(LEX 18) — Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky’s secretary of state, announced Monday that she will not run for governor in the 2019.
“While I am grateful for the confidence, support and friendship from thousands of supporters across this state, I have decided not to run another statewide campaign this year,” she said in a statement.
Lundergan Grimes, one of the state’s most prominent Democrats, said he focus instead will be on her family, including her son, Ford, who was born in December.
“As I know mothers across the Commonwealth and nation can appreciate, this decision was not easy – as I weighed family, work that I love and knowing that our often male-dominated government needs the perspectives of more women and mothers,” she said of her decision.
The Democratic field for governor doesn’t lack for hopefuls, including Attorney General Andy Beshear, House Minority Leader Rep. Rocky Adkins, former State Auditor Adam Edelen, and perennial candidate Geoff Young.
They are seeking to run against Gov. Matt Bevin, who has said he plans to run but has not yet filed to do so.
Lundergan Grimes currently is in her second term as secretary of state. In 2014, she ran unsuccessfully in a bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the current Republican Senate majority leader.
