Article Author:
Associated Press
Bruce Shriner
Fancy Farms, Kentucky (AP) — Kentucky Republicans are looking to win elections after November this weekend. Despite attending major political events in the state, some aspiring candidates for governor had a hard time accepting Donald Trump's defeat in 2020.
When asked if it was fairly determined that Joe Biden won the presidency over Trump, they gave an analyzed or tortured answer. did. Their tiptoeing is a sign of Trump's continued hold on many Republicans in the Republican Party, including Kentucky, which he easily did twice.
The impact Saturday as Trump supporters held up big "Trump Victory" signs as people gathered for political speeches at the Fancy Farm Picnic in western Kentucky was clear. The signs that fuel Trump's false claims of his rigged 2020 election were cheered by Republican supporters. The stump-style speech at the picnic, which was televised statewide, is a rite of passage for Kentucky's statewide candidates.
Trump is already in his 2023 gubernatorial race in Bluegrass, endorsing Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Second-term Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear skipped the picnic and comforted flood victims in eastern Kentucky on Saturday.
Cameron pointed out his support for Trump during his speech at the picnic. But he was furious over the weekend with questions about the former president's unsupported allegations of widespread election fraud in 2020.
"Here in Kentucky. The election was fair and safe," Cameron told one person, regarding questions from reporters. "Look, we have to focus on the future. That's what this campaign is about."
But Cameron said the 2020 presidential election results should be reversed.
"President Biden is the President of the United States. I have no objection to that," said Biden as Attorney General. Cameron, who has participated in several lawsuits challenging the administration's policies, said
Cameron worked under Kentucky Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and sees him as a leader. also refused to discuss the 6 January riot at the Capitol. A House panel investigating the attack said the attack was not spontaneous, but a "coup attempt" and a direct result of the defeated president's attempt to overturn the election, blaming Trump. inflicted.
Instead of discussing the Siege of the Capitol, Cameron was spurred on by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other black Americans encountered by police. Pointing to the 2020 demonstrations, he said he could not be asked about the protests that destroyed property in several cities in the country. He joked about endorsements.
"Now people are speculating about how I got that approval. …all I had to do was assure Trump that Mitch McConnell was not Mackenze’s grandfather,” Cameron quipped, referring to his wife.
Cameron was the only gubernatorial candidate from the Fancy Farm stage to mention Trump, which other Republican gubernatorial candidates coveted.
In her speech at her picnic, another gubernatorial candidate, Savannah, Rep. Maddox, called Florida Governor Ron DeSantis "your constitutional rights and He said he fought for freedom and was a "real Republican".
Cameron wasn't the only Republican candidate to have trouble answering Trump-related questions.
When asked if he thought Biden had won fairly, Ryan Quarles replied that Kentucky had a "safe election" and Trump "won tremendously" in Bluegrass. State Agriculture Commissioner Quarles is also among the gubernatorial candidates seeking the Republican nomination, which will be decided next spring.
"If President Trump were in office today, I think he would have done a much better job than President Biden," Quarles added.
State Comptroller Mike Harmon, another gubernatorial candidate, gave a more than 140-word answer when first asked whether Biden won fairly. Harmon later said that some key election-related "controls" had been removed, but that "it could not be judged either way." , said he wished there hadn't been an attack on the Capitol, but also pointed to the damage and destruction of property during police-related protests, saying it wasn't being paid attention to.
"Sure, President Biden is our president," Harmon later said. “Just like you pray for the president, you need to pray for him, and hopefully he will provide guidance. There are several."
