SerpApi.Org
Rocky Adkins is banking on his public service experience and relationships to win the 2027 race for Kentucky governor.
Adkins, who announced Tuesday morning that he’s running in the 2027 gubernatorial Democratic primary, told reporters at a launch event in Lexington that evening he’s built the reputation it takes to win a statewide race.
“We’re going to work hard,” Adkins said. “We’re going to run a good, clean campaign, and we’re going to talk about our vision for Kentucky and how to build a better Kentucky.”
The event at The Burl drew more than 100 people Tuesday afternoon, where Adkins pitched himself as a fighter for Kentuckians and outlined his campaign priorities.
He told the crowd he will be in the trenches with every single Kentuckian across the state if elected as governor. Between rising grocery prices, rent and child care, Adkins said the American Dream seems out of reach for too many people.
As governor, Adkins said he would support fully-funding public education, fight for an affordable healthcare system and answer to the people of Kentucky.
“From the mountains of East Kentucky to the West End of Louisville, from the farms of the Purchase to the streets of Lexington, from Covington and Newport to the Tennessee line, and from every community in between, I’m here to tell you this afternoon: you are not alone in this fight anymore,” Adkins said.
Adkins, who has strong Eastern Kentucky roots, touted his experience in the Beshear administration and as a state lawmaker.
Gov. Andy Beshear tapped Adkins as his senior adviser in 2019, where he helped guide Beshear’s messaging through the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple natural disasters. After Adkins left the position last week, Beshear appointed him to the State Fair Board.
Throughout his tenure as senior adviser, Adkins said he learned that the governor is the last line of defense for the state.
“Let me make something really clear: that protection is only as strong as the person sitting behind the desk,” Adkins said. “The question is not just who comes next. It’s whether the next governor is a fighter for you, someone who has taken these fights on before and won them, who has the experience and the know-how and who has the backbone to keep winning them when it really matters.”
Jim Gray, former Transportation Cabinet secretary during the Beshear administration, said during his opening speech that Adkins was there every step of the way during recovery from the Western Kentucky tornadoes and Eastern Kentucky floods.
“He didn’t leave it after the floods and after the tornadoes,” Gray said. “He stayed with it. He was in the room when the whole idea of the high, the high, the mountaintop removal projects, the high ground communities were first conceived with Gov. Beshear... He had the ideas, and he implemented those ideas.”
Adkins previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1987 to 2019 and was the Democrats’ floor leader during much of that time. During those years, Adkins said he built his name on getting things done for Kentucky and worked in a bipartisan manner.
“I’ve worked with Republicans and Democrats alike to deliver clean water for families who’ve never had it, new schools, better roads, good jobs in places everybody else had given up on,” Adkins said.
Rocky Adkins’ second gubernatorial run
Adkins is the second Democrat to enter the 2027 race; Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman announced her campaign in March.
Both Adkins and Coleman have deep ties to Beshear, who is term-limited and can’t run for reelection.
A spokesperson for Coleman declined to comment on Adkins entering the race Tuesday.
This also won’t be the first time Adkins makes a run for the governor’s mansion. He ran in the 2019 Democratic primary, but lost to Beshear, who ultimately ousted the incumbent Republican, Matt Bevin.
While Adkins won more than 80% of the vote in several counties, he performed poorly in populous Fayette and Jefferson counties.
When asked what kind of focus he is going to put on Louisville, which is in Jefferson County, in the campaign, Adkins said his new agenda will be more relatable.
“I think the people in Kentucky know me better now than they did in 2019, even in Louisville” Adkins said. “I’ve traveled the state shoulder-to-shoulder with Gov. Beshear for six and a-half-years, have been in every meeting, every place, every groundbreaking, every ribbon cutting that the governor has been at.”
While Adkins hasn’t chosen a running mate yet, he said internal meetings are happening to find someone who will be a catalyst in the cabinet he puts together.
“(We’re looking for) a lieutenant governor that’ll be on the ground, somebody that can work through the different cabinets that we have and help assist and be effective,” Adkins said. “We’re looking for the right person. We’re looking for that kind of ability, that kind of talent to add to the ticket.”
The Republican Party of Kentucky released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying Adkins has been Beshear’s “errand boy” and belongs to a Democratic Party that no longer exists.
“His campaign will be the final chapter in the myth of the so-called moderate Kentucky Democrat,” Adam Hope, Republican Party of Kentucky communications director, said in the statement. “He’s already flip-flopping on the very issues he once championed because he knows today’s Democratic primary demands it.”
Adkins told reporters he considers himself a moderate and a “common sense kind of guy.”
“I think my style fits Kentucky very well” Adkins said. “I think Kentucky wants somebody that can produce, that can work with the (Republican) supermajority legislature, somebody that’s been in the annex, in the Kentucky House, working in that arena that can move agendas forward.”
He added that he disagrees that he’s flip-flopped on issues.
“I haven’t flip-flopped on anything” Adkins said. “People evolve on certain issues. I think that’s a sign of a good leader of people that can be can evolve and be informed, but as far as flip-flopping, that’s just a simple word they like to use.”
