Some came by car, others by bus. One came on a garbage truck. At the annual St. Jerome Picnic in Fancy Farm, pageantry is the name of the game. The quintessentially western Kentucky event is the traditional launch to the state's election season and a proving ground for candidates and elected officials alike.

It's not an election year in Kentucky, but a spectator wouldn't know it as the top three GOP candidates vying for the chance to fill U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's seat battled it out in front of a boisterous crowd. Republican Congressman James Comer also faced off against his Democratic opponent John "Drew" Williams, who was also the only Democratic politician to accept an invitation to the picnic.

Ashli Watts, the president of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, emcee'ed the event, a ch

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