Dems outspending GOP in gov race; a rare Trump mention; UAW strike | Trail to ’23

This is part of an occasional Herald-Leader series, Trail to ‘23, to catch readers up on all the latest from this year’s Kentucky elections, most notably the governor’s race. There is less than one month until the Nov. 7 general election in which Kentuckians will decide the commonwealth’s next governor: incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear or Republican challenger Daniel Cameron.

The 2023 Kentucky governor’s race general election has seen more than $40 million in TV and radio ad spending, according to Medium Buying.

Gov. Andy Beshear and Democratic groups backing him hold a sizable advantage over Republicans, with nearly $23.9 million spent, per Medium Buying. Of that, nearly $14 million has been spent by a group called Defending Bluegrass Values, an affiliate of the Democratic Governor’s Association.

Republican groups, along with GOP nominee Daniel Cameron, have spent $16.3 million, Medium buying says. The Cameron campaign has spent just under $1.5 million, and the rest has come from five political action committees backing him.

Presidential proxy wars in KY gov race

In a Tuesday editorial board meeting with the Herald-Leader, Beshear said he’s backing President Joe Biden’s re-election effort in 2024.

It’s not an unexpected endorsement, given Beshear and Biden are both Democrats. But that hasn’t stopped the Cameron campaign and Republican Party of Kentucky from grabbing hold of it.

“I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised because he’s already been doing Joe Biden’s bidding here in Kentucky,” Cameron said in a video.

Cameron, meanwhile, has not responded to Herald-Leader requests for a meeting with the editorial board.

Meanwhile, a new PAC ad from Club for Growth Action touts Cameron’s endorsement from former president Donald Trump as it also links Beshear to Biden.

“Beshear and Biden?” the ad asks. “Or Trump and Daniel Cameron? Trump’s choice. Our champion.”

A spokesperson for Club for Growth Action said the ad is a part of a $1.6 million buy over the next four weeks.

A recent poll from FOX 56 News and Emerson College shows Trump with a 29% percentage point lead over Biden in a hypothetical 2024 match-up in Kentucky.

While the PAC ad is not affiliated or coordinating with the Cameron campaign, the GOP nominee himself has given the former president fewer mentions in the general election than he did during primary season.

Also since the close of the primary season: Trump has picked up three more criminal indictments for a total of four pending cases against him, which Cameron has, at times, been reluctant to avoid commenting on.

UAW goes on strike, candidates weigh in

When 8,700 members of the United Auto Workers at Louisville’s Ford Motor Company truck plant went on strike beginning Wednesday evening, Cameron and Beshear were both quick to weigh in.

“The UAW represents thousands of our hard-working families and Ford is an important employer in Kentucky,” Beshear said. “We need both a strong UAW and Ford. My hope is that they can reach an agreement quickly – one that works for both sides and moves everyone forward.”

As the Herald-Leader reported last month, the Kentucky State United Auto Workers PAC Council gave a PAC backing Beshear a $75,000 donation.

“Not even the members of the United Auto Workers can withstand the effects of Bidenomics,” Cameron said. “I hope the UAW and Ford can reach a swift resolution.”

He went on to reiterate Beshear’s endorsement of Biden.

More PAC ads, another website launched

Two of the biggest-spending outside groups in the Kentucky governor’s race have each dropped a new ad, and each of those ads conjure up the likeness of two familiar boogeymen this election season: Biden and former governor Matt Bevin.

Kentucky Values, a group affiliated with the Republican Governors Association, released a new ad saying Beshear and Biden are “one in the same.”

“On the things that really matter, Andy Beshear is just like Joe Biden,” the voiceover says.

Defending Bluegrass Values, a group backed by the Democratic Governors Association, features a Bardstown resident, Randy, in its latest ad. Randy says Cameron is “just recycling old Matt Bevin policies.”

If that line sounds familiar, it’s because it’s similar to one often used by Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, who says Cameron is “dustin’ off Matt Bevin’s old playbook” on matters of education.

Additionally, Bluegrass Freedom Action, a group backing Cameron, launched a new website called “AndyLied.com.”

“BFA has purchased every available billboard around the Governor’s Mansion in Frankfort as well as launched a text and digital campaign,” according to a news release from the group.

Beshear released a third abortion ad

Beshear continues to hammer Cameron on abortion.

On Thursday morning, his campaign released a third television ad, again highlighting Cameron’s historically staunch defense of the lack of rape and incest exceptions in Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban. Current state law only permits abortion to save the life of a pregnant person.

This newest ad combines messaging from the first two and features the same subjects: Erin White, a Jefferson County prosecutor, and Hadley, a young woman from Owensboro who was raped and impregnated by her stepfather at age 12.

The 30-second spot begins with a camera on White, who says, “Daniel Cameron’s staunch position allowing no exceptions in the case of rape or incest.”

“It is an insult to the injury these survivors who have already made it through,” White continues, as the shot cuts to Hadley, who says, “I’m not the first, and I won’t be the last. There are other girls out there that need that choice.”

White then mentions how Cameron co-signed a letter to the Department for Health and Human Services earlier this summer with other Republican attorneys general, arguing they should be able to retain the right to search the medical records of people who travel out of state for reproductive health care.

The AGs who signed the letter, like Cameron, are from states that have criminalized or banned abortion.

“That’s extreme,” White says in the ad. “And it’s dangerous.”

Cameron notably changed his public position on abortion last month, saying at first that, as governor, he would sign a bill allowing for rape and incest exceptions if the General Assembly presented it to him. Then, at a campaign stop in London, Cameron said he would only support adding exceptions if court-ordered to do so.

Reporter Alex Acquisto contributed to this report.