National GOP group spends big for Cameron in Kentucky’s race for attorney general
Republican Daniel Cameron’s campaign to become Kentucky’s chief law-enforcement official has received a strong financial boost from the Republican Association of Attorneys General.
The association, which represents 24 attorneys general, is spending $3.25 million in television advertisement in all media markets that contain Kentucky voters. It is to air in late September.
Cameron, a Louisville attorney who is backed by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, faces Democrat Greg Stumbo of Prestonsburg, who formerly held the office and was speaker of the state House, in the Nov. 5 general election.
“RAGA is fully dedicated to helping Kentucky elect its first Republican attorney general since 1948,” the group’s executive director, Adam Piper, said in a statement.
“The $3.25 million investment is the largest pre-book made since RAGA’s founding in 1999. We are committed to ensuring Daniel Cameron is Kentucky’s first modern-day and rule-of-law-minded attorney general and we’re confident in his ability to turn the office around after decades of Democrat dysfunction.”
RAGA said the advertisement has been booked through the Kentucky Freedom Fund.
It did not release contents of the advertisement.
Cameron campaign manager Nick Weinstein said the campaign does not control the actions of outside groups. “What we do know is that beating an entrenched 30-plus-year politician like Greg Stumbo is not easy or cheap. Stumbo is going to do everything he can to hang onto power. ”
Stumbo said through campaign spokeswoman Meredith Scalos, “I don’t expect our media buy will be that much, but we won’t have the blood money from the opioid crisis — over $500,000 donated to RAGA from Purdue Pharma alone — in our pockets either.”
It was reported last week by NBC News that the drug manufacturer and its owners, the Sackler family, are offering to settle more than 2,000 lawsuit against the company that makes OxyContin for $10 billion to $12 billion.
The lawsuits allege the company and the Sackler family are responsible in part for the opioid crisis. They deny any wrongdoing but say little good will come out of lengthy litigation.
This story was originally published September 3, 2019 at 4:01 PM.
