With a little over one month to go until the Kentucky Governor’s election on Nov. 7, Republican nominee and current Attorney General Daniel Cameron made a stop to campaign in Northern Kentucky.
Cameron, facing the incumbent governor and Democratic nominee Andy Beshear, was at the Wilder City Building to speak on themes from the COVID-19 response to abortion laws in the commonwealth.
Cameron began his remarks by recalling the 2019 governor’s race when Gov. Andy Beshear beat incumbent and Republican Matt Bevin; However, Cameron said there was a third-party candidate (John Hicks (L)) in that race.
“That person took 30,000 votes roughly from Matt Bevin,” Cameron said. “And Matt Bevin only lost the race by 5,000 votes. But there is no third-party candidate. It’s a binary choice between me and Andy Beshear, and I think I know where the people of Campbell County are going to be on Nov. 7.”
Cameron then moved on to discuss Beshear’s COVID-19 response. He said while other red states were trying to stay open, Beshear was shutting Kentucky down. He was specifically critical of Beshear shutting down schools.
“We’ve got significant learning loss because of it,” Cameron said. “On all the indicators for success, whether it’s reading, science, or math, our kids are behind. Right now, nearly 50% of our kids aren’t reading at grade level. Roughly 29% or so aren’t at grade level when it comes to science and math.”
Cameron said his campaign is about ensuring the state’s schools are “world-class,” getting back to reading, writing, and math basics, and ensuring they are not “incubators for liberal or progressive ideas.”
He said parents should be involved in the educational choices of their kids. He discussed Senate Bill 150—a law that prohibits schools from teaching sexual orientation or gender identity in classrooms, forces transgender students to use the bathroom that aligns with the gender assigned at birth and allows teachers to deadname transgender students.
Senate Bill 150, Cameron said, is about protecting kids and maintaining the innocence of youth.
“Let me tell you what Daniel Cameron and Robby Mills (current state senator and Cameron’s running mate) are going to do,” Cameron said. “We’re going to protect your kids from these irreversible procedures, and we are going to make sure that we protect women’s sports from biological males.”
Cameron had previously discussed the topic of biological males in women’s sports and condemned Beshear for vetoing a bill that would prevent their participation.
He also said Beshear “doesn’t care about any limits on abortion,” something that should Cameron become governor, he would stand up for babies in the womb as a pro-life candidate.
Cameron said he was proud to be endorsed by the Kentucky State Fraternal Order of Police and said it is a big deal because, in 2019, they supported Beshear.
Other government officials present Monday evening were Representatives Mike Clines (R), Stephanie Dietz (R), Mark Hart (R), Senator Shelley Funke Frommeyer (R), former Kentucky State Senator Wil Schroder (R) alongside Campbell County Judge/Executive Steve Pendery, and Campbell County Commissioners Brian Painter, Tom Lampe, and Geoff Besecker.
In his closing remarks, Cameron encouraged folks in the audience to make phone calls and walk neighborhoods ahead of Nov. 7.
