Criticized by Republican challenger and state attorney general Daniel Cameron for being “soft on crime,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear recently announced a budget proposal designed to bolster public safety.
The outline includes returning all statewide law enforcement pension plans back to defined pension benefits, funding upgraded body armor, boosting training stipends for officers, adding pay raises for state police troopers, and supporting additional law enforcement training.
Mr. Beshear introduced the proposal as he faces continued scrutiny from Mr. Cameron about crime in the state.
“With a historic budget surplus, there is no excuse not to provide the help that is needed, the best equipment to all law enforcement,” Mr. Beshear said at a news conference. “Heroes like these deserve the best wages, the best benefits, the best training. And that is exactly what my budget proposal will do.”
Mr. Cameron, who followed Mr. Beshear as the state’s attorney general, called the governor “the catch-and-release candidate.”
Mr. Beshear allowed the early release of some nonviolent inmates during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Cameron noted.
“Now, during an election year, he is trying to rewrite his record. I am still the only candidate in this race with a plan to reduce crime. And I am the only candidate in this race who actually has the relationships in the legislature to deliver,” said Mr. Cameron, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump. “Beshear is the only candidate in this race who has released 1,700 criminals back onto our streets, nearly a third of which went on to commit felonies.”
Mr. Cameron introduced a 12-point crime reduction plan that includes increased penalties for drug traffickers, the creation of a $5,000 recruitment and retention bonus for officers, and the development of a culture that publicly supports law enforcement.
Mr. Cameron has also proposed pursuing the death penalty against anyone convicted of murdering a police officer.
“While this list is not exhaustive, these initiatives directly address the rise of crime, drug trafficking, and overdoses and the need to retain and recruit officers in our commonwealth,” Mr. Cameron said. “Under a Cameron administration, Kentucky will be the best place in America to be a police officer.”
Kentucky to ‘Feel Safe’
A report from the Kentucky State Police in July showed that serious crime rates across Kentucky dropped in 2022. Homicides, robberies, and drug offenses saw double-digit reductions, according to the report.Animal cruelty, bribery, and extortion were the only serious crimes that increased in arrests and reported offenses from 2021 to 2022, the report indicated.
Information for the report was gathered from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, which is the standard reporting system for the FBI. The data includes reports from 98 percent of Kentucky’s law enforcement entities.
Early Indicator for 2024
The Kentucky governor’s race is one of the nation’s most closely watched elections this year and could provide hints of what will happen in presidential and congressional campaigns in 2024.Mr. Beshear is the son of a former Kentucky governor, serving in a state that former President Donald Trump won by 25 points in 2020. He is running for a second term after winning in 2019 by less than a percentage point in a contentious race against former Gov. Matt Bevin.
A Morning Consult poll in October 2022 showed that Mr. Beshear was rated one of the 10 most popular governors in the United States with a 59 percent approval rating.
At a campaign stop earlier this month, Mr. Beshear reflected on a message from President Joe Biden, pointing to job creation from economic development and record-low unemployment rates.
“When you’re on a historic winning streak, you don’t fire the coach,” Mr. Beshear said. “You don’t sub out the quarterback. You keep that team on the field.”
Mr. Beshear has tried to distance himself from President Joe Biden.
In an interview with The Associated Press in late December, Mr. Beshear criticized Mr. Trump as well as Mr. Biden during an interview with The Associated Press in late December. He insisted that he did not need or seek Mr. Biden’s help for his gubernatorial re-election campaign.
“This campaign isn’t going to be about national figures,” Beshear told AP. “It’s not going to be about any other figures. It’s going to be about the people of Kentucky. So you shouldn’t expect me to bring in anyone, whether they’re popular or not popular in Kentucky. I’m willing to run on my record. I’m willing to run on my relationship with the people of Kentucky.”
A survey released last week by Democrat-affiliated Public Policy Polling showed Mr. Beshear has a 49 percent to 41 percent lead over Mr. Cameron, with 10 percent saying they are “not sure” who they will support.
The survey indicated that Mr. Beshear has a 58 percent job approval rating, while 39 percent of the 737 respondents disapprove of his performance.
Kentucky residents want to hear about education, healthcare, public safety, and infrastructure issues instead of “culture war” topics, Mr. Beshear said at a press conference after the poll results were announced.
“I think the people of Kentucky want their governor’s race to never go to the gutter, and they want it to be about those issues that they worry about each and every day,” Mr. Beshear said.
Republicans have criticized Mr. Beshear’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that he did not work with the GOP-controlled state legislature in enacting mandates.
“He closed down Main Street and bent over backward for Wall Street,” Mr. Cameron said.
Republicans have also reminded voters that Mr. Beshear vetoed a bill banning transgender youth from medical treatment, which was overridden by the GOP-controlled legislature.
In March, citing his “faith” and claiming that it would “endanger the children of Kentucky,” Mr. Beshear vetoed Senate Bill 150, a measure that the Kentucky GOP said was introduced to protect children “by preventing minors from accessing life-altering sex change surgery and drugs.”
A few days later, Kentucky’s Republican-controlled legislature overturned Mr. Beshear’s veto and passed S.B. 150 into law, making transgender procedures for minors illegal.
The measure bans children younger than 18 from getting transgender procedures like puberty blockers, hormone therapies, surgeries, and other gender-transitioning services.
The new law also prevents teachers in public schools through the fifth grade from discussing in classrooms topics related to human sexuality, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Also under the measure, local school districts cannot force staff members to use a student or teacher’s preferred pronouns. The law also requires that students must use the bathroom that reflects their biological sex.
In his veto letter, Mr. Beshear wrote that the bill “allows too much government interference in personal health care issues and rips away the freedom of parents to make medical decisions for their children.” It also “strips freedom” from parents to make “personal family decisions” around what names their children should be called “and how people should refer to them,” he said.
Mr. Beshear added that “SB 150 also turns educators and administrators into investigators that must listen in on student conversations and then knock on doors to confront and question parents and families about how students behave and/or refer to themselves or others.”
Mr. Cameron has said there is a “TV Andy” and a “Frankfort Andy,” referencing Kentucky’s capital where the governor resides.
“He vetoes tax cuts. He fights for the Biden agenda. He demands that boys play in girls’ sports. He protects transgender surgeries for kids,” Mr. Cameron said.
“When it came to banning access to these life-altering surgeries and drugs for kids, Beshear had a clear and easy choice: to sign the bill to protect Kentucky’s kids or to veto it. He chose to veto it,” Mr. Cameron added.
Mr. Beshear noted that he would have signed a more detailed bill against gender reassignment surgeries.
“I would have signed a bill that solely prohibited gender assignment surgeries for minors had it reached my desk,” Mr. Beshear said.
Mr. Beshear and Mr. Cameron are scheduled to appear together in forums and debates ahead of the November election on Sept. 20, Oct. 12, Oct. 23, and Oct. 24.
