The race between Kentucky's Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and his Republican challenger, current Attorney General Daniel Cameron, is one of only three gubernatorial races in the country in 2023. Voter turnout is expected to be low during this off-year election.
Beshear is the only statewide elected Democrat in Kentucky. In 2019, Republicans swept the down-ballot races, but Beshear won the governor's seat with about 5,000 votes more than embattled incumbent Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. In his time as governor, Beshear helped the commonwealth navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and some of the most devastating weather events in Kentucky's history.
VOTER GUIDE: Incumbent governor, Democrat Andy Beshear
Cameron is challenging Beshear instead of running for reelection to his current job as attorney general. In that role, he declined to charge the officers involved in the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor. He has criticized Beshear's decision to take schools virtual during the pandemic and has spoken out against vaccine mandates. He also helped create the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, which is tasked with distributing money from settlements reached with drug companies over the opioid epidemic.
VOTER GUIDE: Republican challenger Daniel Cameron
He is the state's first Black attorney general and, if elected, would be the first Black Republican governor in the nation.
This election will be the first gubernatorial election since Republicans surpassed Democrats in voter registration in 2022. However, independents and third-party political affiliations are reported to be the fastest growing voter bloc of the state's electorate.
