JD Vance stops in Lexington for exclusive event with a large cost

LEXINGTON, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — The vice-presidential nominee on the Republican ticket was in Kentucky on Monday, but it wasn’t for the average voter. The private event that was first slated for Pikeville came with a large admission price.

Representative Andy Barr, who co-hosted the event along with Congressman Hal Rogers, Joe and Kelly Craft, and several others, said JD Vance’s appearance was a fundraising opportunity for the Trump campaign.

“JD Vance is a big eastern Kentucky advocate and Lexington is close, so we were able to bring in a lot of folks from eastern Kentucky, and western Kentucky, and Louisville and northern Kentucky as well,” said Barr.

He mentioned the event was not about winning over Kentuckians, which has already happened, but more so a way to financially help campaign efforts in swing states, such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

“This is our way, Kentuckians way of helping raise resources so that Donald Trump can communicate and JD Vance can communicate their message to the people of those swing states,” said Barr.

Tickets started at $2,500 per person and went up to $100,000 per couple.

Barr said it was not a coincidence Vance paid a stop to the bluegrass, given he spent a lot of his childhood in Jackson. He wrote about it in his book “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was turned into a Netflix movie.

“He has that eastern Kentucky Appalachian grit; he understands the needs of the people of Appalachia, of Kentucky, and of this country,” said Barr.

Colmon Eldridge, chair of the Kentucky Democrats, responded to Vance’s stop, stating:

“The same out-of-touch phony who called Eastern Kentuckians lazy will now stop by our Commonwealth today to line his campaign coffers. JD Vance can try to keep pretending to be an Appalachian, but a ritzy fundraiser — moved out of Pikeville to Lexington — isn’t doing his charade any justice. To put it bluntly, he ain’t from here.”

Barr brushed aside critics, saying Vance would be a tireless advocate for the people of Kentucky.

“JD Vance stands for creating a better future for creating a better future for all Kentuckians, all Americans, and he is the embodied of the American dream; that should be celebrated, not denigrated.”

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Vance will continue on the campaign trail Tuesday, leaving the bluegrass for appearances in Michigan and Tennessee.

JD Vance was not made available to the media.

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