Agriculture Commissioner and Republican primary candidate for governor Ryan Quarles has picked Jake Cox the former campaign manager to U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s 2022 re-election campaign to be the campaign manager for his gubernatorial campaign.
“My biggest focus in building my campaign team is finding people who know Kentucky, and Jake is at the top of that list,” said Commissioner Quarles. “Coming off of a massive 24 pt. statewide victory just under a month ago with Sen. Paul and a nearly decade long career in Kentucky politics, Jake knows every corner of this commonwealth. His political insight and statewide relationships along with his proven leadership on Sen. Paul’s campaign will be vital to winning not just the Primary but also the General Election.”
Cox, a graduate of Appalachian State University, first came to Kentucky in 2013 beginning his career on Leader Mitch McConnell’s 2014 re-election campaign. Then, after working for America Rising as a Senate Research Analyst in DC for a year and a half, he returned to Kentucky working on Sen. Paul’s 2016 re-election campaign as a Communications Consultant. For the next 5 years, Cox served as the Deputy Communications Director and then Director of Research and Digital Strategy at the Republican Party of Kentucky. In October 2021, Cox re-joined Sen. Paul’s campaign where he served as Campaign Manager helping lead the team to a 24 pt. victory over the Democrat nominee for US Senate.
“Working for Sen. Paul and with his entire team was the honor of a lifetime and it is thanks to their guidance and mentorship that I feel prepared to help make Ryan Quarles the next Governor of Kentucky,” said Cox. “While I personally know and respect so many of the other Republican candidates for Governor, our nominee needs to be someone who isn’t just capable of winning, but is effective at leading and I believe that’s Ryan. I look forward to working with him to build an outstanding campaign team and making sure he is the next Governor of Kentucky.”
Quarles also announced Christina Garrott as his Finance Director for the campaign. Garrott is a long-time political activist working on races ranging from State House to Governor, most recently with Sen. Paul’s 2022 re-election campaign. She’s also done work for the Republican National Committee. Currently, she serves as Executive Director of a non-profit that services Kentuckians statewide assisting with disaster relief.
There are 13 candidates who have filed to run in the GOP primary for governor either with the Secretary of State or filed an intent to raise money for the race with the Registry of Election Finance.
