Then-President Trump and Ambassador Kelly Craft speak to the media during with representatives of the United Nations Security Council on Dec. 5, 2019. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Former President Trump's United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft announced her bid for Kentucky governor on Wednesday.
Driving the news: "I am running for Governor of Kentucky because I know our best days are ahead of us," Craft wrote on Twitter announcing her candidacy.
- "This movement is for all of us who still believe that we can lead in education, that government doesn’t get a seat at our kitchen table and that our kids should grow up in safe neighborhoods," she said, AP reports.
- Craft joins a crowded Republican field to challenge Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in 2023.
State of play: Craft, born in Lexington, first served as U.S. ambassador to Canada under Trump before being named U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
- Kentucky has leaned Republican in recent years — and Trump easily won the state in 2016 and 2020 — but Beshear has strong approval ratings.
- Beshear has earned bipartisan praise for his management of significant natural disasters, including deadly tornadoes last December and devastating flooding in eastern Kentucky earlier this summer, per AP.
What to watch: The primary election for Kentucky's governor is in May 2023 and the general election will take place in November 2023.