Kentucky attorney general's race: Russell Coleman and Pamela Stevenson trading jabs

One is a 27-year Air Force veteran. One learned how to walk again.

State Rep. Pamela Stevenson and Russell Coleman have had their challenges in life, and both want to fight crime as Kentucky's top law enforcement officer. But only one will emerge on Nov. 7 from a heated campaign.

Coleman charges that Stevenson doesn't have a license to practice law in Kentucky, but Stevenson's campaign notes that she served as a Judge Advocate General attorney in the Air Force. Also, a search of the Kentucky Bar Association's membership shows Stevenson's practice is temporarily authorized pending final admission to the KBA.

Meanwhile, Stevenson says Coleman's track record as U.S. attorney shows a laxed approach of letting sex offenders off on easy plea deals, but Coleman's camp has said this characterization was a "complete distortion" and "shows a lack of understanding of how to be a prosecutor."

Stevenson has the endorsement of Gov. Andy Beshear. Coleman was appointed in 2017 by then-President Donald Trump as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Kentucky and was a senior adviser and legal counsel to Sen. Mitch McConnell.

One thing both candidates have in common is a connection to Louisville.

Stevenson, 64, grew up in western Louisville before joining the Air Force and becoming a colonel. She's returned to her hometown and is a nonprofit attorney at her own law firm as well as the representative for Kentucky's 43rd District.

Coleman, 47, a Western Kentucky native who lives in Oldham County, credits the University of Louisville Health's Frazier Rehabilitation Institute with helping him learn to walk again after he became a paraplegic due to a spinal tumor in 2008, when he worked as a special agent for the FBI. He is also a partner at Louisville law firm Frost Brown Todd.

With the attorney general's role as the state's chief prosecutor and chief law enforcement officer, here's what each candidate has said about crime in the commonwealth and how they would support law enforcement's role in building a safer community. Please note that Coleman declined to be interviewed for this story.

Coleman, Stevenson say drug epidemic a priority

Both Stevenson and Coleman have called the statewide drug epidemic a top challenge.

"We have to deal with this drug epidemic," Stevenson said. "The people that are pouring drugs into this state - they need to go to jail. The people who are addicted to drugs need treatment. They need mental health services and treatment."

But while it's important for the commonwealth as a whole to move forward in addressing the drug epidemic, that doesn't mean there needs to be a blanket approach, she said.

"Not every county needs the same thing because, you know, for example, the drug epidemic affects every county differently."

With help from the attorney general's office, each county needs to develop a short-term plan and long-term plan to address the issue.

"When I was out in Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky, and I was talking to county attorneys, they would say that part of (the uptick in drug-related crimes) was when the jobs left the county," Stevenson said. "So what the long term is: We build things that families need to thrive. We come up with that plan."

She said the short-term plan would include increasing local grant funding for treatment centers.

When Coleman unveiled his campaign for attorney general last year, he emphasized a commitment to be tough on crime.

“My priority is the same as President Trump’s: Make America Safe Again by stopping the people who are poisoning our communities with deadly drugs and using technology to target our kids, parents and grandparents,” Coleman said in his announcement. He later added he would prioritize "cracking down on violent crime and dangerous drug traffickers as Attorney General."

At a campaign stop in Owensboro, Kentucky, last year, Coleman attributed many of the local drug overdoses to drugs coming across the southern border. He said he would work with other state attorneys general to keep drugs from entering the country as well as increase collaboration between multiple entities in addressing the problem across the Commonwealth.

Stevenson, Coleman both say they back police

Coleman and Stevenson both said they want to see Kentucky's communities become safer, but how they would pursue that goal contrasts.

In his public statements, Coleman has emphasized his commitment to reduce violent crime.

"My position is simple: I believe that violent criminals belong in jail, and I’ve spent much of my career putting them there," Coleman said, referencing his experience as the U.S. attorney of the Western District of Kentucky.

During his tenure in that office, Coleman said he brought every local, state and federal law enforcement agency together to take criminals off the streets.

In 2020, he told The Courier Journal he was interested specifically in reducing violent crime in Jefferson County and labeled gun violence as a large issue.

As U.S. attorney, he promoted a public safety approach in Jefferson County known as "Group Violence Intervention."

"I recognize that many in primarily minority neighborhoods feel over-policed but under-protected," Coleman said, saying this approach would address those concerns as well as build relationships between law enforcement and civilians.

In past campaign statements, he's said he will "always back the blue." His website boasts his endorsement by the FOP.

But Stevenson has also expressed support for law enforcement. She identified increasing salaries, funding and training for those agencies across Kentucky as a priority.

With these improvements, Stevenson said law enforcement will be better-equipped to handle people who are having a crisis that could endanger themselves or others.

"That's the beginning of safe neighborhoods," Stevenson said. "Everybody wants to live in a safe neighborhood. We've got to give law enforcement professionals those things so that they can begin to build trust in those neighborhoods where there is no trust."

One thing that doesn't make communities safer, in Stevenson's opinion, is the current cash bail system in Kentucky.

"It just creates an unfair bias in our justice system," Stevenson has said. "I would support the elimination of a cash bail system and help to establish a more fair and just system that also keeps Kentuckians safe."

Stevenson, Coleman nuanced on abortion laws

One of the most hotly contested issues across major state offices is abortion legislation. Currently, the commonwealth has two laws that ban nearly all abortions.

Labeling himself as the "pro-life" candidate, Coleman has said he would defend the laws as passed by the General Assembly. He's also been endorsed by major anti-abortion groups, appearing to tell Kentucky Right to Life in its questionnaire there should continue to be no exceptions for rape and incest in Kentucky's abortion bans.

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But Coleman, just like current attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron, seems to have shifted on his stance.

"After listening to prosecutors, crime victims and my family, I believe the law should be amended to include exceptions for rape and incest in addition to the existing exception for life and health of the mother," Coleman has said.

This position breaks from the one advocated by anti-abortion groups that endorsed Coleman, including Kentucky Right to Life. That group asked the candidates directly in its questionnaire: "Do you believe that a child conceived as a result of sexual assault should be protected by the same laws protecting the lives of children conceived naturally?"

Coleman and Kentucky Right to Life have declined to share if he answered yes or no to that question, though group Executive Director Addia Wuchner has indicated the group only gives such an endorsement if a candidate answers all questions correctly.

Coleman said he aims to be an attorney general who is "both pro-life and pro-victim because part of being pro-life is being compassionate to crime victims."

Stevenson has said she believes Kentucky's abortion laws violate the constitutional right to privacy and freedom of religion. However, she said she would not use the attorney general's office "for politically motivated lawsuits that harm Kentuckians."

"I will not prosecute doctors or patients and I will not follow in my predecessor’s footsteps of seeking to violate the privacy each Kentuckian deserves," Stevenson said.

Reach reporter Rachel Smith at rksmith@courierjournal.com or @RachelSmithNews on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky AG hopefuls Coleman, Stevenson differ on crime, abortion