FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — After hinting about jumping into the 2023 governor's race and showing up at the Capitol to give a speech on filing deadline day, former governor Matt Bevin left the building without filing any official candidate paperwork.
Around 2:45 in the afternoon, Bevin gave a speech in the Capitol Rotunda. In it, he spoke about changes he thinks need to be made in Kentucky and about his admiration for the Commonwealth.
"I love this state. I want to see this state become the greatest version of itself that it can possibly be," said Bevin. "And I look forward to seeing this primary unfold."
Throughout the speech, he hinted about entering the governor's race. He even had a message for the other candidates.
"My call to each of them is let’s not eat each other up," said Bevin. "Let’s not tear each other up and bring each other down. Yeah, Everybody wants to be the nominee. But at what cost?"
Shortly after, Bevin just walked out of the building without directly saying whether he was running or not. LEX 18 Political Reporter Karolina Buczek ran after Bevin, asking him to clarify, but he walked about without answers.
So what does this mean? Most likely, this was all a prank by the former governor.
However, Friday's filing deadline was for candidates who want to be either the Republican or Democratic nominee for governor. Others did not have a deadline Friday. But Bevin is still registered as a Republican, so he can't run under a different affiliation.
However, the write-in option is still technically an option. So, what are the chances he would do that? They're not likely, but not impossible.
