Cameron makes late stop in Bowling Green

Published 3:55 pm Sunday, May 14, 2023

BOWLING GREEN — Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Daniel Cameron made one last campaign stop in Bowling Green on Saturday, urging supporters to hit the polls next week to send a message to Gov. Andy Beshear.

Cameron brought his “Fight for the Commonwealth Tour” to The Good Stuff Coffee & More on Nashville Road. He and his wife Makenze mingled with locals in the crowded coffee house mere days before the Republican primary election.

In attendance was Bowling Green Mayor Todd Alcott, who introduced Cameron as “possibly, I believe, our next governor of Kentucky.”

Cameron said Alcott would have a “friend in the governor’s office” if elected.

Secretary of State Michael Adams said last week he expects low voter turnout for the Tuesday primary, somewhere between 10-20%.

“But all of you in this room have an opportunity to change that narrative,” Cameron said. “We have got to make a decision about what we want Kentucky to look like for the remainder of this decade.”

He said voters will have to decide if they are OK with Democratic leadership in the governor’s office, “whose mere presence emboldens the far left,” or if they want leadership that “reflects the values of the men and women and children of all 120 counties.”

Cameron made note of the settlement money Kentucky will be receiving from pharmaceutical manufacturers for their role in the opioid epidemic, which stood at a total of $842 million in January.

The funds will be distributed in accordance with HB 427, with half going to local county and city governments and half going to the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission.

“I want to take a step back and say, what did Andy Beshear do when it comes to opioids in this office? I brought in nearly $900 million,” Cameron said. “Andy Beshear talked a lot about the opioid epidemic but brought in $0.”

Rather than having a school system that is “based on indoctrinating our kids and being incubators for liberal and progressive ideas,” Cameron said he wanted a school system that provides an opportunity for parents “to be involved in the educational opportunities and choices of their kids.”

He made reference to Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass providing guidance to teachers for using student’s preferred pronouns and names.

Glass, speaking to the House Education Committee in February, was asked what his response would be to a teacher that did not follow that guidance.

“The teacher may find another place to work and it’s dependent on the policies the district has when it comes to preferred names and how to handle that situation,” Glass said.

Cameron said that is “not the right answer.”

“The right answer is that Jason Glass and Andy Beshear need to find another job, and you and I can do that,” he said to loud applause.

The primary’s latest Emerson College poll, released April 13, showed Cameron out front with 30% of likely GOP voters. Challenger Kelly Craft, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was six points behind with 24% of the vote share.

Cameron said his team felt “very strongly about our position” in the final days before the primary.

While Cameron-branded T-shirts and stickers could be found in abundance, some folks had yet to land on their preferred candidate.

Wayne and Cheryl Landmann said they were still undecided between Cameron and Kentucky Agricultural Commissioner Ryan Quarles.

Wayne said he was a fan of almost all of Cameron’s platform, except for his endorsement from former president Donald Trump.

“It’s a liability,” Cheryl said.

Last week a New York jury found the former president liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996. Cameron is the only candidate in the Kentucky gubernatorial race with Trump’s endorsement.

The Daily News asked Cameron if he viewed his Trump endorsement differently following last week’s verdict.

“Look, I’ve been endorsed by over 100 law enforcement officials, I’ve been endorsed by Kentucky Right to Life, I’ve been endorsed by President Trump, there are folks in the General Assembly that have endorsed this campaign,” he said. “Makenze and I feel strongly that we are in a unique position, that wherever you find yourself on the Republican ideological spectrum … you can find a home in this campaign.”

Others showed out in full support for the AG.

Johnette Roemer had already early-voted for Cameron, but came to the event to meet him in person. Roemer said she has volunteered at Living Hope Baptist’s pregnancy center for a few years now and was glad that Cameron had worked to “close the abortion clinics.”

Cameron’s office filed an emergency request last August to reinstate Kentucky’s “trigger ban” on abortions after it was temporarily halted by an injunction filed in June.

Tina Barbour said she liked how Cameron opposed Beshear’s COVID-19 policies and said that she, as a Christian conservative, agreed “with a lot of his values.”

Barbour said she was a fan of Cameron before he announced his bid for governor and had always hoped he’d run.

“I like (Cameron’s) effort,” said Tahir “Taz” Zukic, founder of Taz Trucking.

“Another candidate, one with a lot of money, they just have vision outside of Kentucky,” Zukic said. “We need someone who has a vision inside of Kentucky.”

— Polling locations can be found at elect.ky.gov.