Kelly Craft is doubling down on an ad controversy surrounding her campaign and calling on those who have “experienced loss due to an addiction,” to share their stories with her campaign.
The call to action from Craft comes as her campaign maligned some she was seeking to speak directly to, including criticizing one Lexington man who lost his 24-year-old son to opiates.
In the ad in question, Craft states “as a mother, this is personal to me, because I have experienced that empty chair at my table.”
The statement had many asking the campaign who the ad referenced and who Craft had lost to fentanyl. Craft has not revealed who the ad pertains to, but has said the “person has not passed away.”Craft’s campaign again made statements to the media, criticizing those who misunderstood the ad.
“It’s insensitive and malicious to think an empty chair implies only death, and shows that those implying such don’t understand the pain caused by the drug epidemic,” the campaign said.
Jamison Bowden told LEX 18 that the response from Craft is a “cruel misstatement,” because he knows the pain of loss.
A tab on Craft’s campaign website now calls for those who have “experienced loss due to an addiction,” to share their story with “Team Craft.”
Many in the Republican primary for governor this year have taken an early look at the drug issue in their interviews, signaling the topic is essential to GOP primary voters.
There are a dozen Republicans vying for their party’s nomination to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. The primary takes place on May 16.
