Louisville Rep. Pamela Stevenson launches 2023 bid for Kentucky attorney general

State Rep. Pamela Stevenson of Louisville, who just won her second, two-year term as a lawmaker in the Nov. 8 election, will seek a higher office next year: She's getting into the open race for attorney general.

An attorney, Baptist minister and retired Air Force colonel, Stevenson is the first Democrat to file initial paperwork to run for that constitutional officer position in 2023. The current attorney general, Republican Daniel Cameron, is running for governor next year.

"My life's work has been service to others − as a mother I have raised a family, as a minister I have empowered congregations, as a Colonel in the United States Air Force I fought for our country globally − including in the Middle East, Croatia, Africa, Europe and many other places," Stevenson said in a statement Monday announcing her bid.

"Now, as a state representative, I work to ensure that our laws give every Kentuckian a fair shot at the American Dream."

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Stevenson, who was born and raised in the commonwealth, has practiced law in various capacities at the federal level, including working as a criminal defense attorney, a chief prosecutor and "an operations law expert supporting aircrews with over 1,000 sorties over Iraq," according to her news release.

"The Attorney General is the 'People's Lawyer,'" said Stevenson, who represents District 43 in the Kentucky House of Representatives. "The people of Kentucky need their lawyer to be focused on fighting for them, not the special interests.

"I'm looking forward to traveling the commonwealth and having conversations with Kentuckians about what matters to them. We will also discuss ending the opioid epidemic, stopping the price gouging at the pump and making sure that extreme laws from Frankfort don't take away our freedoms."

On the Republican side of the 2023 attorney general race, former U.S. attorney Russell Coleman got an especially early jump on things when he announced his campaign in May, the morning after Cameron declared he'd run for governor instead of seeking a second term as the state's chief law enforcement officer.

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Coleman has raised about $483,000 for his campaign, with approximately $430,000 still in the bank, per his latest fundraising report.

Reach reporter Morgan Watkins at mwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Rep. Pamela Stevenson makes 2023 bid for attorney general