All candidates but AG Beshear, Gov. Bevin expected
All the candidates for state office other than the candidates for governor — Democrat Andy Beshear and incumbent Republican Matt Bevin — are scheduled to be in Owensboro on Oct. 29 for the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Red, White and Blue event on the Daviess County Courthouse lawn.
Candance Castlen Brake, chamber president, said the gubernatorial candidates will be debating in northern Kentucky that night.
It starts at 4:30 p.m. on the Second Street side of the courthouse.
“It’s a high-stakes election,” Brake said. “This is an old-fashioned, back-to-your-roots stump speech event with the candidates staying afterwards to shake hands and talk to voters.”
It’s a chance for voters to connect with candidates, she said.
“We’re expecting a really good crowd of at least 500 people,” Brake said. “It’s family-friendly, so bring the kids.”
She said, “We’ll have seating for 250 to 300 people. But we’re encouraging people to bring lawn chairs.”
The event is sponsored by Big Rivers Electric Corp. Candidates attending will be running for state auditor, agriculture commissioner, secretary of state, attorney general and lieutenant governor.
The Fraternal Order of Police will be providing free food for the event, Brake said.
The Red, White and Blue event is a successor to Thomas “Red” Saltsman’s annual Red’s Picnic in Sorgho, which lasted from 1958 until his death in 2005.
That event drew politicians from across Kentucky to Sorgho each summer.