By
Former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft threw her hat into the ring this week for the 2023 contest to be Kentucky's next governor.
"I believe that here in Kentucky, our best days are ahead of us," Craft said in a video announcing her candidacy.
Craft joins a crowded Republican field seeking to unseat Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear next year.
Before she was appointed to serve as ambassador to the U.N. by former President Donald Trump in 2019, Craft was the U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Before that, she was a GOP megadonor and served as the Kentucky finance committee chairwoman for Sen. Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential run.
Craft and he husband have donated thousands of dollars to Republican campaigns in the past, including those of Trump, former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Craft is the fifth Republican candidate to officially declare her candidacy for governor, following state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, State Auditor Mike Harmon, state Rep. Savannah Maddox and state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles.
Cameron has already landed the coveted endorsement from Trump. But, hours after Craft announced her candidacy, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told the Associated Press that he is, "all in for her."
"I feel like she’s got what it takes to close the deal and not just win the primary but become our next governor," Comer added.
