Louisville rapper Jack Harlow stumps for Gov. Andy Beshear on the campaign trail
With only days left until Election Day, Louisville rapper Jack Harlow appeared on the campaign trail Thursday with incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in Louisville.
Beshear, who is campaigning to defend his seat against Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, greeted a crowd of a few hundred students outside the Red Barn — the University of Louisville’s student center — Thursday morning with Harlow in tow.
“I just want to say this is a hell of a stand up guy right here,” Harlow said to the crowd of Beshear supporters, many of whom were holding signs displaying the governor’s name. “I think all of you all are all holding the right signs. I want to encourage everybody to get out there and vote. You know what to do.”
The stump speech from Harlow, an internationally famous Kentucky native who raps frequently about his Louisville roots, is a big deal for the Democratic governor. While Cameron has the backing of political celebrities like former President Donald Trump and other elected Republicans at the federal and state level, Harlow is the first pop culture celebrity to stump for either candidate.
In 2021, Harlow was named Variety’s “Hitmaker of the Year” following the release of his hit single “Whats Poppin,” and was included in Forbes 30 Under 30. He has been nominated for multiple Grammy awards and made his acting debut in the 2023 remake “White Men Can’t Jump.”
Beshear has led Cameron in nearly all publicly available polls thus far. However, many in Kentucky have warned against putting too much stock in polls of the state.
Also joining Thursday morning were Beshear’s wife, Britainy; Lt Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, and other down-ballot Democrats: Rep. Pam Stevenson, who’s running for attorney general; Michael Bowman who’s running for state treasurer; and Sierra Enlow, vying for commissioner of agriculture.
Beshear teased the appearance on his social media accounts with a picture of him and Harlow, with the caption, “See you soon, U of L at the Red Barn.”
Standing in the crowd, waiting, were U of L freshmen Mia Soard, 19, and Emmy Slaton, 18.
Both said they plan to vote for Beshear; they like how he responded during the COVID-19 pandemic and Kentucky’s spate of natural disasters in recent years. They also supported his veto of Senate Bill 150, which bans gender-affirming health care for transgender minors, and his pro-abortion rights stance.
“I know he got a lot of backlash on that because we’re a majority Republican state, but I appreciate that he was able to stick with his beliefs on that,” said Slaton, an Eddyville native.
Soard and Slaton said they dislike Cameron’s “aggressive” messaging on wanting to defend Kentucky’s gender-affirming care and abortion bans.
“I don’t feel like that represents Kentucky,” said Soard, of Richmond.
When Harlow arrived a few minutes later, he told the crowd he and Beshear first became acquainted a year ago, when the governor called him out of the blue while Harlow was shooting a movie in Los Angeles.
“My phone rang, I was on my way to set at like 6 a.m. in California. I answered the phone . . . and he was like, ‘Hey, how are you, Jack? It’s your governor, Andy Beshear,’ and I said, ‘Oh, s---, s---, s---,’” Harlow recalled.
“He was just giving me a call, he didn’t want anything, he was just checking on me, he was telling me he loved what I was doing. And for the last year and half, we’ve been staying in touch and having that type of relationship. It’s been very organic, we’ve been having dinners, just getting to know each other,” Harlow said.
It’s not the first time the 25-year-old has made public mention of his friendship with Beshear.
In May, with the release of a song, “It Can’t Be,” on the album, “Jackman,” Harlow name drops the governor.
“It can’t be that I simply make ear candy/ Especially when the industry could just plant me/ Especially when I didn’t grow up on Brandy/ Especially when I’m havin’ dinner in Frankfort with Andy,” Harlow says in a verse.
A spokesperson for Beshear confirmed at the time that Harlow and the Beshear family did, indeed, dine together at the governor’s mansion in Frankfort.
At the Kentucky Derby this year, when asked about Harlow, Beshear applauded the rapper’s home state pride and lauded Harlow for choosing to move back to Louisville.
“This is a guy, top of the world, could be anywhere, could live anywhere, and he chose to move back . . . Jack Harlow picked us, and that’s pretty exciting.”
Harlow kicks off his six-city “No Place Like Home: the Kentucky Tour” across Kentucky later this month.
Reporter Austin Horn contributed to this story.
This story was originally published November 2, 2023 at 2:28 PM.
