Gov. Andy Beshear (D) won re-election in the Kentucky, defeating Daniel Cameron (R), according to the Cook Political Report.

Decision Desk also called the race for Beshear.

David Wasserman: “Looking at the numbers, it’s pretty evident Kentucky Republicans had a turnout/enthusiasm problem today.”

The final Emerson College Polling survey of Kentucky voters before the 2023 gubernatorial general election finds incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear (D) and Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) in a dead heat, 47% to 47%.

Politico: “A wire-to-wire Beshear win would suggest the president and his party are stronger than they look on paper heading into 2024. A come-from-behind Cameron victory would signal that the country is getting even more polarized, and that antipathy toward Biden is a powerful motivating force for Republican-leaning voters who approve of Beshear’s job performance but ultimately stuck with their party when it came time to pick a side.”

Daily Beast: “The GOP’s gubernatorial candidate in Kentucky — state Attorney General Daniel Cameron — ran public service announcements at a conspicuous time. Google said they were political ads, not PSAs.”

A new Emerson College poll in Kentucky finds Gov. Andy Beshear (D) leading challenger Daniel Cameron (R) in the race for governor, 49% to 33%.

Five percent plan to vote for someone else, while 13% are undecided.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) is up on a new television ad with a young woman who was raped by her stepfather: “This is to you, Daniel Cameron. To tell a 12-year-old girl she must have the baby of her stepfather who raped her is unthinkable.”

In what cannot be a coincidence, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports Cameron said “that he would sign legislation to provide abortion-ban exceptions for rape and incest, flip-flopping from his previous stance on Kentucky’s near-total ban.”

Gov. Andy Beshear (D) has seized a commanding fundraising lead over challenger Daniel Cameron (R) in their marquee matchup in Kentucky, the AP reports.

“Beshear — who is seeking a second term in a state that otherwise has become a GOP stronghold — accumulated about $15 million for the November election, while Cameron has taken in $2.8 million. Heading into the campaign’s stretch, Beshear had about three times more money in the bank.”

A new Public Opinion Strategies (R) poll in Kentucky found Gov. Andy Beshear (D) leading challenger Daniel Cameron (R) in late June, 52% to 42%.

A second poll conducted by the same pollster last week found Beshear leading Cameon, 49% to 45%.

After Daniel Cameron (R) won the Republican nomination to challenge Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), the Cook Political Report rates the race as Lean Democrat.

“Let me just say, the Trump culture of winning is alive and well in Kentucky!”

— Daniel Cameron (R), quoted by Politico, after winning the GOP nomination for governor. Ron DeSantis had backed his challenger, Kelly Craft (R).

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R), who’s backed by Donald Trump, is projected to win the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary, the Lexington Herald Leader reports.

He will face Gov. Andy Beshear (D) in the fall election.

“Kentucky Republicans are heading to the polls Tuesday to pick the party’s nominee to take on incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, in what is expected to be one of the most high-profile gubernatorial contests this year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The political parties will be scrutinizing the Kentucky governor’s race, along with the ones in Louisiana and Mississippi, for clues about voter sentiment ahead of the 2024 presidential election.”

Former U.N. Ambassador Kelly Craft (R), who is running in a hotly contested primary race for Kentucky governor, promised that, if elected, “we will not have transgenders in our school system.” the AP reports.

“As Kentucky’s GOP primary campaign sprints toward the finish line, some Republicans are looking ahead to the November election with an eye toward who best can reclaim the governorship — a job that the state’s dominant party has struggled to hold despite its strong showing in other races,” the AP reports.

“With candidates dashing from the hills of Appalachia to the suburbs of Lexington and Louisville and rural communities out west, some of the voters they meet along the way say they are basing decisions in the May 16 primary mostly on which Republican would pose the toughest challenge to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who is facing nominal party opposition.”

“Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is entering his reelection contest in a rare position for a red state Democrat: the frontrunner,” Politico reports.

“It is a remarkable chain of events for Beshear, the son of a popular former governor who upset then-Republican Gov. Matt Bevin by just 5,000 votes in 2019. Beshear is riding into his reelection bid with sky high popularity, not just for a Democratic governor in a state that Donald Trump carried by nearly 26 points in 2020, but for any governor generally.”

A new Mason-Dixon poll indicates Gov. Andy Beshear “still gets a thumbs-up from most Kentuckians for his work and also leads four notable Republican opponents as he seeks a second term in office, while Attorney General Daniel Cameron has a sizable edge over his competitors in the GOP’s upcoming gubernatorial primary.”

“Beshear’s job approval rating remains high, at 61%, while just 29% of respondents disapproved of his performance and 10% weren’t sure how they feel.”

Cook Political Report: “After eking out a win in 2019 over unpopular Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, Gov. Andy Beshear starts out with the edge to win a second term. Given the state’s heavy red lean, Republicans still have an opportunity, but they must first get through their own crowded primary.”

“Beshear starts with strong approval ratings and faces only nominal primary opposition.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D), the new chair of the Democratic Governors Association, told Politico that he wouldn’t rule out meddling in GOP primaries to try to get less electable Republicans nominated.

Said Murphy: “I say this literally, you should assume that if something is legal and ethical, nothing’s off the table.”

Murphy said his first priority is getting another term for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), who is up for reelection in 2023.

“Former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft (R) launched her long-anticipated campaign for Kentucky governor on Wednesday, saying the state’s ‘best days are ahead of us’ as she joined a crowded lineup of Republicans competing to challenge Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear (D) next year,” the AP reports.