Kentucky’s Beshear holds 16-point lead over GOP challenger Cameron: poll

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) holds a significant 16-point lead over Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) in a recent poll of the state’s gubernatorial race released Friday.

The Emerson College poll found that 49 percent of respondents back Beshear and 33 percent back Cameron, with another 13 percent undecided.

The race is the most significant of the 2023 election calendar. Beshear hopes to gain reelection as one of five Democratic governors who represent states that voted for former President Trump in 2020. 

The poll showed a wide base of support for Beshear, with some Republicans crossing the aisle to back him.

“Governor Beshear not only holds the majority of Democratic voters’ support at 85%, but also 44% of independent voters’ support and 28% of Republican voters’ support,” said Spencer Kimball, Executive Director of Emerson College Polling. “Cameron has a weaker base of support within his own party with 53%, and trails Beshear among independent voters with 25%.”

Abortion has been one of the most important issues of the race after Cameron campaigned in the Republican primary on his anti-abortion rights stance. Kentucky voted against a statewide measure last year that would have made abortion illegal.

Beshear has been boosted by his high approval rating of 44 percent — the highest of any Democratic governor in a red state. The governor has emphasized his efforts to move jobs to the Bluegrass State and attract new business investment.

A Morning Consult poll in January claimed Beshear had a 60 percent approval rating, the highest of any Democratic governor in the country.

President Biden, on the other hand, has about a 22 percent approval in Kentucky, Emerson found.

“While Biden is an unpopular figure among Kentucky voters, Beshear has been able to separate himself from the president: he holds a 66% approval rating within his own party, and a 34% approval among both independent and Republican voters,” Kimball noted.

The Emerson poll contacted 450 registered voters between Sunday and Tuesday this week. It has a margin of error of 4.6 percent.