Republican state senator is hosting a catered picnic at his 8-acre estate in Fairdale this month and inviting anyone who has been "bullied" by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin — including Bevin's own lieutenant governor.

Sen. Dan Seum says the picnic is a nonpartisan event in which any group that has felt personally insulted or bullied by the governor — including teachers, judges, journalists, retirees and union members — are welcome.

"Any elected official is welcome, too … except for one," Seum said. "Because when you insult my family and you insult me personally, then you’re not welcome.”

In the past two years Bevin has blamed teacher sickouts for the sexual assault of children and the shooting of one specific child in Louisville, recently adding that teachers only participated in the sickouts to get a paid day off work.

Of the teachers in his family, Seum told the Courier Journal on Thursday, "I don't believe they're thugs, and I don't believe they're greedy."

Asked about Seum's picnic, a spokesman for Bevin's reelection campaign issued a statement that did not mention the senator, but said Kentuckians support Bevin's economic record and "reject the Beshear agenda of opposing President Trump and taking Kentucky backwards.”

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Seum made headlines in August when he broke ranks with his party to endorse the campaign of Attorney General Andy Beshear, the Democratic nominee for governor who is taking on Bevin this fall.

In a video announcing that endorsement, Seum blasted Bevin for making numerous disparaging comments about public school teachers who protested pension legislation supported by the governor.

"Today, we have a governor who has failed miserably in the pension issue and has spent the last year running around the state insulting everyone, including the four teachers in my family," Seum said in the video.

Seum said he expects 200 people to attend the picnic, and a Facebook page for the event listed that many either planning to or interested in attending. He added that he hosted the Jefferson County Republican Party's picnic at his property just three years ago.

A Fairdale restaurant will provide barbecue, hot dogs and hamburgers for the picnic, Seum said.

"I don't know how you govern if you've insulted everybody," Seum said. "Big groups of people make things happen working together as a team, and we're only going to solve this pension crisis if we can all sit down at the table civilly and talk."

A strong supporter of marijuana legalization, Seum said that he and other advocates were insulted when the governor called his legalization bill "delusional."

He also decried Bevin's treatment of his Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton, who is suing the governor over his administration's dismissal of her two top staff members against her wishes.

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Seum said Republican state legislators were also welcome to attend, though some may be too fearful of retaliation from the governor to do so.

Though his message endorsing Beshear criticized Bevin on the pension issue, Seum has voted for pension bills supported by the governor, including the 2018 legislation that was opposed by teachers' unions and elicited large protests by teachers in Frankfort.

Seum began his political career in Louisville as a Democrat, only to switch to the Republican Party when he was a state senator in 1999.

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com or 502-582-4472 and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courierjournal.com/subscribe.