Political junkies in Kentucky believe history will be made this weekend at the Fancy Farm Picnic, as the stage will host what is believed to be the first black female candidate. Jenean Hampton is the Republican candidate for Lt. Governor. And just as the stage party has lacked diversity over the years, so has the audience.
It’s pouring rain and the lights have just gone out as Reverend Jaime Masso leads a congregation of about 70 people at the Primero Iglesia Bautista Hispanica in Mayfield, KY by the light of a cell phone. Of those listening in the Baptist church, about 7 people are registered voters. When Masso was asked if he or anyone else he knew in the Hispanic community would be attending Kentucky’s premier political event of the year, he said probably not.
“Well I vote, and I didn’t know about it.”Masso said.
The Fancy Farm Picnic in Graves County has been around for more than 130 years. In this agricultural hub the Hispanic population is double the state average and continues to grow. The minority population, specifically the Black and Hispanic groups, account for a little more than 10 percent. Mayfield Mayor Teresa Cantrell believes that census numbers sound low. A consensus among Fancy Farm regulars is that minority representation is also low.
Laura Bartolo is a member of the church and a 26 year old Hispanic voter. Encouraged by her high school to register. She says she never really understood that Fancy Farm Picnic was anything more than a picnic, because she doesn’t socialize with most of the people that attend for the politics. Bartolo works at chicken farm.
“I don’t watch T.V., I’m always at work, so I get off late and I don’t really have time. So, if I hear something it’s from the people around me, so that’s how I know anything," Bartolo said.
Because Bartolo isn’t confident in what she knows about the candidates, she has never voted. Reverend Masso says that is common in the Hispanic community. Because people work long hours, most information is gained via word of mouth. The message about the Fancy Farm Picnic, is lost on this community because it utilizes media they aren’t tuned in to.
“They are missing a point on that, because in a few years, all these kids, maybe not next year, but the next election they will be able to vote, they will make a change," Masso said.
Fancy Farm Picnic organizer Mark Wilson says he doesn’t target any group specifically when advertising the event. He uses traditional media and that he wouldn’t know how to specifically reach the minority population. Wilson also says the faces you see at Fancy Farm are representative of those that do vote in Kentucky. And he is correct. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 88 percent of Kentucky is White.
Kentucky Educational Television producer, host and writer Renee Shaw says, "If diversity is a priority and representative government is a priority of all parties, then perhaps there is some work to be done in recruiting those people to come.”
Shaw said KET has been covering the Fancy Farm since 2002. In her time covering the picnic she believes there has never been a black or Hispanic candidate speak at the event. With that said, there have been years that KET didn’t cover the picnic.
The actual number of Hispanic and Black voters in the state is a bit of a mystery. The Secretary of State’s office doesn’t collect that data. The number of Black and Hispanic candidates that have run in Kentucky’s elections is also unknown for that reason.
Republican candidate for Lt. Governor, Jenean Hampton is believed to be the first black female candidate to stand on stage and speak to the predominantly white Audience. Hampton says she was actually unaware that she is making history. But she see’s everyone as the same race.
“I’m just barely old enough to remember Dr. King and I can hear his voice echoing in my head where he says, judge a man by the content of their character not by the color of their skin and I have tried to live by that and that’s probably why I can’t tell you the racial makeup of Fancy Farm, because I just don’t see people as color just as individuals,” Shaw said.
Though the picnic is touted as the political event of the year. Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Patrick Hughes says it’s primarily for the political junkies, those that follow politics year round. While he says having a represented minority population at the event is important, the real work happens on the ground. The Kentucky Republican Party Chairman did not respond to requests for comment.
KET’s Renee Shaw says political junkie or not minorities should feel welcome.
“It’s also a moral imperative to include everyone in the political process because democracy is not just for the powerful and the mass, it’s also for the weak and the low voices and we, all of us have a responsibility of making sure that our voices are heard and whatever venue that is from fancy farm to the state capital we all have our part,” Shaw said.
The Fancy Farm Picnic’s value to the region comes from the sheer number of elected officials that make it to the corner of Western Kentucky. An opportunity once a year for concerns of every demographic to be presented in person. Those that don’t make it, simply won’t be heard.
