U.S. Rep. James Comer speaks at the annual Fancy Farm picnic Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, at Fancy Farm, Ky. (Dylan Payne/The Paducah Sun via AP)

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's efforts to land the No. 2 spot on the Democratic presidential ticket drew ridicule from prominent Republicans during the Bluegrass State's premier political event.

U.S. Rep. James Comer lampooned the governor for trying to “reinvent his image from a wimpy choir boy to a liberal attack dog,” while U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell fired his own zingers at Beshear during the political speeches Saturday at the annual Fancy Farm picnic in western Kentucky.

Beshear, an effective verbal counterpuncher in prior years at the picnic, wasn't on hand to defend himself and dish out his own barbs. Instead, he was among a half-dozen Democrats being interviewed this weekend by Vice President Kamala Harris as she closes in on choosing a running mate.

Her interview list also includes Govs. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tim Walz of Minnesota, as well as Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, according to two people with knowledge of Harris’ selection process. The people were granted anonymity to discuss private campaign deliberations.

The suspense over whether Beshear will be asked to join the ticket has dominated headlines in Kentucky. On Saturday, Republicans got in their word as they dominated the stage at the picnic grounds. The political speaking is a raucous event where Kentucky politicians compete to land the sharpest — and sometimes most outlandish — barbs, complete with shouting and heckling from partisans for both parties.

“The leader of the (Kentucky) Democratic Party, the governor, I hear is spending the weekend with Vice President Harris. I’d a lot rather be with you guys,” McConnell told the picnic crowd.

McConnell, a picnic fixture who savors the verbal jousting, said Democrats had chosen an even worse presidential nominee than President Joe Biden.

“At least Biden poses as a moderate," the senator said. "Vice President Harris doesn’t try to be anything but a San Francisco liberal.”

At a GOP breakfast on Saturday, McConnell remarked: "Who would have thought that most of the drama in the last month would have been on the Democratic side, but it has been.” After Biden ended his reelection campaign last month, Democrats quickly coalesced around Harris.

Poking fun at Beshear's support for Harris, McConnell said it was "no surprise for a guy used to having jobs served up to him on a silver platter.” Beshear, the son of former two-term Gov. Steve Beshear, has won three tough elections in ruby red Kentucky — once for attorney general and twice for governor. The McConnell-Beshear rivalry dates back to the 1990s when McConnell defeated Steve Beshear in a Senate race.

A few days before the picnic, Steve Beshear was in a single-car accident but will make a full recovery, his son said in a social media post. Andy Beshear quipped that his dad was already “calling me to offer even more advice.”

McConnell promoted Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump by name during his picnic speech, saying Trump's return to the White House would "bring our economy roaring back.” McConnell endorsed Trump in March, a remarkable turnaround from the onetime critic who blamed the then-president for “disgraceful” acts in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Trump is an overwhelming favorite to carry Kentucky in November, even if Andy Beshear makes it onto the Democratic ticket.

Comer, chairman of the powerful House Oversight Committee, was even more biting with jabs at Beshear on Saturday. Noting that Beshear was applying for a new job, Comer said: “He wants to be vice president so bad that when Kamala Harris asked him what his pronouns were, Andy replied ‘pretty and please.’"

Democrats chalked it up as another round of futile attacks on the popular governor.

“They don’t work because families know Andy and they know he is genuine, compassionate and he shows up over and over again to deliver for Kentuckians,” Jonathan Levin, a spokesman for the Kentucky Democratic Party, said in a statement.

One of the few Democrats on the Fancy Farm stage defended the governor. Erin Marshall, who is challenging Comer in the November election, said she wanted to continue Beshear's work.

“It is time to bring back more jobs to the district, support our farmers, revitalize our small towns and protect a woman’s right to make her own health care choices,” she said.

Political speaking is as much a tradition as the mouth-watering barbecue at the Fancy Farm picnic, and it's long been a rite of passage for candidates seeking statewide office in Kentucky.

With no statewide office on the ballot this year, the biggest contest is over a proposed constitutional amendment. If the ballot measure is ratified by voters, the state's GOP-dominated legislature could then decide whether to steer public funds to private or charter school education. Beshear is a leading opponent of the proposal, having said that “public dollars should only go to public schools, period.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2024