The Fancy Farm Picnic ("Fancy Farm") is a combination church fundraiser and raucous political event held at St. Jerome Catholic Church in Graves County in Western Kentucky. It is a tradition dating to 1880. As anticipated, the 143rd Fancy Farm on Aug. 5, 2023 drew a multitude of politicians and their supporters. The candidates for governor, Gov. Andy Beshear (>) and Attorney General Daniel Cameron (>), each delivered a dose of zingers in their five-minute speeches to the energetic crowd.

DANIEL CAMERON: Hello West Kentucky.  Makenze and I are so glad to be back at Fancy Farm. And how about my running mate, Robbie Mills? This man is an absolute warrior for Kentucky values. Governor, it's good to see you here, but I know you feel kind of out of place here at a Catholic picnic. I know you feel more at home spending time with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. This governor meets with anti-Christian hate groups more than he meets with the General Assembly, am I right Jason? They say a picture's worth 1000 words, and there it is. But when it comes to that photo¹, three words will do the job: Andy, you're fired.

Now one thing I've learned about Andy Beshear. There's a TV Andy, and then there's a Frankfort Andy.  TV Andy lies about his record on jobs, crime and teachers. TV Andy wants you to believe he's never heard of Joe Biden. But when the cameras aren't rolling, and he thinks you aren't watching, that's when Frankfort Andy—the real Andy Beshear—rears his head. He vetoes tax cuts. He fights for the Biden agenda. He demands that boys play in girls sports. He protects transgender surgeries for kids.

I've been watching Frankfort Andy up close for nearly four years. And I have just one question. Governor, are you auditioning for a job with Bud Light's marketing team?

This governor, this governor lies more than a Hunter Biden tax return. But here's the truth. His record is one of failure, and it flies in the face of true Kentucky values. Andy Beshear locked the schools and threw open the jails. He sent the state police after Christians on Easter Sunday. He closed down Main Street and bent over backwards for Wall Street. There are fewer people working today than when Andy Beshear took office, and that's a fact.

But folks, it doesn't have to be that way. We can recover for our children, what Andy Beshear took from them. We can restore law and order. We can build a future that's based on true Kentucky values instead of the Beshear-Biden radical ideology.

Governor, I know you guys are obsessed with pronouns these days, but come November, yours are going to be has and been.

Andy Beshear and Joe Biden are liberal elites that have a lot of rules for you, but none for themselves. The governor has the audacity to lecture rural Kentuckians on right and wrong, when he and Joe Biden can't even tell the difference between a man and a woman.

They mock our faith, our families, and our values, and they try to cancel anyone who disagrees. Well, the folks of Fancy Farm have one response, Governor: try that in a small town.

We need a governor who will stand up to the woke mob, not cheer them on. When the mob came to my front lawn to threaten me, I refused to back down. I will protect our children from gender ideology in the classroom and keep boys out of girls sports. I will support our teachers and make sure they have the resources they need. I will make sure our schools are about reading, writing and math, and they aren't incubators for liberal and progressive ideas. I will back the blue and I will hold Joe Biden accountable for his war on Kentucky coal.

This Governor he has failed to protect your rights and freedoms and as an attorney general I have taken him to court and won. But the ultimate judgment will come from we the people. We the people say the evidence is overwhelming and the verdict must be guilty as charged.
 
My friends, by the grace of God we are on the precipice of history. But we must cast aside the politicians of the past, who scramble to appease the woke radicals of the present. Let's commit ourselves once again to upholding the dignity of work, to the family as the foundation of society, to respecting the rule of law and the principles of our Founding Fathers, and to once again be guided by the better angels of our nature. With humility and abundant gratitude, I ask you to join us this November as we make history. Thank you and may God continue to bless Kentucky. Thank you all.


 
ANDY BESHEAR: Thank you St. Jerome and thank you Fancy Farm. It is great to be back in Western Kentucky where my family is from, where Jamie Comer pretends to live, and where Daniel Cameron will show up for a political rally, but not for tornado survivors.

Cameron is here though, which is kind of surprising. He recently told Eric Deters, he'd go to his big rally, and then backed out. He told Eric he really wanted to come. He really did, but he had other things to do. That's exactly what Ryan Quarles told Daniel Cameron.

But, hey, he has Robbie Mills. You know if you took all the people on Daniel's LG list above Robbie Mills, and you put them all in a room together, you'd have the biggest crowd of the Cameron campaign. Robbie certainly is an interesting choice. When I went to court and saved the pensions of every teacher and police officer, Robbie was mad. Robbie was big mad. Robbie said he was the most frustrated he had ever been. Which is exactly how Daniel felt when the best he he got was Robbie Mills.

Listen, I know you just heard from Daniel Cameron. It's not true. It's all lies. But if you're willing to lie about a grand jury, he's willing to lie to you.

Listen, we all have fun at Fancy Farm. We throw out some zingers, but we should remember we're at a church picnic and at a place hit hard by tornadoes and recently flooded. This area has shown us how to be our best. Neighbors helping neighbors, because that's what we do in Kentucky, we take care of each other. People hauled out debris, volunteered their time, and donated even when budgets were tight.

My faith teaches me that while weeping may linger in the evening, joy comes in the morning. That joy, that joy is record economic development right here in Western Kentucky. Billions of dollars invested in this area, good paying jobs at Osmundson in Mayfield, Ahlstrom in Madisonville, Ascend in Hopkinsville, Hollobus in Murray, Precision Sonar in Benton, Load Covering Solutions in Trigg, Novellus in Todd County, Pratt Paper in Henderson, and so much more.

These are the jobs that are changing the trajectory of families and communities. We've had more than $26 billion of new private sector investment in Kentucky. We have our lowest annual unemployment rate in history and more jobs than before the pandemic. We've also brought hundreds of millions of dollars to Western Kentucky to rebuild. We're rebuilding houses for families, supporting farmers and small businesses. And Father, we paid for the funerals of all 81 people we lost because we grieve together.

Today, today at St. Jerome's let's remember we're told not just to talk about our faith, but to actually live it out. I'm reminded of the Golden Rule, which is that we love our neighbor as ourselves. And the parable The Good Samaritan says everyone is our neighbor. Here, you see a contrast. This race is a difference between vision and division.

See, they're trying, they're trying to pit us against each other. Calling everybody names who disagrees with them, telling you it's okay to yell at, even hate your fellow Kentuckians. I'm ready to prove that's a losing strategy in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

See people here know there's no Democrat or Republican bridges that a good job isn't red or blue, and the most important thing for a governor is getting the job done.

We're getting the biggest projects done in our history. We're four-laning the Mountain Parkway, building the Brent Spence bridge without tolls, and moving I69 forward all at the same time. We brought a half a billion dollars in clean drinking water, the largest investment in the expansion of internet access. I've signed 627 bipartisan bills, 627.

You know folks, Graves County and Mayfield, they're known for their resilience. Mayor They're also known for championship football. They know when you're on a historic winning streak, you don't fire the coach, you don't sub out the quarterback; you keep that team on the field and you rack up championships.

In Kentucky it is our time to win. We have a can't-miss opportunity, a chance to be the generation that changed everything. Everything now, it's about building for the brighter future. We can turn these three great years of economic development into 30 years of prosperity.

So let's get out there. Let's win for every single Kentuckian at every part of the Commonwealth, nd let's win some championships. That y'all. God bless.