As expected, state Rep. Savannah Maddox announced she is running for Kentucky governor in 2023, saying she is the “authentic conservative” in the race.
Maddox, part of the “Liberty” contingent in the General Assembly, attacked both Governor Andy Beshear and her fellow Republicans, saying that Beshear practiced “COVID tyranny” as he dealt with the pandemic, and that other Republicans were “fence straddlers.”
Maddox regularly filed bills in this year’s session fighting against all the pandemic measures, including masks, limitations on businesses and gatherings, and vaccines. Few of her bills went anywhere, but that didn’t stop her from filing them.
She is also a strong Donald Trump acolyte, which she emphasized in her announcement speech.
She joins an already crowded GOP field that includes Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Ag Commissioner Ryan Quarles, and Auditor Mike Harmon. Other rumored to be considering running include Kelly Craft, Senator Max Wise, and Senator Ralph Alvarado.
Statement from KDP chair Colmon Elridge
Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge released the following statement on extremist Savannah Maddox running for governor:
“Gov. Beshear is one of the most popular governors in the country because he has announced a record number of jobs creating opportunities in every corner of Kentucky, and led our people through challenging years with a deadly pandemic and historic storms. In sharp contrast, Savannah Maddox has done nothing for her constituents, with almost nothing accomplished in her four years in the House of Representatives except rallying armed militias to the Capitol, where she posed with Confederate sympathizers, white supremacists, and her armed supporter who hanged the Governor in effigy. She has declared war on the health, safety, and wellbeing of Kentuckians in an attempt to score political points, and failed miserably. She has waged a war on Gov. Beshear, on sanity, on businesses, and on fellow Republicans – successfully working to defeat fellow Republican legislators she didn’t think were extreme enough. Her entrance into the race ensures the year-long Republican primary will be even nastier, more extreme, and more expensive. In November 2023, Kentuckians will have a clear choice between one of the most popular governors in the country and whoever emerges from the crowded, brutal Republican primary.”
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