Takeaways from KY GOP gov debate: Craft-Cameron spar, Deters plays wildcard

May 1 marked the beginning of an election month and a turning point in the 2023 Kentucky GOP gubernatorial primary.

Five candidates took the stage on Monday in a debate hosted by Kentucky Educational Television (KET). They turned up the heat on the hotly contested primary as a whole, and directed plenty of fire at each other in the process.

Closely watched were the two current frontrunners: Attorney General Daniel Cameron and former ambassador Kelly Craft. Eric Deters, a suspended attorney from Northern Kentucky, attempted to enter the discussion as the most unabashedly far right candidate on several topics, and Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles and Somerset Mayor Alan Keck tried to play the cool-headed adults in the room.

Craft on offense

A political action committee (PAC) supporting Cameron’s bid for governor has been flooding mailboxes, the internet and television ad space with material criticizing Craft for her record, her own campaign and alleged residency issues.

Meanwhile, Craft and a PAC supporting her have been running a steady stream of television ads attacking Cameron for a litany of previous statements and, more recently, his and his PAC’s acceptance of donations from the ‘gray machines’ industry just before his office took on a case defending a law to ban them from the state. A truck with an electric screen on the back urging voters to “follow the money” on Cameron showed up in the parking lot outside KET’s studio on Monday.

“Our Attorney general accepted $129,000 in campaign contributions. The next day, Pace-O-Matic sued the state of Kentucky in the courts. Our attorney general, who knew that our legislators banned Pace-O-Matic chose those donations over representing the state of Kentucky against this lawsuit,” Craft said.

Cameron said the claims were without merit and his acceptance of donations from the industry, followed by a recusal on the case, were on the up and up.

He stated that the complaint is proof of Craft’s team “scrambling” after former president Donald Trump endorsed him in his run for governor. He also took a dig at the attorney who filed the ethics complaint against him, Steven Megerle, who was accused of “pretending to be black” when running for office in Cincinnati.

Cameron tries to play frontrunner

Cameron, in moments, tried to talk past the GOP crowd and build what sounded like a general election argument against Democratic incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear.

He tried to stake himself out as pro-public school teacher, mentioning that his wife Makenze had served as one. The issue of public schools became a central one in former GOP governor Matt Bevin’s loss to Beshear in 2019, as Beshear cast his opponent as anti-teacher.

“If you are a teacher at home watching this program right now, the Democrats are going to lie to you and tell you that we don’t appreciate you, don’t respect you. I want to say on behalf of everybody that is here that we value you, and there are Republican governors. who are making sure that your pay raises… Beshear gives a lot of lip service to those teachers, but he does not have your back,” Cameron said.

Cameron also harkened back to a common messaging point for many GOP candidates, but especially for him: COVID-19 lockdowns.

Meanwhile, Keck and Deters tried to use the issue to contrast themselves with other Republicans on the stage, but in different ways.

Keck pointed out that he worked to reopen Somerset in an organized way well before many communities, including Florida, unveiled a plan to do so.

“I submitted plans to reopen our economy, and it ended up getting done 12 days before (Florida Gov.) Ron DeSantis,” Keck said.

Deters, on the other hand, strove to clearly message that he would have taken fewer COVID-19 limiting measures than any other candidate.

“I’m somebody that believes that the COVID, quote unquote, ‘pandemic’ was overblown from the very beginning,” Deters said. “I would not shut down this state at all unless it was the bubonic plague – in other words, ‘you get it, you’re gonna die.’”

Keck & Quarles focus on less hot button, KY-centric issues

While the conflict in the room centered around Craft and Cameron – with Deters stoking the flames – Quarles and Keck attempted to position themselves as above the fray and focused on issues that might not be headlining their competitors’ commercials.

Keck, who has proven a strong debater since the first of these events, pinpointed several different, less controversial but still distinguishing issues.

He expanded the definition of “pro-life” to include helping to fund and incentivize extended paid parental leave and childcare in the hopes of making families stronger.

He also said that he would look to spend more money on state tourism efforts to attract more visitors to Kentucky. Further, he expressed a potential interest in “looking at” increasing funding for higher education to reduce the cost and timeframe of pursuing that education.

Quarles also talked about taking a long, hard look at higher education in Kentucky. He didn’t specifically say what large-scale changes he would make, but said it needed to be looked at to be sure the state is getting solid “ROI” (return on investment), and indicated that more emphasis needs to be put on the trades.

“47% of the state’s $14 billion budget goes to K-12 and higher education, and it’s important that we get a good ROI on education – that includes a conversation about higher education, which has not been reformed for 26 years. We need to make sure that the cost of education is affordable and that our educational programs are aligned with what employers are looking for,” Quarles said.

When talking about energy, Quarles also drew attention to Kentucky’s soybean industry – which he monitors closely in his official capacity.

“Last year United Airlines flew a plane from Chicago to DC and ran it on soybean-based, 100% renewable fuel. Guess what? We’ve grown over a billion dollars worth of soybeans in Kentucky each year. Imagine a day where we can refine that soybean into jet fuel with no engine modifications. No other state is aggressively going after this,” Quarles said.

Further, Keck also drilled down to specifics on gun control, while no other Republican took a stance that could be seen as lax on the Second Amendment: he said that murder weapons like the one used in the recent Louisville mass shooting should not be re-sold at an auction benefiting the Kentucky State Police, as is currently required by law.

“I think it’s insane that those are being sold to the highest bidder. It should not be a showpiece. It’s a murder weapon, and I can’t imagine that grieving family knowing that that gun is going to somebody else’s mantle,” Keck said.

Deters gets grilled, focuses fire on Craft

Deters often goes by the nickname “the bulldog” for his personally brash style, modeled somewhat on Trump. Hours before the debate, his team sent out a mass text to voters across the state asking them if they were “ready to rumble” at the debate featuring “Deters vs. the Swamp.”

He lived up to the billing on Monday night, and most of his fire was directed at Craft.

Fresh off filing a lawsuit against Craft challenging her resident status in Kentucky – though some of his initial claims were incorrect, Deters removed those claims and formally asked a judge to rule her ineligible because of her ties to Oklahoma on Monday – Deters criticized Craft’s background, connection to Trump and more. His complaints with her campaign took up a lot of oxygen on the stage.

“You’ve tried to buy politicians, you’re trying to buy Kentucky, and it’s not going to work,” Deters said. He also criticized Craft for playing the ‘woman card.’

Craft made no apologies for being a “strong woman.”

“He’s all bark and no bite. I don’t give him credibility, and it’s very obvious even the press agrees with (me on) what I was served today on my residency. There’s a clown in every circus, and we certainly had one sitting with us tonight,” Craft said.

To a lesser extent, Deters criticized Quarles as well. He called the commissioner’s speech “robotic” and characterized him as “a career politician” looking for the next job.

Deters lobbed a rhetorical bomb or two at all the contestants. However, relatively speaking, Deters kept his powder dry on Cameron and Keck, going as far as defending Cameron against some of Craft’s criticisms.

The Northern Kentucky native also faced some difficult questions from Shaw, and an onstage rebuke from Craft.

“Kentuckians deserve more than this. Kentuckians deserve civil discourse,” Craft said, over Deters’ attempts to interrupt her.

Shaw read from a Kentucky Supreme Court opinion that stated that Deters does not “possess the requisite character, fitness and moral qualification to practice law.”

Shaw continued: “The opinion, conclusion states ‘Deters practice of law is not governed by constitution, rule of law or procedure. It is anarchy.’ Given that decision by the state’s highest court, why should voters trust you as Governor of Kentucky?”

Deters called the Kentucky Supreme Court’s rules “stupid” and said that there is “no more corrupt system than the Kentucky court system.”

When asked about his guilty plea on a menacing charge, following an incident where he chased his nephew in a truck – claiming that his nephew tried to scare his wife repeatedly – Deters said that he was “very proud.”

“The rank and file Kentuckians get it. They understand what I’m all about,” Deters said. “All those people out there watching this, how many Kentuckians would put up with somebody who was harassing their wife with a truck acting like they were going to run over? I didn’t and I won’t.”

Quarles’ signals cross on 2020 election legitimacy

It was hard to tell from his answer on camera, but Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles believes that president Joe Biden won the 2020 election. KET moderator Renee Shaw pressed him on the matter, but Quarles didn’t give a straight answer.

After the debate, however, Quarles clarified.

“I think Joe Biden is our president and that he won the election,” Quarles said.

The question – though it didn’t make its way to Craft and Cameron – elicited varying responses.

Keck said without hesitation that Biden won.

Deters said unequivocally that he supports the false, unproven claim that the election was “stolen” from Trump.