Agriculture Commissioner James Comer will formally announce his candidacy for governor on Tuesday amid a small but vocal Republican backlash over his handling of the investigation and indictment of his Republican predecessor, Richie Farmer.
Farmer is serving a 27-month federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to corruption charges last year. Comer called for the audit that contributed to Farmer's downfall.
Farmer remains popular in his birthplace of eastern Kentucky after his starring role on the 1992 University of Kentucky basketball team. James Phillips and Roger Schott, Republican elected officials in Clay and Laurel counties, say it will be difficult for Comer to get a foothold in eastern Kentucky because of his outspokenness on Farmer.
Comer said he will always do what he thinks is right and said history will show he did the right thing.
