Daniel Cameron: Can ‘rising star’ keep his lead and win KY GOP nomination for governor?
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Kentucky 2023 Primary Election
Primary Day in Kentucky is May 16, and the Herald-Leader has everything you need to know about races and candidates across Kentucky.
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The Herald-Leader is profiling the major candidates for the GOP nomination for Kentucky governor. Read the other profiles at Kentucky.com in coming days.
Daniel Cameron has been hailed as a “rising star” in the Republican Party for years.
A standout appearance at the 2020 Republican National Convention exposed the first-term Kentucky attorney general to a wider audience, which he’s bolstered in the years since with frequent appearances on Fox News. He’s the first Black person independently elected to statewide office in Kentucky history, and he’s cultivated relationships with both former president Donald Trump and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
But before he can continue that ascent, he’ll have to best 11 other Republicans who are also vying for the Governor’s Mansion in the May 16 primary. While all the public polls so far show Cameron is poised to come out on top, the field has narrowed as Election Day has drawn nearer.
Two of the front-runners — Cameron and former ambassador Kelly Craft — have been embroiled in an increasingly contentious battle for the nomination. The two campaigns — and PACs backing them — have spent millions on attack ads, and the candidates have been unafraid to take jabs at one another in the press and on the rare occasion they share a stage.
Cameron is no stranger to being attacked, though. His office’s handling of the investigation into the fatal 2020 Louisville Metro Police shooting of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, has been scrutinized nationally.
“I’m ready to be the governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and want to help serve for the remainder of this decade as the governor,” Cameron said. “We’ve had failed leadership from Andy Beshear. ... We need a new direction, someone who reflects the values of the men, women and children of all 120 counties.”
Cameron on the issues
- Restoring Kentucky values: As a big-picture issue, Cameron said Kentucky needs a governor who respects the values that Kentuckians hold dear — unlike Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. “For most folks, when you have a governor who is absolutely silent when the Department of Justice refers to parents as domestic terrorists, I think that is a sign that this governor isn’t willing to step up to some of the far-left elements of his own party.” Cameron also said Beshear “picked winners and losers” during the pandemic by deciding which businesses could stay open and which couldn’t, and that the Kentucky governor has “has been close-mouthed when it comes to, at all, holding the Biden administration accountable for the policies at the southern border.”
- Public safety: As attorney general, Cameron is the top law-enforcement official in Kentucky and has promised to be a governor who “backs the blue.” He has called for the Kentucky State Police to open a post in Louisville in response to violent crime.
- Workforce participation: Cameron said he wants to see “able-bodied participants” back into the workforce. “I understand that there was an expansion of Medicaid and that now includes able-bodied participants. ... We want to make sure this program is solvent for those that are means-tested or medically necessary, but when you include able-bodied participants, we should also make sure that program is transitory for these individuals. So that is why I believe we need to move forward with a work component as it relates to those individuals.” If elected, Cameron said he would request to add those work requirements to Kentucky’s Medicaid expansion within his first few days in office.
- Abortion: Cameron supports Kentucky’s abortion ban as-is, which only allows for abortions in the event of medical emergencies that threaten the pregnant person’s life. As attorney general, Cameron’s office has fought to uphold Kentucky’s anti-abortion laws in court.
- LGBTQ legislation: Cameron supports Senate Bill 150, passed by the 2023 General Assembly. The bill bans gender-affirming care for kids under 18, lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation, prevents trans students from using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity and stops school districts from requiring teachers use a student’s pronouns if they don’t align with their sex assigned at birth. After Beshear vetoed the bill, Cameron said he set “a dangerous precedent for our children’s future, but also endangers their health and well-being.” The veto was quickly overridden by the legislature, and now the ACLU is suing to overturn major provisions of the bill; Cameron has vowed his office will defend the bill in court.
Who is supporting Cameron’s bid?
Former President Trump has offered Cameron campaign for governor a “complete and total endorsement,” something he frequently touts in ads and on stage.
“He’s strong on crime. He’s strong on the borders,” Trump said in a video. “He’s strong on everything you want him to be. He loves our military. He loves our vets, and he will always take care of them and law enforcement. Number 1, above all, he’s with them and he’s with stopping crime, so I just want to let you know that as such an important place, it’s very important to get it right and you’re getting it right with Daniel Cameron as your governor.”
The Cameron campaign has had strong financial support, having raised nearly $1.5 million as of the most recent finance report.
Throughout his campaign, Cameron has received donations from notable political figures both inside and out of Kentucky, including former gubernatorial candidate Hal Heiner, GOP state representatives John Hodgson and Mary Beth Imes, and Henry Perot III, the grandson of billionaire former independent presidential candidate Ross Perot.
Additionally, a PAC supporting Cameron’s bid, Bluegrass Freedom Action, received an influx of money to bring its total funds raised this cycle above $2.7 million. Of that, $2.25 million has come from ‘dark money’ group The Concord Fund, which is well-known for funding attempts to reshape American courts to become more conservative.
Cameron also says more than 100 law enforcement officials have endorsed his campaign.
What Cameron’s opponents are saying:
Cameron has faced the lion’s share of attacks this primary season.
The Craft campaign and a PAC supporting her has slammed his record on coal, criminal justice and an alleged ethics violation related to political donations.
Craft has slammed Cameron for “allowing” the “woke” federal Department of Justice to conduct a patterns and practices investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department following the Taylor shooting.
“What does that say about backing the blue?” Craft said. “We need to have complete confidence in our law enforcement.”
Cameron was heavily criticized in fall 2020 when just one officer was indicted for his role in the Taylor shooting — and not for her death. That scrutiny was renewed in August 2022 when the DOJ charged four officers for their roles, including the falsified warrant that led police to her door; Cameron’s office didn’t look into how the warrant was obtained.
Fellow GOP candidate and suspended Northern Kentucky attorney Eric Deters has said Cameron can’t win because of his handling of the Taylor case, calling it a “millstone around his neck.”
In response, Cameron said he remains “proud” of the work his team did on that case.
Why Cameron says he is the best to take on Beshear:
In making his pitch to voters, Cameron plays up his history of fighting Beshear and President Joe Biden in court, whether that’s over covid-19 closures or vaccine mandates. He also returns to his oft-repeated claim that Beshear doesn’t understand the “values” of Kentuckians.
“He certainly doesn’t understand Kentucky’s values and Kentuckians need to be reminded of that,” Cameron has said. “If he understood our values, he wouldn’t have shut down churches in the midst of the pandemic. If he understood our values, he wouldn’t have picked winners and losers during the midst of the pandemic. ... If he understood our values, he would be fighting daily to preserve our coal industry.”
He also touts his Trump endorsement, noting he is the “only one” with the ex-president’s backing; Trump remains immensely popularity in Kentucky, which he won by more than 20 percentage points in 2020.
Cameron quick facts:
Name: Daniel Cameron
Age: 37
City of residence: Graymoor-Devondale, a Louisville suburb
Previous political/public experience: Attorney General of Kentucky
Professional experience: Law clerk for U.S. District Court judge, legal counsel to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, attorney in private practice
Learn more: www.cameronforkentucky.com; Daniel Cameron for Governor of Kentucky on Facebook; Daniel Cameron on YouTube; @danieljaycameron on Instagram; @DanielCameronAG on Twitter
Quote: “So 2023 is a transformational moment for the Commonwealth. We get to decide how we want Kentucky to look through the remainder of this decade. Do we want someone whose mere presence in the governor’s mansion emboldens the far left or do we want someone that reflects the values of the men, women and children of all 120 counties I hope you decide that I’m that candidate.”
This story was originally published May 8, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
