FRANKFORT, Ky. — Some networks are already calling it the biggest governor's race of 2023, right here in Kentucky.
On Friday, Republican nominee Daniel Cameron and incumbent Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear kicked off their bids for November's general election.
Both campaigns have wasted no time getting in front of the public eye, post-Primary election victories.
The Republican Party of Kentucky hosted Cameron, alongside the rest of the GOP ticket, at their headquarters on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Beshear started his statewide bus tour in Paducah, in western Kentucky on Friday, with plans to visit Lexington on Saturday and Louisville on Sunday.
In Frankfort, it took just a few minutes for Cameron, Kentucky's current attorney general, to align Beshear with President Joe Biden.
"It's a record that has not held Joe Biden accountable for his failures at the southern border," said Cameron, speaking about Beshear's resume in his first term.
While Republicans look to nationalize the governor's race, Democrats are starting local -- at least for now.
This week, the Democratic Governors Association launched a website with the title 'Cameron Doesn't Care,' tying him directly to polarizing former governor Matt Bevin, who Beshear narrowly defeated in 2019.
On Friday, WHAS11 asked Cameron directly: "Does your campaign plan to separate yourself from his name? And if so, how?"
"This is going to be a very clear contrast between Daniel Cameron and Andy Beshear," Cameron responded. "And here's the contrast: Daniel Cameron is the law and order candidate. Andy Beshear is the catch-and-release candidate."
WHAS11 followed up, asking, "So, is that a yes? Will you contrast yourself from Bevin?"
"I am definitely going to contrast myself from Andy Beshear, and that's who I'm running against," Cameron answered.
Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers (R) weighed in on Beshear's win in 2019, by just 5,000 votes.
"People say, 'Well, Andy Beshear has favorable approval.' Well, we've polled them, and every time you ask the question, 'When you see the election, where there is a generic Republican against the current governor, what are the results?' The generic Republican is on top," Stivers said.
Statewide, Republican Party voter registration is up, taking the lead over Democrats for the first time in Kentucky's history -- according to Secretary of State Michael Adams (R).
"The GOP has never won all seven statewide offices at the same time. I think we've got our best chance to do that this year," Adams said.
And it's worth noting, typically in campaign kickoffs for the Republican Party of Kentucky, they hold a rally -- including with candidates who lost in the primary, in order to show a sense of unity within the party.
This time, the GOP opted to keep the event small, primarily with those who won and leadership in the Kentucky General Assembly.
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