Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear defeats challenger Daniel Cameron

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) defeated Republican challenger Daniel Cameron, the state’s attorney general, on Tuesday and is expected to win re-election to a second term, according to NBC News Decision Desk. ing.

Beshear, 45, led Trump-backed Cameron, 37, for much of the campaign, but late polls showed the candidate trailing. dead heat.

Beshear has a 60% approval rating with voters despite governing as a Democrat in a socially conservative state where voters overwhelmingly supported former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. Widely popular.

Mr. Cameron’s campaign had hoped to rally conservatives to vote against Mr. Beshear by portraying him as too liberal on issues such as abortion and LGBTQ rights.

But Prime Minister David Cameron’s defeat on Tuesday means that more than a year after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that stripped women of their constitutional right to abortion, social issues, particularly abortion, could continue to tilt elections in favor of Democrats. It suggests something.

Mr. Beshear tried to convince conservative voters that he was governing above partisan politics. It also responded quickly to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and the 2022 flooding in eastern Kentucky.

The governor also touted Kentucky’s worst economic performance on record. Unemployment rate However, the unemployment rate has increased slightly since then.

Cameron attacked Beshear for supporting abortion and LGBTQ rights, saying the governor’s positions were not in line with Kentucky voters.

Mr. Beshear stood his ground on these issues and put Mr. Cameron on the defensive on abortion.

Kentucky’s Republican-controlled legislature enacted a trigger law banning abortions in June 2022 after the court overturned Roe v. Wade. The state’s strict ban only allows abortions if the mother’s life is in danger or there is a risk of disabling injury to the mother. .

Beshear called the ban “extreme” and “absolutely wrong.” TV debate In October, he met with Prime Minister David Cameron and emphasized that the law does not include exceptions for rape and incest.

“My opponent’s position would be to give rapists more rights than their victims,” ​​Beshear said. “This law needs to change.”

Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the ban, and the Attorney General defended the law in state court. As the election approached, Prime Minister Cameron softened his position on legal reform, including exceptions for rape and incest.

“If Congress came forward with a bill that included an exemption, I would definitely sign it,” Cameron said during the debate, painting Beshear as an abortion rights supporter and casting himself as an anti-abortion candidate. I tried to position myself as a person.

Cameron also went after Governor Beshear, the most pro-LGBTQ governor in Kentucky history, for vetoing a bill targeting transgender individuals.

Last year, Beshear vetoed a bill that would have prohibited transgender girls and women from playing on girls’ sports teams from sixth grade through college. In March, the governor vetoed another bill that would have banned child care for gender-affirming children.

“My faith teaches us that every child is a child of God,” Beshear wrote in the march. Veto messagewarned that banning gender-affirming care would put children at risk.

“Improving access to gender-affirming care is an important means of improving health outcomes for transgender populations,” Beshear wrote.

The Republican-controlled Congress later overrode both Beshear vetoes.

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