Russell Coleman defeats Pamela Stevenson in a heated race for Kentucky attorney general

Republican Russell Coleman, a self-described "pro-life, pro-family conservative who will always back the blue," will be Kentucky’s next attorney general.

Coleman, 47, won 58% of the vote Tuesday evening, according to the Kentucky Secretary of State's Office, beating out Pamela Stevenson after months of contentious campaigning.

Coleman is a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Kentucky who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017. He's also served as a senior adviser and legal counsel to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Since then, he's worked as a partner at Louisville law firm Frost Brown Todd.

His campaign focused on his experience as a prosecutor, saying if elected he would prioritize "cracking down on violent crime and dangerous drug traffickers as Attorney General."

Coleman addressed a crowd of supporters at the Louisville Marriott Downtown on Tuesday evening.

"I thank God, my family, and the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky," Coleman said. "I stand here tonight filled with gratitude, humility and more determination than ever. To all those listening in this room and around Kentucky, whether you supported me or not, I promise you do this: We will protect your family. We will defend your rights, and we will back the blue."

Election results: Follow the race for governor, attorney general and others by clicking here

The best part of this campaign, Coleman said, was meeting the extraordinary people from every corner of the commonwealth. He said he looks forward to working with anyone, regardless of party affiliation, who will stand with law enforcement as he works to keep drug traffickers and violent criminals behind bars.

“To the neighborhoods in West Louisville struggling to address violence," Coleman told a cheering crowd. "To rural counties and small towns fearful that Washington’s radical agenda is attacking our values and our way of life. To the parents across Kentucky, who lay awake, even this evening, worried about their kids, that they may fall victim to the poison that we’re seeing flow from over a porous southwest border. And to the law enforcement leaders, who risk their lives every day, who will be out there on dark county roads and answering calls this evening, when we’re in our beds safe tonight ― I see you. I hear you. And I will represent all of you.”

Coleman said he knows he has "enormous shoes to fill" in succeeding Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who lost the race for Kentucky governor.

Coleman also thanked his opponent Stevenson for her service in the U.S. Air Force and to the commonwealth.

Stevenson, 64, ran on a platform of curbing "extreme legislation by the GOP legislature" and cracking down on "drug dealers, gun runners, and human traffickers." She is the state representative for the 43rd District, which is in Louisville. She's also a nonprofit attorney at her own law firm.

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The race was not without its fair share of mudslinging.

Coleman charged that Stevenson doesn't have a license to practice law in Kentucky, but Stevenson's campaign noted her more than two decades working as a Judge Advocate General attorney. A search of the Kentucky Bar Association's membership also showed Stevenson's practice is temporarily authorized pending final admission to the KBA.

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

Courier Journal reporter Josh Wood contributed reporting to this story.

Election results: Follow the vote tallies for Louisville Metro Council by clicking here

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky election results: Russell Coleman wins attorney general race