The first attack ad for the 2023 gubernatorial race launched ahead of the first debate on Tuesday.
A political action committee called Commonwealth PAC, which supports Republican candidate Kelly Craft, launched the first ad of the campaign season Monday, even though Craft won’t be participating in the first debate Tuesday evening.
In the ad, the PAC attacks likely Republican front-runner Attorney General Daniel Cameron and portrays him as a “teddy bear.”
“Daniel Cameron is nice, but he’s no strong Kentucky conservative,” the ad opens, elaborating that Cameron failed to sign a lawsuit filed by other states’ attorney generals over the border wall and President Joe Biden’s “woke agenda.”
“Who would you rather have leading Kentucky — a conservative grizzly bear or Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s soft establishment teddy bear,” the ad says as a small teddy bear in a suit appears toward the end of the ad.
Cameron responded that he is the only candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump over “candidates who used to work for him” — a slight toward Craft.
“President Trump has endorsed my campaign for Governor,” Cameron said in a statement. “President Trump endorsed me over candidates who used to work for him. Why? Because he knows that I do more than talk. He knows I’ve taken action. And Trump knows I have the courage and the skill to win.”
Cameron also joked that he would change his Twitter profile picture to that of a teddy bear.
According to Medium Buying, the Commonwealth PAC launched more than $600,000 in TV and radio ads scheduled to run from March 6 to 19. The total in the GOP primary reached $2 million, all spent for Craft’s campaign.
The Republican primary stands to be testy, with 11 candidates vying for the nomination — the primary is May 16. The first debate is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. Tuesday on Spectrum.
Four of the top candidates — Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Agriculture Commission Ryan Quarles, State Auditor Mike Harmon, and Somerset Mayor Alan Keck — are scheduled to appear. Craft, a former U.N. Ambassador under former President Donald Trump, declined to participate.
The field also includes two Northern Kentuckians — David Cooper of Independence and Eric Deters of Walton — with Dennis Ray Ormerod, Bob DeVore, Jacob Clark, Johnny Ray Rice, and Robbie Smith rounding out the list.
Whoever emerges from that field will likely face incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear in the general election in November. Beshear faces two primary challengers: former GOP candidate Peppy Martin and former congressional candidate Geoff Young.
In January, Morning Consult released a poll that shows the governor with a 60% approval rating amongst voters ahead of the 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election. The group also released a poll in April showing the governor with a 59% approval rating.
“Public sentiment in Kentucky about Gov. Andy Beshear remains overwhelmingly positive as the Democrat prepares to defend his seat this year,” the report reads.
Also in January, quarterly campaign reports released from the Kentucky Registry for Election Finance, also known as KREF, revealed that Beshear and Craft were the top fundraisers so far in the election.
Beshear raised $646,700 in the final quarter of 2022, bringing his fundraising total to $5.18 million raised for his reelection campaign. He has $4.7 million on hand, according to the KREF.
Craft raised $580,000 in the final quarter of 2022 and has raised $1.2 million overall. She has more than $230,240 on hand after spending more than $1 million in the final quarter of last year.
Quarles is next in line in fundraising, with $54,300 raised in the final quarter of 2022 and $930,000 overall. He has $874,600 on hand after spending close to $18,000.
Somerset Mayor Alan Keck raised $204,800 after entering the race in November. He has $171,900 on hand after spending $33,000.
Kentucky Auditor Mike Harmon raised $3,800 at the end of 2022 and $68,700 overall. He has $26,000 on hand after spending just under $9,000.
Northern Kentucky’s lone gubernatorial candidate, Eric Deters, raised $4,800 in the final months of 2022 and close to $100,000 overall. He has $6,000 on hand after spending $6,800 in the fourth quarter.