We’re done with Kentucky governor debates. How did the candidates finish?

Debate season is over.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican nominee Attorney General Daniel Cameron polished off their fifth and final debate less than two weeks before the Nov. 7 election on Lexington television station WKYT.

The event capped a two-night run, with Beshear and Cameron trading jabs and making their case over Kentucky Educational Television airwaves on Monday. The tone in both debates varied, with the public access show having more of a political insider audience compared to WKYT’s wide-ranging general audience.

In the two events, Cameron and Beshear hammered home what they believe to be their strongest criticisms of each other and most compelling talking points. Beshear hit Cameron on abortion and school choice while touting his own relatability and economic record; Cameron responded by slamming Beshear on abortion and the state’s economy.

Per usual, both candidate’s camps claimed victory in the post-debate messaging wars.

A Cameron campaign official posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Cameron “destroyed” Beshear on the debate stage because Beshear did not clearly state his preferred time frame for when to limit abortion access and that he didn’t renounce his endorsement of President Joe Biden.

Around the same time, the Democratic Governors Association released a statement that Beshear “completely wiped the floor” with Cameron by holding his feet to the fire on school choice and abortion.

Here were the highlights and takeaways from the final two debates.

Final offense

In Monday’s debate, Beshear played offense more often, probing Cameron to answer “yes” or “no” questions multiple times throughout that debate. Tuesday saw both candidates deploy that gambit.

After Beshear had, for a second night, pressed Cameron hard on not full-throatedly supporting adding exceptions for rape or incest to the state law banning abortion, Cameron tried to flip the script.

Though Beshear has said that he would support a law that allows the procedure up until fetal viability, which is generally considered to be around 24 weeks, he did not say that clearly in the Tuesday debate – for Cameron, this was an opportunity.

“This governor has no answer for you,” Cameron said. “He has no answer.”

As for Cameron’s alleged non-answers, Beshear came prepared with numbers.

On school choice, Beshear pointed out that, by his count, Cameron had “refused 10 times to look into a camera and say he’s for vouchers.”

And he also tried to flip Cameron’s “crazy versus normal” line against him.

“If we want to talk about ‘normal versus crazy,’ it’s crazy we have a candidate that doesn’t have the empathy to look in a camera and say he supports victims of rape and incest, some as young as 9, to have options. I will always be the type of governor that you might not agree with, but you’ll know he’s doing what he thinks is right,” Beshear said.

D.C. vs. Frankfort politics

Cameron and groups supporting him, armed with the knowledge that former Republican president Donald Trump is still popular in Kentucky and Democratic President Biden’s approval ratings have cratered in-state, have used national political figures to message against Beshear.

A question from moderator and longtime WKYT anchor Bill Bryant asked both candidates if it was important to “keep Washington-style politics out of Frankfort.”

Cameron began his answer by complaining about Beshear vetoes of bills that he believes “most folks” in Kentucky would support, but later redirected to issues with the Biden White House, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and economic policy.

Beshear laughed at the response.

“You just saw my opponent try to bring that D.C. politics into the answer to that question. We absolutely have to keep D.C. politics and dysfunction out of our state. A governor’s got to get things done,” Beshear said.

But playing politics in Frankfort came up in a negative light against Beshear after the debate.

On stage, Cameron criticized Beshear’s complete overhaul — Cameron said he “blew it up” — of the Kentucky Board of Education, and the Republican Governors Association later added to the complaint. The group posted a video of Beshear during his 2019 campaign promising to “give you a brand new board of education” on day one (of his administration.)

“Andy Beshear tried to say he wasn’t political when it came to the Board of Education. For a fact check - here’s Beshear literally making a campaign pitch on changing the Board of Education as at top priority,” the group stated.

Leaving an impression

In closing statements, both candidates made their final campaign pitches.

Cameron started off by undercutting Beshear’s message on the economy because “inflation is rocking your wallet.”

The hits on Beshear included his endorsement of Biden, COVID-19 mitigation policies on which he said Beshear overstepped, and the governor’s vetoes of bills that banned transgender girls from girls sports and a key income tax cut bill.

“We don’t have to accept this crazy agenda any longer. We can make sure that we have leadership that makes sure that we have quality schools, that we support our teachers, that we keep our streets safe from crime and drugs, and yes, we can eliminate Kentucky’s income tax,” Cameron said. “That’s where you and I can go together.”

Beshear began by playing up good economic news for the state – “the envy of the nation” – despite several high-profile environmental and meteorological disasters.

It came with a warning, though.

“An overly partisan governor will stop all of that,” Beshear said.

“Somebody with rash (income tax reduction) plans that decimated Kansas’ economy will stop all of that. Somebody wants to de-fund your public schools will stop all of that. Folks, we have got to keep this going, and in me, you have a governor that doesn’t see Team Red or Team Blue, just Team Kentucky.”