The former Republican Kentucky attorney general who lost last year’s gubernatorial race to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear will speak as a surrogate for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign at the upcoming annual Fancy Farm Picnic.
Steven Elder, the political chairman for the Graves County picnic known for political speaking and barbeque, shared the update Monday about the addition of Daniel Cameron as a speaker. A Kentucky Democratic Party spokesperson referred the Lantern to Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign when asked if a surrogate for Harris would also speak at the picnic.
Cameron, whose one term as attorney general ended in January, is now CEO of a group opposed to environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices among corporations.
As speculation has swirled about Beshear being a potential running mate for Harris, Cameron recently commented on Beshear’s statement that Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance wasn’t a true Kentuckian.
Cameron said on Fox Business that Trump would win Kentucky this November and that there were “a lot more people that grew up here in Kentucky like J.D. Vance than they did (like) Andy Beshear.”
Former president Donald Trump won Kentucky’s eight electoral votes by a wide margin, 62% to 36%, in the 2020 presidential election. But Beshear was able to defy the state’s conservative leaning by beating Cameron in last year’s gubernatorial election, winning the state by about 5 percentage points.
Neither Beshear nor Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, the only state-wide elected Democrats, are speaking at this year’s picnic. Beshear has only attended the Fancy Farm Picnic twice in the past five years: in 2019 when he was challenging former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, and in 2023 when he was running for reelection as governor.
Those confirmed to be speaking at the picnic include Republicans Attorney General Russell Coleman, Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, Secretary of State Michael Adams and Treasurer Mark Metcalf.
The Fancy Farm Picnic is Saturday, Aug. 3. Speeches begin at 2 p.m local time. Father Jim Sichko, of Lexington, is this year’s emcee.
This article is republished under a Creative Commons license from Kentucky Lantern, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
Liam Niemeyer covers government and policy in Kentucky and its impacts throughout the Commonwealth for the Kentucky Lantern. He most recently spent four years reporting award-winning stories for WKMS Public Radio in Murray.
