James Comer Says He’s Making Plans To Run For Kentucky Governor Amid GOP Lawmaker Exodus

(Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)

Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who has served as chairman of the powerful House Oversight Committee since 2023, told a local newspaper that he’s exploring a run for governor in 2027.

“I plan on running for governor in 2027,” Comer told The Daily Independent. “It’s not official yet; it will probably be official somewhere around December.”

Comer did not say whether he planned to leave Congress while he runs for governor. No federal or Kentucky state law requires a lawmaker to resign while they campaign for another office. The House GOP has been hit with a mass exodus of retiring lawmakers, with 35 so far heading for the exits.

Comer said from Greenup, Kentucky, on Thursday, “I am touring Kentucky. Obviously, I’m way outside of my district. The governor’s race is in 2027, and I’m very interested in that race. … Any day I’m not in Washington or my district, I’m stirring around the state. The response has been positive. I’m meeting new people and building an organization for 2027.”

Comer, 53, has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2016. Before that, he was Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner from 2012-16, and a state representative from 2001-12.

Comer told the paper that northeast Kentucky residents like those in Greenup, “feel neglected, and that it’s not been a priority for economic development. This part of the state has a lot of opportunities. The infrastructure’s good, there’s a great workforce, and it’s a community that works together.”

“Just about all elected officials in eastern Kentucky are Republican now,” Comer continued. “All the (state) legislators (from northeast Kentucky) are Republican. I don’t feel like Andy Beshear has a good working relationship with very many Republicans who are local elected officials and with no Republicans who are in the General Assembly in this part of the state.”

Comer called for improvement in communication between the Democratic governor’s office and the legislature. Beshear is currently serving his second term, which ends on December 7, 2027, and is ineligible to run for a third term, per Kentucky law.

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