The award-winning ham waits to be auctioned off during the Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)
LOUISVILLE — Republican megadonors Joe and Kelly Craft again joined Central Bank in bidding $10 million on a country ham for charity.
Kelly Craft, a former United Nations ambassador and 2023 Republican gubernatorial candidate, and her husband, coal executive Joe Craft, have had the winning bid at the annual Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast during the state fair in Louisville for years. The two were not present at the breakfast, but sent Jennifer Barber, of law firm Frost Brown Todd, to make the winning bid with Central Bank Thursday morning. The Crafts and the bank donated $5 million each.
While the ham auction is the star of the breakfast, Kentucky politicians flock to the event to campaign and meet movers and shakers. Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell emphasized his longtime record in office while addressing the crowd. Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul was invited but did not attend.
The three Republicans hoping to replace McConnell — U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, former Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Lexington businessman Nate Morris — took the opportunity to mingle with breakfast-goers and give interviews to reporters.
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear was invited to speak, but did not attend this year. However, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, a possible candidate for the state’s 2027 governor race, went to the breakfast.
A video tribute by the Kentucky Farm Bureau to McConnell highlighted the senator’s influence on Kentucky and American politics, particularly in agriculture. The video emphasized McConnell’s role in landing President Donald Trump three appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court.
McConnell and his wife, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Transportation Elaine Chao, received standing ovations from the crowd. McConnell’s remarks about his start in politics to now echoed much of what he has said at recent appearances in Kentucky. McConnell spoke about international issues, saying he was “skeptical” of Trump’s push for tariffs on imported goods and that “Ukraine needs to have a
deal that they can live with, that needs to be enforceable, because that sends a message around the world” to adversaries of the U.S.
“There’s always a lot of talk about who’s popular and who isn’t,” McConnell said, alluding to polls that have shown dissatisfaction with the longtime senator. “Let me tell you how to measure popularity. It’s winning elections. Thanks to you, I won seven Senate races, nine leader races. I’m undefeated at the end of my long game.”
One of the candidates in the GOP Senate primary, Morris, has made his disapproval of McConnell a central message of his campaign. After the breakfast, Morris said that McConnell’s recently focused on “what he’s brought back.
“What he doesn’t tell you is the policies that he supported have destroyed the Kentucky economy,” Morris told reporters. . “And what I want to be known for is bringing policies that are conducive to our farmers, people that work in our factories, families like mine that got impacted by NAFTA, people losing their job, getting laid off, have their job sent to Mexico.”
Barr told reporters that he is supportive of Trump’s trade policies “precisely because I believe in free trade.” Barr added that he will soon meet with the Japanese ambassador at Beam Suntory and Toyota plants to discuss trade.
“The bottom line is, I understand what the senator is saying about a trade war, but what the president is doing is actually achieving the very objective that the senator is seeking, which is more open access to American and Kentucky exports,” Barr said.
Cameron, too, was complimentary of Trump ahead of the breakfast. The president has not made an endorsement in the competitive Senate primary, but the candidates have attempted to tie themselves closer to Trump’s positions in recent months.
Cameron said he believed “we could very well be on the verge of some significant peace agreements in this country, in this world.” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has returned to the White House this week and Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska days ago.
“I think a lot of it started because our president was willing to show force when it came to Iran,” Cameron said. “And now you’ve brought Putin to the table. Zelenskyy is back at the table. So many European leaders were meeting at the White House yesterday. A lot of them were lauding the fact that this president has brought all these divergent parties to the table to have a conversation around peace.” European leaders joined Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House Monday.
Eddie Melton, the president of the Kentucky Farm Bureau, introduced speakers for the breakfast and recognized many elected officials in attendance, including members of the General Assembly.
“One thing that makes this special is that we have a lot of political leaders that come here to this ham breakfast and get to work through the crowd here, and we laugh about it, don’t we, President (Robert) Stivers?” Melton said, calling to the Republican state Senate president in the crowd. “But it is, it is good, and we do appreciate y’all coming out and being here with us today.”
Barber, the Craft’s representative, told reporters after the auction the money will support charities including the Barren County Boys and Girls Club, the Craft Academy at Morehead State University and building homes in Eastern Kentucky.
“The Crafts are thrilled to be able to once again contribute to Kentuckians and help improve the lives of Kentuckians,” Barber said.
KFB said the auctioned ham weighs 16.5 lbs. and was produced by Josh Poling of Broadbent’s Country Hams in Kuttawa in Lyon County.
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