Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron pulled off a notable feat this week on his way to winning the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination: scoring support from allies of both Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Cameron, 37, advanced to a November showdown with Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear after notching a double-digit victory in a primary race while running on a message rooted in “Faith, Family and Community.”
“There were two words that came out of last night: momentum and unity,” Scott Jennings, a Kentucky-based GOP strategist and Cameron supporter, said.
Mr. McConnell and Mr. Trump backed Mr. Cameron, putting them on the same team despite years of growing animosity between the two Republican power players.
Mr. Jennings said that sense of party unity was missing in 2019 when Republican Gov. Matt Bevin’s combative personality and previous attacks on Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, hurt him with members of the party.
Mr. Beshear defeated Mr. Bevin by just over 5,000 votes.
“It is hard to not say this over and over again: Daniel has a unified party, Matt Bevin never did,” Mr. Jennings said. “Everybody likes Daniel.”
Mr. Cameron, a former aide to Mr. McConnell, captured 48% of the primary vote Tuesday in a race that also featured Ryan Quarles, the state agriculture commissioner, and Kelly Craft, a former ambassador to the U.N. who had the support of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
Mr. Beshear, 45, cruised to the Democratic Party’s nomination. He previously served as attorney general and is the son of former Gov. Steve Beshear.
Mr. Beshear rose to power three years ago after upsetting Mr. Bevin in an election cycle in which every other Republican on the state ticket easily won. That included Mr. Cameron, who became the first Black person to serve as Kentucky’s attorney general and the first Republican to do so in over 70 years.
Mr. Beshear enters the general election as a slight favorite, according to political handicappers who cite the power of incumbency, the positive marks he received over his response to natural disasters, the strength of the state’s economy and his $7 million war chest.
“Together, we’re going to continue to build on the progress of the past 3 years — moving our commonwealth not left or right, but forward,” Mr. Beshear said on social media.
Democrats also are playing up the idea the tension between the Republicans in the primary race will spill over into the general election, making it hard for the party to consolidate behind Mr. Cameron.
The Democratic Governors Association launched a “Cameron Doesn’t Care” website on Wednesday, saying his record as attorney general shows the Republican “doesn’t care about doing his job, protecting our communities or your kids.”
“Each and every time, he only does what is best for his own political career,” the website says. “So why would we trust him as governor?”
The Republican Governors Association countered in a “state of the race” memo that said Mr. Beshear tries to portray himself as something he is not: a bipartisan warrior.
“Unlike 2019, Andy Beshar now has a record that he will be held accountable for by voters — Beshear is a liberal who is woefully out of touch with Kentuckians,” Sara Craig, executive director of the Republican Governors Association, said in the memo.
Republicans are targeting Mr. Beshear’s record on COVID-19 lockdowns, his stances on transgender issues and what is being taught in schools, and his support for President Biden.
“The governor during this election will try to take credit for things done by a Republican legislature, but no amount of window dressing will absolve him of his actual record,” Mr. Cameron said in his victory speech on election night.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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