Our locally misguided newspaper, the Courier Journal, distributed this newsletter this morning about one of the most important annual events in Kentucky politics.
Can you spot what’s missing?
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Thu Aug 6 2026Lucas Aulbach | Chief Politics Reporter@LucasAulbach
Let’s talk about Fancy FarmGet a little extra coffee, because Fancy Farm (and other Kentucky political developments this week) left us with a LOT to talk about. The hardest part about Fancy Farm is bouncing back after a short weekend (the second-hardest part is hearing the speeches over hundreds of shouting partisan attendees). The biggest annual political event in Kentucky wrapped up on Aug. 1, a Saturday, and left us with plenty to talk about heading into the new week.
Let’s start with the 2027 race to replace term-limited Gov. Andy Beshear. Democrats have what’s shaping up to be a competitive primary between Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and longtime Beshear advisor/former state House leader Rocky Adkins. The two didn’t take many shots at each other over the weekend, and as voters consider their options — and to be clear, we’re still early in the race — breaks between the two so far have been hard to come by. From Fancy Farm, here’s a closer look at where the race stands.
On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. James Comer technically still hasn’t announced he’s running. But his yet-to-be-announced-but-widely-expected-to-happen candidacy got a notable boost when Secretary of State Michael Adams told Fancy Farm attendees he isn’t running and will instead back Comer should he jump in. We talked with Adams and others in the crowd afterward. Adams is out, Senate President Robert Stivers isn’t running … we’re more than nine months from the primary, but right now Comer has a clear runway to the Republican nomination.
More from West Kentucky!
Fellow politics reporter Keely Doll joined me to throw together some takeaways from the event, from the governor’s race to no-shows by Gov. Andy Beshear and Sen. Mitch McConnell, and our list of notable zingers (if you want to watch the highlights, photojournalist Jeff Faughender has you covered). Beshear also fired off a fewtweetsposts on X following the event, coming after Republicans who had roasted him on stage, which drew criticism from some who said he should have delivered them in person (the governor was attending his son’s final travel league baseball tournament).
We can move on in a sec, but let me wrap up here with still more Fancy Farm coverage. Our own Joe Gerth had two columns come out of it — a history lesson on how McConnell helped create the environment the event is known for today and a closer look at Beshear’s “out of character” posts — while longtime political writer Al Cross had his own takeaways.
Shoutout to our friends at the Freight House in Paducah, we’ll see you again in 51 short weeks.
OK, that’s enough Fancy Farm. Let’s close with some quick hits.
● Keely might have had our best and most impactful politics story of the week with a look at Beshear’s “unsustainable” reversal of Medicaid cuts and the tricky math associated with its future. Important read on a complicated topic.
● Beshear has joined a multi-state federal lawsuitopposing the Trump administration’s push to allow federal agencies to review personal information about recipients of a national welfare program.
● For the purposes of not adding 10,000 more words to this newsletter, I’m going to respectfully pass on writing much about the hearing last week between Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Anthony Fauci. But reporter Caroline Neal noted Paul has moved to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. More on this coming later today.
● McConnell is still sidelined. Trust me, you’ll be hearing from us when that’s no longer the case. In the meantime, Beshear and others have put an end to the theory that Aug. 3 was some kind of deadline to call a special election.
● And finally, let’s wrap up with an extremely dense read about complicated budget policies crafted by … nah just kidding, here’s a fun read from Maggie Menderski on Kentucky’s most famous animal influencers. See you all next week.This newsletter was written by politics reporter Lucas Aulbach, available at laulbach@courier-journal.com. Reach the Courier Journal politics team at cjpolitics@courier-journal.com.Newsletters | eNewspaper |
OK, did you not see it?
This newsletter, recapping an entire event focused on politics in an election year, makes no mention of the biggest election in Kentucky for 2026.
Schrodinger’s senator Mitch McConnell’s seat is open. The two major candidates for that seat were at Fancy Farm: the transphobic, xenophobic, pedophile fluffer MAGA favorite Andy Barr, and the Democrat Charles Booker, who Barr REALLY, REALLY hopes comes off too African American for MAGA’s foundational base of bigots.
Both candidates were there. Look at the photo at the top of this post. That’s them at Fancy Farm.
Both took shots at each other. The newsletter says there’s “a LOT to talk about,” but not a word on the odious strategy Barr is using. It’s obvious the Courier Journal has a “Nothing to see here” attitude the most bigoted campaign in modern American history.
And they wonder why no one reads them.
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