Kentucky voters will choose a new attorney general Nov. 5, with Daniel Cameron (R) and Gregory Stumbo (D) vying for the office.
Democrats have controlled the AG office in Kentucky since 1952. The state’s election history suggests this year’s contest will be competitive.
The AG position is open, as incumbent Andy Beshear is the Democratic nominee challenging incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin (R) in the gubernatorial race.
The 2015 attorney general race was decided by a margin of 0.2 percentage points—50.1% to 49.9%. Beshear defeated Whitney Westerfield (R) by 2,194 votes. In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Kentucky with 62.5% of the vote. Trump endorsed Cameron on July 29, 2019.
The race has attracted at least $5.75 million in spending from satellite groups—$3.25 million from the Republican Attorneys General Association supporting Cameron, and $2.5 million from the Democratic Attorneys General Association supporting Stumbo.
The attorney general election is occurring alongside Kentucky’s gubernatorial and secretary of state elections, meaning either party could gain triplex control in 2019. Kentucky is one of nine states where the governor and the attorney general are not from the same party, creating divided triplex control among Kentucky’s executives.
Additional reading:
- Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2019
- Kentucky secretary of state election, 2019
- State government triplexes by the numbers
- Republican Attorneys General Association
- Democratic Attorneys General Association
