President Obama is visiting a Louisville, Ky., tech company on Thursday, but many top Kentucky officials, including a surprising number of Democrats, will not be joining him. This is Obama’s first visit to the state since 2011.
Likely Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jack Conway will not greet the president when he arrives, citing that he will be in Eastern Kentucky. Similarly, other top Democrats like state auditor Adam Edelen and attorney general candidate Andy Bashear will pass on the president’s visit.
This is hardly the first time his own party has walked away from him for political reasons. Democrats abandoned President Obama before the 2014 midterm elections, asking him not to campaign for them because of his diminishing favorability.
Obama remains deeply unpopular in the Bluegrass State, averaging near 60 percent job disapproval. The most recent poll conducted in late January had Obama stuck at a dismal 32 percent approval rating.
The president has never held a positive approval rating in Kentucky. His best poll, recorded years ago, still showed Kentuckians disliked Obama’s performance as president by over 11 points.
Obama is expected to spar with Republicans over the repeal of the Estate Tax, which the GOP says will help keep Kentucky farms in the family.