Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Daniel Cameron will go head to head in gubernatorial election

Gov.+Andy+Beshear+and+Republican+Daniel+Cameron+will+go+head+to+head+in+gubernatorial+election

Casey Sebastiano, Reporter

Current Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and 51st Attorney General Daniel Cameron have won the primary election for their parties.

Both nominees earned more than twice the number of votes than their runner-ups, Geoff Young (D) and Ryan Quarles (R).

Beshear won the Democratic primary by a substantial margin. 

According to Lex18, as of Wednesday, May 17, Beshear earned 91% of votes for the Democratic party.

Cameron won the Republican primary with 48% of votes as of Wednesday, May 17. 

Beshear and Cameron’s victories secured their spot as their party’s nominees for the upcoming gubernatorial general election on November 7, 2023.

Other primary election winners include Mark Metcalf (R) for treasurer, Jonathan Shell (R) for agricultural commissioner, Sierra Enlow (D) for agricultural commissioner, Allison Ball (R) for auditor and incumbent Michael Adams (R) for secretary of state.

Beshear is running for his second term as governor. He beat Republican candidate Matt Bevin by approximately 5,000 votes in the 2019 gubernatorial election, according to the Commonwealth of Kentucky State Board of Elections website.

Beshear is confident this year’s election will have a similar outcome.

“Folks, in 2019, we outworked Matt Bevin and we will outwork whoever comes out on the other side tonight. Together, we will win this election and we will build the Kentucky we have always dreamed of,” Beshear said in his victory speech Tuesday, May 16.

Cameron shares a similar confidence. In his victory speech, Cameron told voters the Republican party will come out on top and gain gubernatorial power.

“We have one mission. That one mission is to retire Andy Beshear from the governor’s office, and together we can do that,” Cameron said in his victory speech.

During his speech, Cameron condemned the actions of the current Board of Education appointed by Beshear and promised supporters that he will work to undo the changes made in Kentucky school systems.

“Jason Glass said that those hard-working teachers got to find another job, because they won’t buy into the far left’s ideology. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s not the right answer,” Cameron said in his speech. “The right answer is that Jason Glass and Andy Beshear need to find another job, and we will help them do that in November.”

Over approximately the next six months, Beshear and Cameron will campaign across the state, speak to voters and prove why they should represent Kentucky as governor. 

Registered voters can find their nearest polling location here.