Democrats have "been in the wilderness" for too long, Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge told a group of supporters Friday night ahead of the annual Fancy Farm political picnic.

Now is the time to mobilize, he shouted into a microphone at the Kentucky Dam Convention Center, by "doing the things we've gotten away from" as a party.

"You can focus on what happened yesterday, or you can think on what happens tomorrow," and the wise choice is the latter, he added. "The question is, what do we do about it?"

While their goal is "mobilizing, organizing, recruiting," and "going back to basics," which includes reminding disillusioned voters the principles of their platform, Kentucky's minority party opted against attending Fancy Farm, Kentucky's oldest - and arguably the most accessible - political speaking event.

Elridge, joined by Kentucky's Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and John "Drew" Williams, who's running to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman James Comer, were the only notable Democrats to attend the dinner the night before the picnic. Senate candidate and State Rep. Pam Stevenson, D-Louisville, was scheduled to speak at a different pre-Fancy Farm event, but cancelled at the last minute.

Williams, a Marshall County native and boat dock builder, was the lone Democrat on stage at Saturday's main event - a point he used to market himself, writing on a handheld sign, "Drew! The only Democrat here!"

A table has campaign materials for John

On the heels of the election of Republican President Donald Trump and Kentucky GOP lawmakers growing their majority, Democrats are admittedly regrouping. Less than a month after Trump won the presidency, Gov. Andy Beshear called that victory a "gut check" for Democrats.

"We don't just have to have the right policies; we have to show people we're focused on them," Beshear said at the time. "Democrats need to be proactive in talking about how (we're) working to create jobs or lower health care costs, and then people need to be able to see, touch and feel it."

It's a message Democrats have reiterated in the months since, including Coleman and Elridge at the Friday Marshall County Democratic Mike Miller Memorial Bean Dinner in Gilbertsville. T

"In this moment," Elridge said, "we have to figure out: are we going to sit on the sidelines or are we going to do the work?"

Colmon Elridge speaks during a Democratic pre-Fancy Farm dinner on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at the Kentucky Dam Convention Center in Gilbertsville, Ky.

Coleman said she wasn't attending Saturday's festivities because there would be a lot of jokes, and "not much worth laughing about at the moment," but to also allow for people who are on the ballot to showcase their political messages.

"Gov. Beshear and I have been on the ballot twice, we've gone to Fancy Farm twice," Coleman said after the dinner. "We are out in West Kentucky all the time. I don't think it's the comedic amateur hour that's going to make a difference for the rural Kentucky voters.

"I think it's about showing up, and we show up when we're on the ballot."

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman speaks during the Democratic pre-Fancy Farm dinner on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at the Kentucky Dam Convention Center in Gilbertsville, Ky.

But to Kelley and Terry Thompson of McCracken County, spreading the party message starts with showing up, even in the off years.

"There should be more of them here," Kelley said of Democrats. "They've got to get out enough for people to know who they are."

How else are they going to combat the "division and hatred" that's become integral to the current Republican party platform, they said.

"How do you take back seats if they don't get out and grow their support? They have to show up," Terry added.

To Williams, Democrats don't have a flawed message, but they could stand to refine their execution - and it starts with events like Fancy Farm.

"A lot of people are like, well, Democrats don't show up until Election Day," he said. "I do think there are a lot of efforts in terms of community service and outreach that we need to be engaging in that really matter.

"That's what we're missing in that regard," he added. "I think we have to be there, but we have to consistently be trying to bring a message, and do the groundwork efforts that connect with people."

‘Where's the governor?'

Arriving early to help set up the game booths and prep food, Williams, 32, handed out bingo tickets in between talking to voters Saturday.

A graduate of Murray State University and a West Kentucky native, Williams' campaign pitch is compelling: he wants to help middle-class Kentuckians build generational wealth; avoid poverty; be able to afford health care, groceries, a home; and for communities to be more interwoven and service-oriented again.

John

"I'm a working-class person, too. I get you," he told multiple people who stopped by his booth.

The lack of Democratic representation doesn't change the vitriolic tenor of today's political landscape - a reality that's sincerely difficult to strategically combat, Williams said.

"When it turns into this level of animosity, I can see where just naturally we feel like we're not invited, even if an invitation is sent, it seems like it's kind of back-handed when the whole space is engaged in anger politics," Williams said.

John

Later, shouting into a microphone onstage during his speech, trying to drown out jeers from Comer supporters, he said, "I do not and will not judge you for having a difference of opinion, because that's what makes this country great.

"I've been listening to people's needs without political power. All I ask is that we come to the table (and work through) these issues with dignity," he said. "You deserve to trust your government. Here is your opportunity to have true representative democracy. I think I'm ready for the task of representing you, because I am you."

To Comer, he said, "I don't see you unless it's to benefit you. He's not like us."

James Comer supporters cheer during the political speaking at the 145th Annual St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic in Fancy Farm, Ky., on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025.

Undaunted by his lack of party representation, Williams said after the speech that he was just happy to be there.

"I would do it if there was not a single supporter sitting over there," he said. "This is my community."

But the dearth of Democrats did send a message, and nearly every Republican speaker seized the narrative, portraying it as a symptom of discord and political identity crisis.

"Let's make some noise for the Democr… I mean, the guy running against Jamie Comer," Chamber of Commerce President and Fancy Farm host Ashli Watts said during her opening remarks.

"I understand why they aren't here," Daniel Cameron, who is running to replace U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, said of Democrats. "They're out searching for a national identity, which is going to be hard to find when they're afraid of being misgendered."

State Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, piled on.

"In reality, the Democratic Party and its leaders quit their members just like they quit Kentucky," he said.

"Like many of you here, I remember coming to Fancy Farm when our numbers looked like that. I won't lie to you, it was tough," but Republicans "didn't hide behind a ‘scheduling conflict,'" Howell said. "We stayed here because the fate of the commonwealth was too important to us and our children. That's really the core difference between Democrats and us."

Beshear cited a "scheduling conflict" as his reason for not attending. The Democratic Governors Association, of which Beshear is the vice chair, gathered in Wisconsin at the end of last week.

Marshall County Democrats stand for the national anthem during the Democratic Fancy Farm dinner on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, at the KY Dam Convention Center in Gilbertsville, Ky.

In the weeks leading up to Fancy Farm, a handful of Democrats and their allies characterized the event as increasingly irrelevant and a reason why members of their party were opting out.

"It's simply just a lot less relevant because there are a lot more opportunities for folks to get out in different communities in the state, and those events are covered on a much (more) thorough basis than they were kind of in Fancy Farm's heyday," Kentucky Democratic Party Executive Director Morgan Eaves told the Kentucky Lantern last week.

But Dustin Isaacs, deputy director of communications for the Senate Majority Caucus, wrote in a July 28 op-ed, "if Democrats were serious about rebuilding ties, Fancy Farm would be a priority. Bridges aren't rebuilt from a bunker."

That problem-solving starts with rudimentary engagement, and Democrats missed their chance, Steve Melloy of McCracken County said.

Melloy has attended 53 Fancy Farms. A registered Democrat wearing a Daniel Cameron sticker, he has voted for Beshear and Trump, and is disillusioned with how partisan political rhetoric has become. He found Williams' campaign pitch compelling, but knows he can't turn the tide of his party alone.

If Democrats don't like the tenor of politics, why didn't they show up to engage with voters and set an example, he asked.

"If I have a problem, don't you think you ought to come talk to me?" Melloy said. "This is the biggest thing happening in the commonwealth today. Where's the governor?"