting more from the experience.
“I’m disappointed that it’s not more balanced in the representation, and that the Democrats chose to hide in the basement,” Fuqua said. “The issues are too important not to have balanced information.”
The lifelong Republican is still deciding on her pick for Senate.
Others were similarly frustrated with the lack of a Democratic presence, like mechanic Terry Thompson. A registered Democrat, he wore his shirt proclaiming President Donald Trump a clown and argued his party’s absence is part of the problem.
“If they don’t come out and voice their opinions, show up in force, they’re never going to be able to garner votes,” Thompson said. ”They don’t get out here and state what their beliefs are.”
Nervous over the recent cuts to Medicaid, which he relied on, Thompson worries other programs he uses like Social Security benefits could be next.
Along the same vein, Republican voters also shared their concerns over the loss of benefits thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill. Though she doesn’t know who she’ll be voting for next year, 22-year-old Paidyn Burgess of Beulah is planning to take on a second job — hopefully waitressing, to take advantage of no tax on tips — following the federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. She brought her own daughter and her niece to the picnic that she’s attended for years.
“Even families around here that need them might make just a little bit over the budget of what they’re saying,” Burgess said over a hotdog at the picnic. “We’re struggling to feed our own kids.”
This story was originally published August 2, 2025 at 8:28 PM.
