Gov. Andy Beshear and Kentucky First Lady Britainy Beshear acknowledged the crowd after his speech during last year's Fancy Farm Picnic, Aug. 3, 2023. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

An annual West Kentucky church fundraiser famous for barbeque, political speeches and cheers and jeers from onlookers is set to be a Republican-dominated affair this weekend as the only two statewide elected Democrats will be elsewhere.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s absence from this year’s Fancy Farm festivities may produce more buzz than his presence would have — thanks to speculation that Beshear is still under consideration as running mate to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Beshear’s cancellation of a Friday appearance at a West Kentucky ribbon-cutting caught the attention of the New York Post which also reports that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro canceled a weekend fundraising trip to the Hamptons. Politico reports that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg cut short his visit to Kokomo, Indiana, as Vice President Harris plans to meet with the finalists in her VP search in the next few days.

Harris, who quickly sewed up the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden ended his campaign, is expected to announce her running mate on Tuesday in Philadelphia as the two of them begin a tour of battleground states.

Beshear notified organizers two weeks ago that he would not be part of the Fancy Farm Picnic’s Saturday speechmaking. However, Behsear was planning to attend a Democratic event Friday evening after appearing at a West Kentucky distillery earlier in the day. But on Thursday Beshear bowed out of the Friday night Mike Miller Memorial Marshall County Bean Dinner, sending a video instead.

NBC News reported Thursday that the Harris campaign’s vetting team has met with six potential running mates, including Beshear, Shapiro and Buttigieg. The others named by NBC are Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, ?Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.

In Ketucky, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman will replace Beshear at a Friday ribbon cutting for an expansion of the Jackson Purchase Distillery in Fulton County. Coleman also will? attend the annual Democratic bean dinner and rally Friday night before the Saturday picnic, according to a local Democratic party chair. Marshall County Democratic Party Chair Drew Williams told the Lantern that he was given no reason for Beshear canceling his appearance at the bean dinner.

Coleman is also not attending the Saturday event, instead attending another event to support cancer survivors.?

Who will take the stage for the Saturday speaking at Fancy Farm? Local GOP state lawmakers with nearly all the Republican statewide constitutional officers, including Attorney General Russell Coleman, Secretary of State Michael Adams, Treasurer Mark Metcalf and Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell.

Former Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron will also speak as a surrogate for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Republican State Auditor Allison Ball is not attending due to a conflict with a wedding.

The Marshall County dinner the night before Fancy Farm will also feature Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson, D-Lexington, who will be on the Fancy Farm stage urging defeat of constitutional amendment this November that, if approved by voters, would allow public funding to go to nonpublic schools. Kentucky House Majority Caucus Chair Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro, will be advocating for the constitutional amendment on stage Saturday.

Other speakers at the picnic include nonpartisan Kentucky Court of Appeals judicial candidates Lisa Payne Jones and Jason Shea Fleming and the Libertarian Party presidential candidate Chase Oliver.?