Kentucky AG Wins GOP Gubernatorial Primary, Will Challenge Dem Gov

Kentucky Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron won the gubernatorial GOP primary Tuesday and will now challenge Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in November.

Cameron, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, won the Republican nomination for Kentucky governor, according to The Associated Press. The attorney general defeated former Trump administration U.N. Ambassador Kelly Craft, who received a last-minute endorsement from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles and numerous other GOP contenders.

“Cameron looks like he’s crushing. Outperforming the public polls. Good momentum coming out of the primary and this is absolutely a winnable race for the Republican Party,” Scott Jennings, a longtime GOP Kentucky adviser and veteran of numerous campaigns, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. (RELATED: The GOP Could Flip Two Democratic-Held Governor Seats)

DDHQ: Trump-backed Daniel Cameron wins Republican nomination for Governor in Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/8YHLvtxVs7

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) May 16, 2023

Cameron is the first black Kentuckian to be independently elected to a statewide office and is the first Republican attorney general since 1948. He previously told the DCNF that he served as a “check” on Beshear’s “liberal agenda,” and promised to champion parental rights in education, bolster law enforcement and fight against the opioid crisis if elected governor.

“Andy Beshear doesn’t represent Kentucky’s values. I’ve had to fight Beshear’s agenda so many times as attorney general, that I decided to do something about it and run to defeat him,” Cameron previously told the DCNF. “They don’t know he’s actually a liberal – who pretends to be a moderate. But they will by the time November rolls around.”

The attorney general consistently polled at the top, with Craft and Quarles next in line, and several other GOP hopefuls following; there were 12 Republicans total vying for the GOP nomination.

Craft worked under the Trump administration for four years, first as the U.S. Ambassador to Canada and then as U.N. Ambassador following Nikki Haley’s departure. She was endorsed by Republican Kentucky Rep. James Comer, who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability; Comer told the DCNF he supported Craft for governor because she’s “the real deal.”

The runner-up previously touted her experience alongside the former president, and told the DCNF she would fight against the fentanyl crisis and the “woke ideologies” that are being pushed into school systems, while bolstering Kentucky’s economy. Craft has reportedly funneled millions of her own money into her gubernatorial campaign, amounting to roughly $10 million in personal loans, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

“I’m running for Governor of Kentucky because we need to remove partisan bureaucrats from the Kentucky Department of Education,” Craft previously told the DCNF. “We also need a strong, conservative governor who won’t be a rubber stamp for Joe Biden’s radical policies.”

Beshear was narrowly elected in 2019 where he beat incumbent Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, who succeeded Beshear’s father Gov. Steve Beshear, 49.2% to 48.8% by just 5,000 votes. The governor’s victory was the only Democratic win on the ballot, which several Kentucky political operatives attributed to Bevin’s lack of popularity among Republicans, they previously told the DCNF.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.