GOP gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron waves to the crowd during his election party on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at the Galt House in Louisville. (Austin Anthony / for the Kentucky Lantern)
Members of the Kentucky State Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron in the 2023 gubernatorial election.?
The Kentucky FOP voted on the decision Monday at a biennial national conference in Las Vegas. Results were announced Tuesday morning.?
“Attorney General Cameron has been a friend to the FOP since the day he stepped foot into public office,” Kentucky State FOP President and Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue Jr. said in a press release. “We are excited to stand with Daniel and look forward to helping him during the remaining months of the campaign.”
The FOP distributed questionnaire responses from both Cameron and Beshear to its members. In recent weeks, the candidates have released their public safety plans, which include more money for Kentucky’s law enforcement officers using the state’s rainy day fund. Kentucky finished the 2023 fiscal year with a revenue surplus estimated at $1.4 billion, the third year in a row the surplus has topped $1 billion, while bringing in a record $15.1 billion in general fund tax revenue.
Cameron’s public safety plan largely focused on Louisville. Among his points, he wants the legislature to authorize Kentucky State Police to conduct wiretaps and increase penalties for drug traffickers, such as allowing murder charges against drug dealers when someone dies from a substance they distributed.?
Beshear released a budget proposal last week, months ahead of the 2024 legislative session, that called for funding more training for police officers, establishing grants for local law enforcement agencies to upgrade their body armor, and changing pensions, including moving all law enforcement pension plans back to defined pension benefits.?
In the 2019 election, the FOP endorsed Beshear in his campaign against former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. Members also endorsed Cameron for attorney general that year.?
The state FOP has more than 10,700 members, making it one of the largest organizations representing law enforcement officials across the state.
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McKenna Horsley
McKenna Horsley covers state politics for the Kentucky Lantern. She previously worked for newspapers in Huntington, West Virginia, and Frankfort, Kentucky. She is from northeastern Kentucky.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
