Former U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman will be the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s next attorney general, according to the Associated Press.
Coleman defeated Democrat Rep. Pamela Stevenson (D-Louisville) in Tuesday night’s election. It was Coleman’s first time running for a statewide constitutional office.
“I want to thank god, my family and the people of the commonwealth of Kentucky,” Coleman said in a victory speech just before 9 p.m. “I stand here tonight at the end of an 18 month job interview filled with gratitude, humility and more determination than ever.”
Coleman will take over for current Attorney General Daniel Cameron who is the Republican candidate for governor.
“To Rep. Stevenson, we may come from different parties and bring different philosophies but I appreciate her service to our commonwealth and I appreciate her service to this nation,” Coleman said Tuesday night. “Please join me in honoring that.”
His campaign marketed Coleman as a “pro-life, pro-family conservative Republican.” In an email interview with LINK nky, Coleman said two of his top priorities are curbing violent crime and drug use.
“My priorities will be catching violent criminals and drug pushers and putting them away for a very long time,” Coleman said.
Coleman’s background spans across both the public and private sectors. He started his career working in the US Justice Department before moving on to the Federal Bureau of Investigation where he was a special agent investigating national security, white collar, and violent crimes.
After his FBI career, Coleman worked as legal counsel for Sen. Mitch McConnell in Washington, D.C. In 2017, then-President Donald Trump nominated Coleman to be U.S. attorney for Kentucky’s Western District – a region that includes Louisville, Bowling Green, Paducah, and Owensboro. He served in the role until January 2021.
In the private sector, Coleman had two separate stints working at Louisville law firm Frost Brown Todd: one from 2015 to 2017 and another from 2021 until the present day.
