Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, a second-term Democrat, announced Monday she would run to replace Gov. Andy Beshear when his term ends in December 2027.
Since Beshear is term-limited, the race to become Kentucky’s next governor is sure to be a heated one. Coleman is the first major candidate to announce her intention to run in the 2027 governor’s race. Several candidates, both Democrat and Republican are expected to jump in before the filing deadline next January.
The names of Republican U.S. Rep. James Comer, GOP Secretary of State Michael Adams and Democratic political advisor and former state Rep. Rocky Adkins have both been thrown around over the last year as potential contenders in the governor’s race.
Before serving as lieutenant governor, Coleman was a teacher, assistant principal and basketball coach. She has often touted her credentials as a former educator, dubbing herself the state’s “highest elected teacher.” She recalled when Beshear first asked her to be his running mate in 2019 after she had just finished bus duty.
“It is with deep pride in the work that we've accomplished to this point, with a bounding hope for a future we can offer together an immense gratitude and love for my fellow Kentuckians that today I declare my candidacy to be the next governor,” Coleman said at a press conference at the Kentucky Historical Society.
Kentucky has only had one female governor — former Democratic Gov. Martha Layne Collins, elected in 1983. Her administration focused on education and economic development, similar to Coleman’s platform.
“I happen to believe the next governor of the commonwealth, whoever she may be, will need to focus on economic and workforce development and complement that progress with a newfound concentration on people development,” Coleman said Monday.
Lieutenant governors in Kentucky have no explicit constitutional duties beyond ranking second in the line of succession. That's thanks to a 1992 amendment to the state constitution that stripped them. Prior to that amendment, lieutenant governors would become acting governor when the governor was outside of the state and presided over the state Senate. They run together with the governor on party slates.
Beshear has enjoyed high popularity in Kentucky, especially for a Democrat. Some of the policies Coleman shared as she announced her candidacy hewed closely with many she campaigned for with Beshear, including calling for universal pre-K and better teacher pay.
“We should aspire for a Kentucky where every child has a fair shot from maternal health to early childhood education,” Coleman said. “We can invest in our kids on the front end, or we are literally going to pay for it on the back end, and I will not stop until pre K is a reality for every Kentucky family.”
Coleman has particularly focused on supporting Kentucky public schools and, alongside Beshear, campaigned heavily against a constitutional amendment that would have allowed state funds outside of public education.
In 2023, Coleman publicly announced that, due to breast cancer concerns, she would undergo a double mastectomy. She has since discussed campaigning alongside Beshear during their heated 2023 gubernatorial campaign against then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron and his running mate, state Sen. Robby Mills of Henderson. Coleman has used the experience to advocate for a greater emphasis on preventative health and the importance of health insurance.
“It was a scary time for me and my family, but I was one of the lucky ones, because having health insurance and access to a hospital meant that I could be proactive and even aggressive with my health care decisions,” Coleman said. “That's what I want for every Kentuckian: not just access, but autonomy.”
Coleman’s first attempt running for office proved unsuccessful in 2014. She tried to unseat incumbent Republican state Rep. Kim King of Harrodsburg, but lost by a 30-point margin.
She has also seen her fair share of controversy, when she headed the cabinet overseeing the Office of Unemployment Insurance during a period of surging joblessness caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. WDRB News reported in 2021 that Coleman had asked top officials to help her close associates, including her hairdresser, get unemployment insurance while many other Kentuckians experienced long wait times. She stepped down from leading the cabinet that year.
In a statement, the Republican Party of Kentucky spokesperson Adam Hope referenced the controversy, saying she had been an “ineffective, inefficient and incompetent” lieutenant governor.
"[Her] record shows a pattern of poor leadership and misplaced priorities, consistently putting her own interests above the needs of Kentucky families,” Hope said in the statement. “With this record of failure, Jacqueline Coleman doesn’t deserve a promotion; she deserves a pink slip."
Meanwhile, Adams posted on X that Coleman is a “strong candidate” and said Republicans need to be wary of her.
“If Republicans don’t nominate our best vote-getter, appeal beyond our base, and focus on improving Kentuckians’ lives, we will have a third term of Andy Beshear,” Adams wrote. When he won his second term as secretary of state in 2023, Adams was the top vote-getter on the ballot.
Right out of the gate, Coleman announced she had received the endorsement of Teamsters Local 89 and declared a decidedly pro-union stance. Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Dustin Reinstedler, who attended Coleman’s announcement, said his organization hadn’t yet gone through its endorsement process, but that he believes Coleman to support working class Kentuckians from his years interacting with her as lieutenant governor and through questionnaires she’d previously filled out to obtain the union’s endorsement in other races.
“In my time between her last questionnaire and working with her in the capacity of lieutenant governor, I know that her positions haven't changed or wavered,” Reinstedler said. “It's not just about organized labor either. We want to make sure that a candidate is looking out for all working class people.”
Former Democratic state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson, who is now running in Kentucky’s 6th congressional district, also attended the event. She herself has received Coleman’s endorsement in the race, and returned the favor Monday.
“Just like my race, a lot of people are saying, you know, ‘A woman can't win.’ But I say, watch us,” Stevenson said. “We both won tough elections before. We both know how to run really hard against Republicans, and we are both going to get this done.”
