Beshear campaign reports raising another $1.5M, Cameron brings in $529k in last 30 days
Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear continues to bring in heaps of money for his re-election bid against GOP challenger Attorney General Daniel Cameron, with his most recent campaign finance report showing he raised $1.5 million in the last 30 days.
Cameron, meanwhile, reported about $529,000 raised in the last 30 days.
Cameron has $968,000 left on hand as of Wednesday compared to Beshear’s $1.9 million cash on hand.
More than 3,800 individual itemized contributions were made to Beshear’s campaign during that time period, according to the campaign’s Kentucky Registry of Election Finance filings.
Of those contributions, 248 were either at the current maximum individual donation amount of $2,100 or the old maximum amount of $2,000. More than 3,100 of those contributions came from Kentucky, totaling around $983,000 of the campaign’s $1.27 million in individual itemized donations.
Cameron received more than 1,100 individual itemized donations during the 30-day reporting period. Of those donations, 110 were maximum or near-maximum. About 920 of those donations were from Kentucky, totaling close to $401,00 in in-state money.
Beshear has raised around $18 million this entire gubernatorial cycle, including during the primary where he faced little serious competition. He first filed for re-election in late 2021. Cameron has raised a total of about $4.8 million through primary and general election cycles in the last year-plus.
Cameron won nearly 50% of the Republican primary vote in a blowout win over a crowded and well-funded field.
The remainder of Beshear’s campaign haul came from $184,000 in un-itemized contributions and about $40,000 in political action committee and executive committee contributions. Cameron received $14,000 in un-itemized contributions and $47,000 from PACs and executive committees.
Beshear campaign manager Eric Hyers said in a release that the numbers reflect continued enthusiasm for Beshear.
“Governor Andy Beshear has consistently delivered for Kentucky, which is why he remains one of the most popular governors in the country,” Hyers wrote. “Once again, our fundraising report shows sky-high enthusiasm for the governor that is reflected on the ground, in polling and in the millions raised to support our campaign.”
Sean Southard, a spokesperson for the Cameron campaign and the Republican Party of Kentucky, said that Cameron is well-positioned to “retire the Beshear family.” Beshear’s father, Steve, was governor of the state for two terms from 2007 to 2015.
“Team Cameron has the resources to win on November 7. Andy Beshear is bankrolled by Joe Biden. We are running an aggressive campaign around the state. This fall, Kentuckians will retire the Beshear family once and for all,” Southard wrote.
Southard’s reference to Democratic President Joe Biden “bankrolling” Beshear comes from a $250,000 contribution the Biden Victory Fund — a joint fundraising committee between Biden, the Democratic National Convention and all state Democratic parties — made to the Kentucky Democatic Party. The Kentucky Democratic Party is primarily focused on re-electing Beshear this year, as well as supporting other down-ballot candidates.
Recent polling done by partisan groups as well as independent pollsters show Beshear with a lead over Cameron, stretching anywhere from four percentage points to double digits, but Republicans believe that more voters will side with Cameron as election season continues to heat up. Beshear’s approval rating polls consistently high and has at times led all Democratic governors in the nation.
Though Beshear’s campaign fundraising has thus far bested Cameron’s, outside groups have made up some of the difference in the advertisement wars. AdImpact reported on Wednesday that pro-Beshear groups, including the official campaign, have reserved $39.8 million in advertising compared to $21.3 million for groups supporting Cameron.
PAC involvement
Several PACs are involved in the governor’s race, paced by Defending Bluegrass Values. That group is almost entirely funded by the Democratic Governors Association, and has reported raising $12 million since the general election began. However, the group has reserved $20.7 million in ads supporting Beshear, according to AdImpact.
The second-biggest PAC, Kentucky Values, is funded by the Republican Governors Association. The group has reported relatively little raised on its KREF filings, but has reserved a total of $10 million in ads supporting Cameron.
The down-ballot candidates
The following down-ballot candidates have reported raising decent chunks of money as of Wednesday evening. Here’s how much they raised in the last 30 days and how much cash on hand they reported:
- GOP nominee for attorney general Russell Coleman - $87,000 raised, $888,000 cash on hand
- Democratic nominee for attorney general Pam Stevenson - $62,000 raised, $44,000 cash on hand
- GOP Secretary of State Michael Adams, running for re-election - $81,000 raised, $300,000 cash on hand
- Democratic candidate for secretary of state Buddy Wheatley - $42,000 raised, $140,000 cash on hand
- GOP candidate for commissioner of agriculture Jonathan Shell - $55,000 raised, $227,000 cash on hand
- Democratic candidate for commissioner of agriculture Sierra Enlow - $33,000 raised, $97,000 cash on hand
- Democratic candidate for auditor Kim Reeder - $30,000 raised, $86,000 cash on hand
- GOP Treasurer and candidate for auditor Allison Ball had not yet filed her report as of late Wednesday evening
- Democratic candidate for treasurer Michael Bowman - $32,000 raised, $40,000 cash on hand
- GOP candidate for treasurer Mark Metcalf - $24,000 raised, $43,000 cash on hand
This story was originally published October 11, 2023 at 8:40 PM.
