LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It didn't take long before the personal attacks and criticisms were launched during Monday's Republican primary debate.
The debate, hosted by Kentucky Educational Television, featured the top five Republican candidates for governor: Attorney General Daniel Cameron, former U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, Mayor of Somerset Alan Keck, and Northern Kentucky attorney Eric Deters.
Quarles and Keck stayed away from the fighting, but Cameron, Craft, and Deters made some jabs. Craft tried to focus her efforts on Cameron while Cameron and Deters launched their attacks on Craft.
"Craft's attempts to attack Cameron were undermined by Deters. I mean, she just couldn't deliver them and couldn't deliver them effectively," said Dr. Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky. "Her blows did not land."
Voss explains that Deters' "Trump-style" performance is something that could stand out to voters.
"The hyper-masculine posturing," explained Voss. "The sort of bullying approach to his opponents."
However, at one point in the debate, Deters accused Craft of playing the "woman card." He doubled down on that claim when speaking to reporters.
"She played the woman card when she started talking about, I'm a woman and I'm this and I'm this," said Deters. "She plays the woman card."
That attack could possibly not sit well with some voters and make them sympathetic towards Craft.
"She was the target of fairly dismissive commentary," said Voss. "You know, the way Deters would say 'Kelly' - it was dismissive."
LEX 18 Political Analyst Bob Babbage says the "2 on 1" made an unusual debate dynamic.
The big question is: how will the fighting affect voters' decisions?
"If the audience was a little taken aback by the infighting, that might have pulled those two front runners back some," explained Babbage. "If they are more towards decorum and manners and polite style of debate and conversation, then Quarles might have popped up a couple. At the same time, Deters may - because he's appealing to a person who's more aggravated with the process and the establishment - might also have picked up some as well. It's conceivable that all five [candidates] had a good night and are a little bit better off in the polling and favorables."
"As history shows, we tend to vote for people who are like us - who we like," added Babbage. "So, who among those five was the most likable and who was the most like the viewers watching."
