Rising GOP star vows to stand against ‘excesses of the Biden administration’ in quest to unseat Dem gov

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a conservative Republican and rising star within the party, is vowing to stand against the “excesses of the Biden administration” in his quest to unseat vulnerable Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in this year’s gubernatorial election.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Cameron touted his record fighting against the fentanyl crisis plaguing the state and Democrats’ controversial vaccine mandates, as well as his opposition to Biden’s environmental policies, arguing it was proof he was the “best option” of the 12 Republican candidates vying for the party’s nomination to take on Beshear.

“Well, I’m the best option because I fully believe that the proof is in the pudding,” Cameron told Fox. “We have done our job without fear or favor over these last three years. We’ve stood up to the Biden administration when it came to the vaccine mandates that they were trying to force on the states.”

“We stood up for energy industry and asking the Biden administration to label fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction, we’ve asked for the border to be secured, I’ve held companies accountable for the opioid epidemic and bringing over $800 million to the Commonwealth, and of course, we continue to fight to stand up for the constitutional values of our citizens,” he added.

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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron speaks to members of the press after the oral arguments of the Cameron v. EMW Women’s Surgical Center case were heard at the U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 12, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The crowded field of Republicans facing Cameron includes former U.N. Ambassador Kelly Craft, state auditor Mike Harmon and Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles. 

Cameron was among the first of the candidates to jump into the race last May, and said his decision to do so was driven by his view Kentucky needed a governor that “says yes” to its citizens.

“My wife and I fully believe in the work that we’ve done over these last three years to stand up for conservative values and constitutional rights and principles,” he said. “We think Kentucky needs a governor that not only says yes to economic development and says yes to helping people in the midst of a pandemic or a crisis, flooding or tornadoes, but also says yes to the shared values of the men, women and children of all 120 counties.”

“That’s what we’ve been doing over these last three years, is standing up for those shared values. And we need to restore common sense and fair play to our governor’s office. And that’s what I’m going to do,” he added.

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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear addresses the audience at the Kentucky Farm Bureau Ham Breakfast at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville, Kentucky on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022.
(AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Cameron has been sharply critical of Biden’s environmental policies, including what he says is the overregulation of air quality standards and efforts to limit domestic energy production amidst the rising cost of energy.

He has also firmly pushed back on Beshear’s approach to a number of issues he says do not reflect the values of everyday Kentuckians, including on the state’s energy industry, the coronavirus pandemic, and standing up for law enforcement. He vowed such areas would be the first he would take action on should he win in November.

“The first action that I would take is to make sure that you have a governor that is going to, again, stand up for those constitutional rights. You’re going to have a governor that is going to stand up and support the men and women of our law enforcement community. You’re going to have a governor that is going to use the bully pulpit of the governor’s office to make sure that we are standing up to the excesses of the Biden administration,” he said.

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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron speaks during a press conference to announce a grand jury’s decision to indict one of three Louisville Metro Police Department officers involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor on Sept. 23, 2020 in Frankfort, Kentucky.
(Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

“You’re also going to have a governor that respects and shares your values, not a governor that’s going to shut down churches or small businesses, not a governor that is going to sit idly by as a Department of Justice labels parents domestic terrorists,” Cameron said. “You’re not going to have a governor that allows for our coal and natural gas industry to be talked bad about and denigrated by the Biden administration that wants to destroy it. You’re going to have, again, a governor that’s going to stand up for the values of the commonwealth.”

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Cameron will face his opponents in the Republican primary scheduled for Tuesday, May 16, when the winner will likely face Beshear in the November general election should he win the Democratic primary.