Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear’s Communications Director Kerri Richardson told WKMS the Governor won’t pursue the position, in spite of rumors over the last few months that he was a candidate.
MSU is preparing to hire a firm to help sort through candidates for the job, and they hope to hire a new president in next spring. Governor Beshear's second term ends in 2015, and the job could have helped boost his state retirement benefits. The MSU Presidential position pays nearly twice the Governor’s salary.
Some political sources say if Beshear had stepped down as Governor to take the post, it would have allowed for Lt. Governor Jerry Abramson to become Governor, and potentially campaign as an incumbent in 2015.