LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky Auditor Mike Harmon announced Monday that he’s running for Governor in 2023, the first elected Republican to officially declare he wants to challenge Gov. Andy Beshear.
Harmon made his announcement via press release, forgoing a traditional announcement event for an election that’s still two years away.
“My launch is not filled with fireworks and fanfare, but merely my strong determination to help renew Kentucky and hopefully help this state become the best version of itself it can be,” Harmon wrote.
With his early announcement, Harmon is the first major Republican candidate in what is expected to be a crowded field to take on Beshear should he seek a second term. Already, people like Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, U.S. Rep. Jamie Comer and former U.N. Ambassador Kelly Craft have been mentioned as potential candidates in the race.
Harmon’s decision to get into the race two years before Kentuckians will go to the ballot box could potentially buy him the time to raise enough money to keep up with some of the more high-profile names that could enter the Republican primary.
For the first time in decades, gubernatorial candidates do not need to have a lieutenant governor picked out before they enter the race. Instead, they will be able to name their lieutenant governor choice after the primary.
The change provides additional incentive for candidates to jump in the governor’s race in hopes that a strong showing could score them an opportunity to be second in command.
Republicans, who control every other independently elected constitutional office and both chambers of the legislature, see Beshear as an outlier, a Democrat who won because of his historically unpopular opponent.
Democrats, however, point to Beshear’s handling of the pandemic and what they hope will be an economic surge as the threat of COVID-19 recedes in America.
“Governor Beshear has done a great job leading Kentucky through the pandemic, and now Kentucky’s economy is set to take off under his leadership,” said Marisa McNee, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Democratic Party. “While the Republicans continue to play politics, Governor Beshear is focused every day on doing his job, and we’re confident the people of Kentucky see that.”
Still, Beshear’s administration has had its share of stumbles in handling the pandemic, including its handling of the state’s troubled unemployment system when claims skyrocketed. Harmon, who served in the Kentucky House of Representatives before defeating former Auditor Adam Edelen in the 2015 election, performed highly publicized audits of the system.
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