Coleman’s first stop on run for Governor is in Paducah

The first stop on a tour of Kentucky following her announcement, Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman chose Paducah to kick off her campaign for Governor.

Coleman met with community members and supporters at an event hosted at the freight house. Coleman continued to push themes from her speech on Monday morning in Frankfort, where she touted the achievements of the Beshear-Coleman administration, especially on the economic front. She also said she wanted to continue to lower the temperature in a charged political era. She said, “We need a Governor who will keep focusing on things that really matter to our families, and know that we will protect them and fight against all the chaos and toxic negativity coming out of Washington, D.C. That sounds pretty good to me.”

She added that over the last two years, she’s been listening to Kentuckians about what they want in a Governor. She said, “Kentuckians want someone who will show up, who will listen, and who will deliver results, and that’s results for their families.”

Coleman said she chose Paducah for the first stop because of friends and connections, but also because this part of the state reminds her of her small-town roots. She said she wants every Kentuckian, “regardless of zip code,” to have a shot at a better tomorrow.

When asked if there was a way she would differentiate herself from the Governor, she said she thought that she and Governor Beshear made a pretty good team. She really wants to build on what they started together. Coleman said, as far as projects initiated under their administration, such as developments at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site, she wants to get those as far down the road as possible in the final two years of this term. She said going forward, continuity will be important. Adding that, “Making sure that someone who has been a part of these conversations and these plans over the last—it will be eight years, at that point—knows the information, has the backstory, has built the relationships to keep those things moving forward.”  

After her stop in Paducah, she was scheduled to make an appearance in Bowling Green. She has stops planned in Henderson, Owensboro, and Louisville scheduled for Wednesday.

She is the first to announce a run for the office, which will be on the ballot in 2027. Others rumored to be mulling a run include 1st District Congressman James Comer, Secretary of State Michael Adams, and Beshear Senior Advisor Rocky Adkins.