New polling data from a firm called Hart Research shows a formidable Democratic lead in the unfolding race in Kentucky for the state’s post as governor. Incumbent Democratic Governor Andy Beshear is seeking another term against who it’s expected will be Republican Daniel Cameron in this year’s general election. Cameron, who won in the May primary by a huge margin, currently serves as the state attorney general in Kentucky.
The new polling, conducted last week, found Beshear — the son of a past governor of the state — nine percentage points ahead of Cameron. Beshear holding the position at all and potentially moving towards a formidable victory this November contrasts with the political expectations around Kentucky — the home state, of course, of Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) and a jurisdiction where Republican presidential candidates often win by massively large margins. The lead for Beshear in the latest polling was a jump over his lead against Cameron in polling from the same source conducted in July of this year, when the Democrat led by three percent.
Beshear won his current role against unpopular incumbent Republican Matt Bevin in 2019 by a slim margin of under one percent. In fact, Beshear’s lead was about 5,000 votes — out of more than 1.4 million cast across the state.
Recently, widely circulated reporting highlighted the contrast that this year’s candidates presented at an annual event in an area of the state known as Fancy Farm. Cameron complained there about Beshear’s support for transgender people, exemplified by a veto from the first-term governor of legislation that would have blocked transgender women and girls from competing on the sports teams that match their gender identity. Beshear tried to appeal to decency. “Let’s remember we’re told not just to talk about our faith, but to actually live it out,” Beshear told attendees at the event, where other speakers included McConnell. “I’m reminded of the Golden Rule, which is that we love our neighbor as our self.”
