Kentucky Democrats look to midterm elections, governor’s race during annual statewide dinner

“Awkward!” McGarvey said to laughs in the room. “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. We love you both.” 

Beshear, who was the last speaker of the night, also addressed the primary. Both Coleman and Adkins have served in his administration since his first term starting in 2019. 

“I know it’s starting to ramp up. Jacqueline Coleman and Rocky Adkins are both good friends of mine,” Beshear said. “They are both qualified to be governor. We’ve got to make sure we elect one of them to be the next governor.” 

Both Coleman and Adkins spoke at the Forward Together Dinner in Lexington, which had sold 550 tickets, beating last year’s sales number which had been the largest Kentucky Democratic Party dinner since 2012. While the May 18 primary is months away, the campaigns are still starting to take shape. 

“We had a conversation early on that no matter what happens next May, we’re going to help each other, and I want our supporters to know that too,” Coleman told reporters after the dinner. “I don’t want us to get too far down the road where you can’t back up and help support a Democrat win in November, because that’s ultimately the most important thing.”

Nevertheless, they are both competitors. Coleman said she has an advantage over Adkins with “energy and momentum.” However, Adkins says he does have that and pointed to his fundraising numbers, as his campaign recently said it raised more than $1 million in three weeks. 

Adkins told reporters that Beshear had told him he wouldn’t make a primary endorsement as he’s the head of the Kentucky Democratic Party and currently serves as the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, a group that backs candidates around the country. 

“He said, ‘I’m not going to make an endorsement in the race. Both of you have been valuable parts of this administration,’” Adkins said before adding that he respects the decision. 

Before the dinner, Beshear said that he thinks a contested primary is “going to help us.” Republicans are seemingly lining up behind U.S. Rep. James Comer, who hasn’t formally announced he is running for governor. Beshear noted he had a contested primary in 2019 before facing former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin and said he “was better for it.” 

“I think you see time after time that a strong primary with two qualified candidates makes those candidates better and builds energy,” Beshear said. 

Looking to November

Kentucky Democrats are also thinking about midterm elections. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is the DGA vice chair this election cycle, said states like Kentucky and Michigan have leaders “doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing: working together, thinking together, celebrating and mourning together, doing whatever we can to deliver for the people we serve and yes, even working across the aisle to GSD.” Whitmer censored her motto from “Get Shit Done” to “Get Stuff Done” for the night because “Andy doesn’t swear at the microphone.” 

“This November, we get to show who we are and what kind of politics we think we deserve,” Whitmer said.  

Throughout the speeches, Democrats largely critiqued Republicans under President Donald Trump and focused on issues like rising cost of living, gas prices, the war in Iran and more. Charles Booker, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, criticized outgoing U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell for building “corruption” and the Republican nominee in the race, U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, particularly for running an ad during the primary election saying it’s “not a sin to be white.”

“If you want leaders that sow hate and division, that’s your choice,” Booker said. “I know you’re not making that choice.” 

Zach Dembo, the Democrat running for Barr’s open congressional seat in central Kentucky, also chided Republicans under Trump and reminded the crowd that his opponent, Republican Ralph Alvarado, was the 2019 running mate of Bevin. A recent Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee poll found that likely voters supported Alvarado and Dembo at 47% each and 6% were left undecided. 

“We are going to win, but it’s going to be by a tight margin y’all. We cannot afford anyone on the sidelines,” Dembo said before asking the Democrats in the room to support his campaign. 

Beshear, seen as a possible candidate for president in 2028, focused on a message for Democrats in Kentucky and beyond. He said he was proof “that Democrats can and should win everywhere in the United States of America.” Beshear pointed to his own wins in 2019 and 2023 and over-performing in elections in counties that Trump had won by wide margins. 

Beshear said early in his remarks that five people were shot about 1.5 miles from the dinner venue in Lexington and that one person had likely died. He added that the crowd was safe and it was not an active situation at the time. 

“Let’s think about the families of those that are involved, but having lost one of my closest friends in a shooting — let’s not live in fear. Let’s not let it take our energy from tonight. Because we know if we want to reduce or stop mass shootings in this country, we have got to elect Democrats that will actually do something about it,” Beshear said to cheers in the crowd. 

The governor said that Democrats “have to be the party that is seen as addressing Americans’ concerns,” such particularly on jobs, economic issues and healthcare access. 

“While we are dialed in on that next election, most Americans aren’t as political as the pundits think they are,” Beshear said. “When they wake up in the morning, they’re not thinking about the next race. They’re thinking about their job and whether they make enough to support their family. They’re thinking about the next doctor’s appointment for themselves or their parents or their kids. They’re thinking about the roads and bridges they drive to school — the public school (where) they drop their kids off — and whether they feel safe in their communities.”