As recently as October, it appeared that Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s path to a second term was likely, according to polls that saw his lead climb to 16 percentage points. But Republican challenger Daniel Cameron, the state’s attorney general who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has gained momentum in the last month of his campaign. On Election Day, Kentuckians are heading to the polls uncertain of who will occupy the Governor’s Mansion in 2024.
Mr. Beshear was elected by a slim margin in 2019 when he defeated incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin by about 5,000 votes.
He was rated the nation’s most popular Democrat governor in a July poll conducted by Morning Consult and led by 16 points in a survey from Emerson College Polling in early October.
On Nov. 3, Emerson College released a new poll showing Mr. Beshear and Mr. Cameron tied at 47 percent, with 4 percent of the respondents reporting that they’re undecided and 2 percent saying they’re voting for someone else.
The survey gave Mr. Cameron a single percent advantage over Mr. Beshear when undecided voters were asked whom they were leaning toward.
Mr. Cameron and Kentucky Republicans have frequently linked Mr. Beshear to President Joe Biden, who is facing a low approval rating amid a sluggish economy and an impeachment inquiry.
At a campaign stop on Election Day Eve, Mr. Beshear said that he expected a close race.
“The only poll that matters is the one that comes out on Election Day,” he said.
“The governor’s race has nothing to do with who’s in the White House,” Mr. Beshear added. “It has to do with what’s going on in your house. It has to do with bringing in good jobs. We’ve got the second- and third-best years for wages in our history. It’s about expanding health care, so you don’t have to drive two hours or take two buses to see a doctor.”
Mr. Beshear voted early in Frankfort last week. On Nov. 7, he encouraged Kentuckians who have yet to visit the polls to follow his lead.
“10 days. 35 stops. Thousands of miles. And countless supporters across Kentucky,“ Mr. Beshear posted on X. ”I’m so grateful to all of you for showing up. Over the last 4 years, I’ve been fighting to do the right thing for the Commonwealth—and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Now, I’m asking for your vote.”
Mr. Cameron, who will become the third Republican governor in Kentucky since 2003 if he wins, cast his vote on Election Day with his wife and told reporters, “Makenze and I, we’re honored to be here this morning to cast our ballot for the Republican ticket and honored to be here at this point. We’re very, very grateful for the opportunity to be here today.”
While Mr. Beshear consistently touts what he deems a robust economy in Kentucky, and healthy unemployment numbers, Mr. Cameron has repeatedly chastised Mr. Beshear for vetoing transgender-related bills, including one that banned “gender-affirming care” for transgender children and another that prevented transgender men from participating in women’s sports. The vetoes were overridden by Kentucky’s Republican-controlled Legislature.
Jimmy Patrick, who lives in eastern Kentucky, is a Republican who adamantly opposes Mr. Beshear because of the governor’s treatment of transgender issues.
“I’m a Christian, and I believe that we need to protect children. [Mr. Beshear] does not stand for the values of rural Kentuckians. Anyone who would veto those bills does not support children, who are too young to know what they want, does not represent what we believe in rural Kentucky,” said Mr. Patrick, a retired union electrician.
Mr. Cameron has widely criticized the governor for his COVID-19 pandemic restrictions affecting businesses, inflation, and virus-related school closures, which he says resulted in learning loss among students.
Mr. Patrick told The Epoch Times that he likes Mr. Cameron because the attorney general has been outspoken against Mr. Beshear’s COVID response.
“We needed in Kentucky what Florida had with Gov. [Ron] Desantis in Florida, keeping the state open instead of destroying the state with shutdowns,” said Mr. Patrick, who noted that he has not taken a COVID-19 vaccine and has twice recovered from the virus.
“[Mr. Beshear] is more like a Washington politician than a Kentuckian,” Mr. Patrick added. “I don’t trust him. I do trust Daniel Cameron.”
In 2020, Breonna Taylor, a black woman, was killed in a police raid inside her Louisville apartment, sparking riots in the city and nationwide. Mr. Cameron decided to not recommend charges for the officers involved in the shooting. Ms. Taylor’s mother, Tameka Palmer, joined Until Freedom to oppose Mr. Cameron and urge black Kentucky residents to vote for Mr. Beshear. Some critics of Mr. Cameron point to his handling of that case as a reason for supporting Mr. Beshear.
Jeremy Short, a musician who lives in the Morehead area, told The Epoch Times at a rally for Mr. Beshear at Morehead State University that “a big reason I would never vote for Daniel Cameron is because he refused to prosecute the officers who killed Breonna Taylor. When he did that, I knew he was not the right guy for attorney general, and he is not right for Kentucky as governor.
Mr. Short also defended Mr. Beshear’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
“I think he did the best he could do with what he was given. I didn’t play gigs for around two years until we got the vaccines. I was proud to see a governor who stood up for everyday Kentuckians who were out of work and made sure people who needed it had unemployment,” Mr. Short said.
Mr. Beshear has attacked Mr. Cameron for the latter’s views on abortion. Kentucky has a near-total ban on abortion and does not allow exceptions for incest and rape. The measure does permit the procedure when the mother’s life is in danger or she is at risk of a disabling injury.
The ban is “extreme” and absolutely wrong,” Mr. Beshear said in an October debate with Mr. Cameron.
“If the legislature were to give me a bill with exemptions in it, I would certainly sign it,” Mr. Cameron said during the forum.
Polls close in Kentucky at 6 p.m.
