Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles has announced his candidacy for governor of Kentucky in 2023, hoping to turn his links to Republican rural regions into a winning recipe in what is shaping up to be a highly difficult battle for the Republican primary to oppose Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
Quarles announced to a Republican gathering in Lexington on Saturday night that he will run for the state’s highest elected post. He made his candidacy public in a taped interview that aired on WKYT-Kentucky TV’s Newsmakers show on Sunday. Quarles, a former state legislator, will follow up with a June 1 rally in Scott County, where he grew up, to spell out his state agenda.
Quarles emphasized his “excellent track record of executive leadership” in the WKYT interview, saying there is a “undercurrent” of unhappiness that makes Beshear susceptible.
Beshear will run for re-election next year, and recent polling shows that the governor enjoys excellent favorability ratings from Kentuckians for his job performance. While leading Kentucky through the COVID-19 outbreak, the governor has emphasized his management of the Bluegrass State’s economy. During his tenure, the state has made two of its greatest economic development announcements, both of which are tied to battery manufacture for electric vehicles.
However, the governor faces a difficult reelection battle in a Republican-leaning state.
Beshear’s handling of the epidemic will be a point of contention in the campaign. According to Quarles and some Republicans, he overreached by enforcing limits during most of the outbreak. The governor claims that his efforts saved lives, particularly before immunizations were widely accessible.
Quarles, who is serving his second term as agricultural commissioner, has long been considered a gubernatorial candidate. As he seeks to build a wide coalition, he has expanded his name awareness in rural GOP areas. His admission into the race might herald a rush of announcements from other Republicans vying for the governorship in the coming weeks and months.
Quarles attempted to link Beshear to President Joe Biden earlier Saturday at a Republican meeting in Oldham County, citing the financial strain caused by rising inflation and fuel prices.
“If there’s one thing we can all agree on today,” Quarles added, “it’s that Gov. Andy Beshear and President Biden both ought to be one-termers.” The upcoming contest for the Republican gubernatorial nominee next year will split the state’s burgeoning Republican base. “We know it’s going to be a long process, and we know it’s going to be a crowded primary,” Quarles said on WKYT. “And that’s OK. As the Republican Party expands, we must become more accustomed to primaries
State Auditor Mike Harmon stated last year that he will run for governor as a Republican.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft, state Sens. Ralph Alvarado and Max Wise, state Rep. Savannah Maddox, and Somerset Mayor Alan Keck are among the Republicans who are considering a run for governor.
With the GOP race potentially devolving into a bloodbath, Alvarado cited Ronald Reagan’s so-called “Eleventh Commandment” of not speaking ill of fellow Republicans.
