Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron greeted the breakfast crowd and supporters at PeeWee’s Place in Crescent Springs Wednesday.
About 40 people gathered at the popular local eatery to hear from the candidate at his first Northern Kentucky stop since officially filing for the governor’s race.
A crowded field
Cameron is one of a crowded field of 12 GOP candidates, but he spent little time discussing his competition except to point out that both internal and external polls put him at the front of the pack.
Taking aim at Governor Beshear and the Biden Administration, he said this gubernatorial campaign is a “big moment” for Kentucky. He vowed, if elected, to build a coalition of Republican governors to fight against the Biden Administration and Democrats in congress.
“Whether it’s the legacy media, or the Biden administration, or an absent governor, they have created what I would consider the perfect storm, if you will, of conditions that if left unchecked, could destroy our values,” he said. “It could hurt the pensions of our teachers, our firefighters, our police officers. It can undermine our coal industry and cripple our economy.”
Pensions and coal profits
When asked about pensions, Cameron made a connection between coal industry profits and the solvency of state pensions.
“Coal companies need to make investments in their facilities, but they’re not able to do so because they can’t go into the markets and get the funding that they need,” Cameron said. “What is happening right now with our pensions is these hedge fund managers are saying we know that the our responsibility is to maximize the return for the investor, i.e. the retiree, but we’re going to disregard that. We’re going to put our money into renewables and other things that aren’t necessarily proven, because we have a political agenda.”
He said he supports legislation introduced by State Sen. Robbie Mills to require a list of financial companies that boycott energy companies for dealing in fossil-fuel based energy.
More on the issues
Cameron also touted his defense of the state’s abortion bans, and touched upon his support of school choice. He praised Governor DeSantis for his efforts to overhaul his state’s education system.
He also reflected on issues that plagued former Governor Bevin that may have cost him support in Northern Kentucky.
“I think one of the things that was a challenge for Governor Bevin was that, somewhere along the way, he got a rap as being anti-teacher,” he said. “And he got a rap for being not at all sensitive to this Brent Spence Bridge issue here.
“I laud what he did to expand educational opportunities…but at the same time, I think he went after teachers and that hurt. Our party is made up of teachers. We have to recognize that, if you go outside the major metropolitan areas, the urban areas, the largest employer in some of our smaller counties is the school system.”
Pushing ahead
Although recent polling puts him as the front runner, Cameron said he is embarking on an aggressive campaign across all 120 counties.
“We feel good about the numbers, but we will press on that. It’s why I’m here this morning. That’s why I’m doing events the rest of this day,” Cameron said. “We don’t believe in resting on our laurels. We believe in getting to as many places as possible, sharing this message and hopefully getting across the finish line in first place.”