Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear of Kentucky said Wednesday that his son, Andrew Beshear, a candidate for attorney general in 2015 in the republican leaning state, played absolutely no role in his decision to become the first Democratic Governor to appeal a federal judge’s ruling  that his state must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries after his current Attorney General Jack Conway refused to appeal.

Absolutely not,” Beshear said at a hastily called news conference in the Capitol when asked about his son’s candidacy and the governor’s decision to appeal the controversial order by U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II in Louisville.Beshear said he informed his son of his decision after he made it.”My decision was not a political decision,” said Beshear.

“It was a decision that I made as governor to make sure that if a big change like this is going to occur, that it occurs in an orderly fashion.”We owe that to the individuals involved; we owe that to employers, to health care providers, to governmental agencies and to a lot of other folks who will be affected by a decision like this.”

Because Conway will not represent the state in the appeal, the governor will have to hire an outside attorney using Kentucky’s dwindling tax revenues in the case

“Based on the decisions, the Commonwealth is still an active party to a case involving interpretations of the Kentucky and United States Constitutions.”Should I have the honor of serving as Kentucky’s next attorney general, I will undoubtedly be asked to provide a legal opinion on this issue. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment at this time, as doing so could later raise issues of recusal.

“Attorney General Jack Conway, cannot seek re-election in 2015 because of term limits, and is expected candidacy to run for governor in 2015.

Andy Beshear, a Louisville attorney, filed papers in November with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance for his Democratic candidacy for attorney general in 2015.