Kelly Craft says ‘stay tuned’ as Cameron, Beshear secure endorsements | 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 are about five months until the November 7 general election in which Kentuckians will decide the commonwealth’s next governor: incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear or Republican challenger Daniel Cameron.

The #kygov news keeps coming and it don’t stop coming, though candidates still have five more months of running.

Coming off his statewide bus tour, Gov. Andy Beshear has rolled out several new endorsements, including the United Mine Workers or America and some coal executives.

“My administration has worked hard to be an advocate for the men and women who work in our coal industry that not only powers Kentucky, but our entire country,” Beshear said in a statement. “We will keep the promise of economic growth and good-paying jobs for those who helped build our nation and the strongest middle class in history.”

While Democrats have reveled in the endorsement — even sharing a Fox News article calling it a “snub” of the GOP — the Republican Party of Kentucky was quick to point out that UMWA hasn’t had any miners in the commonwealth for years.

“Oh, impressive,” spokesperson Sean Southard said in a statement. “Andy Beshear was endorsed by a union that hasn’t employed any miners in Kentucky for the last decade after he and his daddy refused to stand up to Obama and Biden’s war on coal.”

Beshear also received the endorsement of the Kentucky Professional Fire Fighters, because according to KPFF President Joe Baer, the governor has “repeatedly stood with fire fighters and was instrumental in supporting our priorities, like funding for fire fighter mental health treatment.”

Republican nominee Attorney General Daniel Cameron, meanwhile, received the endorsement of his mentor, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“This’ll be a very competitive election,” McConnell said after attending a recent University of Kentucky event. “Daniel Cameron is an outstanding nominee and we expect to win in November.”

Cameron also picked up the endorsement of Eric Deters, the fourth-place finisher in the 12-way Republican primary. Deters, a former attorney in Northern Kentucky, said Cameron will attend his annual Freedom Fest, which drew thousands of people last year to hear speeches promoting misinformation about election integrity, the COVID-19 vaccine and more.

In an unexpected move, Deters endorsed Beshear in 2019 because he thought former Gov. Matt Bevin was “a jerk.”

And speaking of endorsements, Cameron’s camp has tried to tie Beshear to Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who twice ran for governor of Georgia.

“Two-time failed gubernatorial candidate and darling of the Radical Left Stacey Abrams has officially endorsed soon-to-be one-term Governor @AndyBeshearKY!” Cameron tweeted. “I hope she joins you on the campaign trail!”

The so-called endorsement stemmed from an MSNBC interview Abrams did — recapped by right-wing website Breitbart — in which Abrams said Beshear will “put on a credible race” against Cameron.

Cameron hits campaign stops

Two weeks after emerging victorious from the Republican gubernatorial primary, Cameron has announced his first few campaign stops set for this Friday in Richmond, London and Shelbyville.

Since the May 16 primary, Democrats have been hammering away at the Republican nominee’s absence from the campaign trail.

“Where in the World is Daniel Cameron?” asked one Kentucky Democratic Party email. “Definitely not talking to voters.”

The Democratic Governors Association is also in on it, focusing on the pardons issued by Bevin.

“It’s been two weeks since the Kentucky Republican primary, and Daniel Cameron has refused to answer key questions to Kentucky voters, including why he has failed to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate disgraced former Governor Matt Bevin’s pardons of violent criminals,” the DGA said in a news release.

Beshear’s campaign manager, Eric Hyers, asked if Cameron’s game plan was “just for Mitch McConnell to try to hand him political office again?”

“No wonder you have people like (State Senate Majority Floor Leader) Damon Thayer publicly warning that Cameron is gonna ‘have to work harder than he has in any of his previous campaigns in order to beat Andy Beshear,’” Hyers tweeted, citing a quote from a Herald-Leader article.

Candidates on TV

As the Beshear campaign and DGA-affiliated group Defending Bluegrass Values continue to air television ads, Medium Buying reported that State Solutions, a group affiliated with the Republican Governors Association, also started airing general election ads this week. The bulk of their ad buy, according to Medium Buying, focuses heavily on markets that serve Western Kentucky, including Paducah, Bowling Green and Evansville, Ind.

TV and radio ad spending in the general election has already topped $2 million, Medium Buying reports. The vast majority has been spent by Beshear or pro-Beshear groups.

While Daniel Cameron hasn’t yet released his first ad of the general election season, he has continued to appear on right-wing TV. His most recent appearance was on Newmax to discuss a Courier Journal opinion column he took issue with.

“It’s appalling, it’s disappointing, but as you noted, it’s not uncommon to see folks, particularly the far-left, attack any Black conservative that dares to think outside of the box,” Cameron said on the Memorial Day appearance.

‘Stay tuned’

Former ambassador Kelly Craft has kept a low profile since sinking millions of dollars into her failed attempt to become Kentucky’s next governor, but a recent video hinted we’ve not seen the last of her yet.

“I have two words,” Craft wrote in a social media post that accompanied a minute-long video.

“My love for Kentucky is strong and everlasting,” Craft said in the video. “This movement has just started. And I promise you, I will work hard for you every single day.”

It ended with two words on screen: “Stay tuned.”