FRANKFORT, Ky. — While Sen. Damon Thayer's time as a powerful Republican Kentucky lawmaker is coming to a close, he's far from shutting the door on his political future.
"Certainly running for governor and being governor is something that I've thought about my entire political career," the veteran legislator told WHAS11 in a sit-down interview on Dec. 9. "I would be a salesman for Kentucky around the country and around the world."
Thayer confirmed he's mulling a run for governor in 2027 after Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear's term ends. He wasn't shy about projecting how he'd lead the state differently, and perhaps in a sneak peek of a future campaign focus, he talked fondly and extensively about the state's largest city.
"I go to Louisville all the time. I go to distilleries, I go to Churchill Downs, I love the restaurant scene. I go to concerts at the [KFC] Yum! Center and the Palace -- I love Louisville," Thayer said. "So goes Louisville, so goes the rest of the state. It's critically important as the largest city in Kentucky that it thrive."
He notes it was tough getting other Republicans to approve $200 million in funding for the revitalization of Louisville's downtown, painting a picture of the view some in the Kentucky GOP have of the Derby City.
"There were people who said, 'No, we shouldn't give this much money to Louisville -- It's a Democrat city. It never votes for us.' But then there were others in the room who said, 'Look this is the largest city in the commonwealth. If Louisville does well, the rest of the state does well.'" Thayer said.
Thayer says the results of November's election, including in Jefferson County where Republicans picked up three seats in the Metro Council and held onto four, proves Louisville and the rest of Kentucky have more in common than some might think.
"People in Louisville aren't big on boys playing girls sports. They're not big on minors being able to have transgender surgeries, so I think there's even some social issues that Louisville agrees with the rest of the state on," he said.
Whether Thayer actually throws his hat in the ring, he says, will depend on the field of Republican candidates.
When asked what would happen if other Republicans like U.S. Rep. James Comer or Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams ran for governor in 2027, Thayer responded, "Congressman Comer would be a very strong candidate for governor. If he decides to run, I'd say he's the heavy favorite. I probably wouldn't run against him. But if it's just Secretary of State Michael Adams, I would run and I would win."
Adams responded to Thayer's words in a text to WHAS11, saying "As Kentucky's top vote getter, I believe the people always deserve a choice, and in the 2027 election for governor, they will have one."
Thayer, R-Georgetown, term ends on Jan. 1, 2025. After 22 years in the Kentucky Senate and 12 years serving as majority floor leader, he chose not to run for reelection -- citing a desire to focus on his work in the private sector.
But a lot can change in three years, or fewer.
WHAS11 asked Thayer if U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) doesn't run for reelection in 2026, who he'd have in mind to run to fill his seat.
"If he doesn't run, I'd like to be a part of the conversation, but we have a deep bench," Thayer said. "That decision is up to Sen. McConnell. He has two years left on his term. Certainly if he decides not to run, that's going to create a trickle down effect in Kentucky politics."
In a nearly 30-minute, wide-ranging interview, WHAS11 asked Thayer about his strong stance on JCPS. On March 28, during one of the final days of the legislative session, Thayer told the Kentucky Senate floor he'd vote to split up the Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) district.
When asked whether Kentucky Republicans are seeking this out, he said, "I don't think there's a consensus in my party about that. I still would."
He continued, "It seems drastic because that's the bubble we live in, but if you look around the country, it's really not that drastic a step. And quite frankly, the results out of JCPS show that major steps need to be taken. It's just whether or not people have the political will to make those changes."
Thayer also told WHAS11 the 'one area' in which he doesn't completely see eye-to-eye with President-elect Donald Trump is his tariff plan, specifically its potential impact on bourbon distilleries -- Kentucky's $9 billion industry.
"Bourbon is very popular overseas, and there is tremendous growth potential for them. And there's a lot of concern that if we put tariffs on products coming in from overseas that they're going to retaliate and try to hurt some of our big industries," Thayer said. "They have done it, and it continues to be a problem. And I'm hopeful that maybe [Trump will] see his way clear to perhaps take a different path."
And it appears another issue where Trump and Kentucky Republicans don't completely align is their stance on abortion policy.
In his one and only presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris during the height of the campaigns, Trump said '85% of Republicans' believe in exceptions to an abortion ban for rape and incest.
When asked if this statistic reflects Kentucky's General Assembly, Thayer said it does not.
"That is not the majority opinion in the Kentucky General Assembly, and I can tell you that because we did not have the votes to pass it in the last General Assembly," he said. "I think President Trump makes a very good argument. It's a tough issue that's not going to go away, but I would predict no action by the Kentucky General Assembly unless there's a court decision that would require it to do so."
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