FRANKFORT, Ky. (Washington Insider Magazine)— Kelly Craft, a former UN ambassador, said on Wednesday that she will run for governor of Kentucky, stating that the state’s “best days are ahead of us.” Craft joins a crowded pool of Republicans seeking to unseat Democratic Governor Andy Beshear in 2018.
Craft has worked hard to build connections inside the GOP over the years while she and her husband, coal tycoon Joe Craft, have contributed millions of dollars to their political causes. She is entering the race with advantages as she switches from being a party activist to a political candidate, including the opportunity to use her family’s riches to fund her campaign and her credentials from Republican Donald Trump’s administration.
Craft’s announcement of her candidacy highlighted her Kentucky heritage and provided sweeping themes.
Insiders in Kentucky’s two major political parties have been speculating about Craft’s potential entry into the competitive GOP governor primary for more than a year. The general election will be held in November 2023 after the party elections in May 2023.
Craft was first selected by Trump to be the country’s ambassador to Canada. Craft assisted in bringing about the trilateral trade pact between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, which was Trump’s long-awaited update to the North American Free Trade Agreement. According to Craft’s campaign announcement from Wednesday, the new trade agreement has helped people, companies, and farmers in Kentucky and around the nation.
Craft was selected by Trump as the United States’ ambassador to the UN in 2019.
Her ties to Trump, who comfortably captured Kentucky in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, were mitigated, however, by his support for Daniel Cameron’s campaign for governor in the Bluegrass State, a Republican, this year.
Craft grew up on her family’s estate in south-central Kentucky, close to Glasgow, after being born in Lexington, the state’s 2nd-largest city.
The Crafts have made significant contributions to the state’s academic institutions and programmes, and she highlighted her dedication to education at the launch of her campaign. The “most important duty” for the government, she declared, is to promote education. However, she cautioned that this must be done in collaboration with parents and promised to spend “maximum financial resources” in this direction.
Despite the fact that Kentucky has shifted firmly toward the GOP in recent years, Beshear has regularly scored highly in surveys among Kentuckians, according to ABC NEWS.
When he asks voters for a second term in office, the Democratic governor is likely to highlight how well he has managed the state’s economy. During his administration, Kentucky achieved records for investments, job growth, and unemployment rates.
Beshear has also received praise from all sides of the political aisle for the way his administration handled two major natural disasters: the tornadoes that ravaged western Kentucky in December of last year and the historic floods that submerged sections of eastern Kentucky in late July.
State Representative Savannah Maddox, State Auditor Mike Harmon, and State Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles are among the GOP contenders for governor in addition to Cameron and Craft.
