Kentucky Gov. Beshear fights to keep his job against Trump-backed challenger

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Today is the final day of voting in the Kentucky governor's race. It's one of the most closely watched contests of this election cycle. The Democratic incumbent, Andy Beshear, is facing off against Daniel Cameron, the state's Republican attorney general. Cameron is a protege of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and also has the support of former President Donald Trump. Kentucky Public Radio's Sylvia Goodman has this report.

SYLVIA GOODMAN, BYLINE: In the final days of the race, the two candidates crisscrossed the state, encouraging people to vote.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ANDY BESHEAR: Every vote matters. Every door you knock matters.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DANIEL CAMERON: We need to remove Andy Beshear from the Statehouse this year.

GOODMAN: Over the past decade, Republicans have largely taken control of statewide offices in Kentucky, matching up with the state's voting habits in presidential elections. But Governor Beshear, a Democrat whose own father was governor in the state, has been able to create his own unique brand, according to University of Kentucky professor Al Cross.

AL CROSS: Beshear has a following. There are tens of thousands of people in the state to whom he's just Andy.

GOODMAN: Beshear, who was elected governor in 2019, received attention and praise for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and leading the state through deadly tornadoes, record flooding and ice storms. Plus, he has a natural advantage.

CROSS: If you're an incumbent leading in the polls, you're hard to beat.

GOODMAN: Issues like education, pandemic-era restrictions and abortion access have dominated the race. Currently, abortion is banned unless the mother is in danger of death or permanent injury. Campaigning around abortion rights is a rare strategy for Democrats running in the socially conservative state. But Beshear has made the lack of exceptions in cases of rape and incest a focal point of his campaign.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BESHEAR: Victims of rape and incest deserve options. There has to be an exception. Some of these girls are as young as 9 years old. And my opponent would make them carry their rapist's baby.

GOODMAN: Last year, Kentuckians rejected a ballot measure that would've made reinstating abortion rights even harder. Cameron has danced around his personal beliefs on exceptions.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CAMERON: I think that the legislature - if they work on this, I will sign those exceptions. But at the end of the day, I'm the pro-life candidate.

GOODMAN: Cameron's strategy includes tying Beshear to President Biden, who has a 68% disapproval rating in the state.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CAMERON: It's unbelievable, dare say crazy, that you'd have a governor who would endorse the policies and the president who have created this mess that we're in.

GOODMAN: Meanwhile, Beshear has pleaded with Kentuckians to shed their party affiliations.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BESHEAR: People should be able to vote for whoever they want, not stick to just one team or another but to actually look at the candidates and say, who is going to make my life better?

GOODMAN: According to Cross, Cameron is trying to nationalize the race to drive up turnout.

CROSS: Cameron, from the start, has been running a turnout strategy aimed at Republican voters, particularly supporters of Donald Trump.

GOODMAN: Nationalizing the race could help turn out Kentuckians who otherwise only show up for presidential elections.

MICHAEL ADAMS: You know, that's a challenge for turnout in a nonpresidential year.

GOODMAN: That's Kentucky's Republican secretary of state, Michael Adams. He says he's seen the effect in his own campaign for reelection this year. When he tries to talk about state politics, he's met with blank stares.

ADAMS: People kind of look at you like they've never heard any of this before. And then you take questions, only the questions are about Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan.

GOODMAN: This year's governor's race has also been one of the most expensive in state history. Cameron, Beshear and supporting PACs have spent over $59 million since the primary. That's more than double during the last governor's race. The results of the election will shed light on just how much partisan lines are deepening and whether national political allegiances trump all.

For NPR News, I'm Sylvia Goodman in Louisville.

(SOUNDBITE OF ZELA MARGOSSIAN QUINTET'S "ON YA") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.