In GOP race to challenge Beshear, Quarles raises $574K, Cameron at $300K
Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles is leading a growing pack of GOP candidates vying to challenge Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for the state’s top post in 2023.
Quarles reported more than $574,000 in campaign contributions from 703 individual donations. His campaign touted at least one donation from each of Kentucky’s 120 counties in a press release.
168 people donated the maximum individual amount of $2,000 to Quarles’ campaign. Several players in Kentucky’s agriculture industry donated that amount to the commissioner’s effort.
The Scott County native announced his candidacy for governor just over two months ago. Having served in his role for two terms, Quarles was term-limited from running for re-election to his current post.
Quarles got a slight jump on Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who announced his run for governor roughly two weeks after the commissioner of agriculture.
Not long after Cameron’s announcement, though, he got a big boost within the GOP by way of an endorsement from former Republican president Donald Trump. Cameron has attracted a national spotlight for overseeing the prosecution of police officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s killing in Louisville, a speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention and for being listed as a potential Supreme Court nominee by Trump.
In Quarles’ release, he said that the 2023 race would not be decided “by national figures” but rather “everyday Kentuckians.” Over 100 state and local officials, including more than 30 county judge-executives and 25 state legislators, have officially endorsed Quarles for governor.
Cameron posted just over $300,000 in funds raised for his gubernatorial bid. That figure includes 285 individual contributions, 100 of which hit the maximum $2,000 dollar mark.
In under a month of fundraising, Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, netted more than $110,000 with the help of 188 itemized campaign contributions. The candidate has positioned herself as a stark critic of Republicans who aren’t as conservative as herself, chiding members of her own party for not being hard enough on Beshear as he took measures to try and mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Eric Deters, a Northern Kentucky retired attorney who announced he would switch from running as a Republican to an Independent after Cameron announced his Trump endorsement, has raised just over $66,000; most of that figure came from Deters’ own pocketbook. State Auditor Mike Harmon has raised almost $43,000 after nearly a year on the trail.
The total amount raised among GOP candidates for governor this quarter, with most candidates not having run the entire length of the quarter, is just shy of Beshear’s $1.1 million raised over the last three months.
Other 2023 GOP races
Kentucky’s lone announced candidate to take over for Cameron posted more than $340,000 in campaign contributions.
Russell Coleman, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky and attorney for Sen. Mitch McConnell, amassed the sum with the help of 388 individual contributions. Coleman thanked donors in a release from his camp, which called him the “most qualified Kentuckian ever to run for Attorney General.”
“I’ll put my experience to work defending our shared values, and my team will tackle the festering problems of violent crime and illegal drugs plaguing our communities,” Coleman said in the release. “I’ve spent my life protecting our families at home and abroad, and I’ll continue working to earn the support of every Kentuckian who Backs the Blue, stands up for life and is committed to building a stronger Commonwealth.”
Coleman’s donor list features several prominent names in Kentucky politics, including several with ties to McConnell.
McConnell himself, his wife former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, and his political action committee (PAC) Bluegrass Committee gave $2,000 to Coleman. J. Todd Inman, formerly of McConnell’s 2014 campaign who also served as Chao’s Chief of Staff, gave as well. Multiple current McConnell staffers also donated to Coleman.
Joe Craft, prominent coal magnate and philanthropist, and his wife Kelly, a former Trump administration ambassador who is mulling a run for governor, both gave the maximum amount.
Some major players in Frankfort also donated $2,000 to Coleman, including top lobbyists like John McCarthy and Patrick Jennings.
Also down the ticket from the governor’s race is a GOP primary for commissioner of agriculture. Thus far, Rep. Richard Heath, R-Mayfield, and former state representative Johnathan Shell have announced.
Per the latest numbers, Shell is far outpacing Heath’s fundraising.
The former House majority floor leader has raised a total of roughly $221,000, seeing a steady stream of donations since announcing for the office more than a year ago. Heath announced his bid around the same time, but has netted only $41,500 thus far – most of it from himself.
On the Democratic side, current top Beshear aide and former house leader Rocky Adkins told the Northern Kentucky Tribune that he’s considering a run for the office.
