After Years of High-Profile Probes, James Comer Eyes a New Political Prize

Rep. James Comer—after leading congressional probes of matters such as suspected Biden family corruption, COVID-19 origins, the botched Afghanistan exit, and the Jeffrey Epstein offenses—is poised to run for Kentucky governor in 2027.

Kentucky is one of three states that have off-year gubernatorial contests in 2027. Comer, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, hasn’t formally announced, but he told The Daily Signal he is leaning strongly in that direction.

“I have not announced, but everything’s looking very positive that I will announce,” Comer said. “We’re going to make a decision in the second or third week of November.”

He may have an almost clear field for the GOP nomination, as Kentucky’s Republican secretary of state, Michael Adams—seen as a potential candidate—endorsed Comer, even though the House Oversight chairman hasn’t yet entered the race. Other anticipated candidates also announced they wouldn’t run.

“There are some lower-tier Republicans that have filed or are going to file, but as far as someone with name ID that can either raise money or self-fund, I don’t see anyone,” Comer said. “Of course, there are still several months until January when the final deadline ends. But right now, things look very encouraging, and I think the reason that nobody has filed is because they’re anticipating me filing and they’re going to support me.”

Comer also has ventured outside Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District to talk about a potential run.

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“I can tell you, I’ve traveled the state, as you know, and I’m getting encouragement from every corner, from people of every political ideology. So far, so good,” Comer said.

Kentucky’s Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear is term-limited and expected to run for the 2028 Democrat presidential nomination.

Democrats already have a competitive primary. Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and former state Rep. Rocky Adkins, who narrowly lost the 2019 Democratic gubernatorial primary to Andy Beshear, are competing for the nomination. The primary is in May.

After more than a decade in the state Legislature, Comer won a statewide election as agriculture commissioner in 2011. In that role, he teamed with Democratic state Auditor Adam Edelen to investigate corruption by his predecessor in the Agriculture Department.

In the 2015 Republican gubernatorial primary, Comer came in a very close second to eventual Republican nominee Matt Bevin who won in November.

Comer was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016. He became chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in 2023 after Republicans won the majority.

As chairman, he led numerous investigations into the Biden administration. Notably, he was the leading figure in the impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden that focused on Biden family members’ alleged profiteering from Biden’s position in government. The House did not move forward with impeachment charges.

After Biden was out of office, the committee also investigated Biden’s mental fitness to serve as president and whether senior White House officials covered up his apparent cognitive decline.

More recently, the committee has staged a probe into federal government failures in the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to powerful political and business figures, leading committee interviews with major figures such as former President Bill Clinton and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.