LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Republican Daniel Cameron's bid for governor won support from Kentucky's largest police union on Tuesday, providing a boost for the current attorney general who led an investigation that yielded no charges against any officers for the shooting death of Breonna Taylor during a botched police raid.
The endorsement from the Kentucky State Fraternal Order of Police came after weeks of Cameron and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear trying to one-up the other in pitching public safety plans. The bitter rivals are competing in one of the nation's most closely watched campaigns this year.
Four years ago, Beshear — the attorney general at the time — won the law enforcement group's backing over then-Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, who angered public employees with his plan to revamp pensions.
On Tuesday, state FOP President Berl Perdue Jr. referred to Cameron as a steadfast ally who has “had our backs” as attorney general. The group, which represents more than 10,000 active and retired officers, said it looked forward to helping the Republican's campaign.
“Our members know that he is available when needed, supports us in good and bad times and ultimately offers the best platform for law enforcement to thrive in the commonwealth," Perdue said in a statement.
Touting the endorsement, Cameron said he will always “back the Blue.”
Beshear's campaign has run ads featuring law officers who support his reelection. His campaign spokesman, Alex Floyd, said the governor has "fought to protect their pensions, provide better funding and secure higher pay for our law enforcement officers, and will continue to advocate for them.”
The state FOP has a mixed record in picking winners in Kentucky's gubernatorial campaigns. In 2007, it endorsed Steve Beshear — the current governor's father — in his successful run. Four years later, the group backed Steve Beshear's GOP challenger, who was routed by the Democratic incumbent.
There was no mention in the endorsement of Cameron's handling of the criminal investigation into the case of Taylor, who was Black and whose shooting death in 2020 spurred nationwide racial justice protests alongside the killing of George Floyd.
Taylor’s family and scores of protesters have blamed Cameron for a lack of criminal charges against the officers for her death. Police opened fire into Taylor’s Louisville apartment after her boyfriend fired a shot at them from a hallway, wounding one of the officers. Taylor’s boyfriend said he thought he was firing at an intruder.
Cameron, who is Kentucky's first Black attorney general, has called Taylor's death a tragedy while defending the investigation, saying he “followed the law without fear or favor.” Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, has backed a grassroots campaign aimed at defeating Cameron in November.
Three jurors on the 12-member grand jury later came forward to say Cameron’s team limited their scope and misled them about what charges they could consider against the officers. Beshear has pointed to that development in criticizing Cameron’s handling of the case.
“If you're willing to lie about a grand jury, he's willing to lie to you,” Beshear said recently at the Fancy Farm picnic, the state's premier political event.
Meanwhile, Cameron unveiled an education plan Tuesday that includes developing a network of state-backed tutoring programs to help students recover from pandemic learning setbacks.
Cameron blamed Andy Beshear for learning loss during the pandemic, when schools shifted to virtual learning. Cameron also proposed raising starting pay for teachers and bolstering classroom discipline in his education policy blueprint dubbed “The Cameron Catch-Up Plan.”
Beshear has made support for public education a cornerstone of his term, proposing massive increases in state support for schools, as well as higher pay for teachers and state-backed universal preschool.
Statewide test scores last fall showed fewer than half of Kentucky students were reading at grade level. Even lower across-the-board scores were posted in math, science and social studies. National test scores showed it’s a chronic problem across the U.S. as schools try to recover from the pandemic.
“We cannot build a prosperous future without catching our kids up,” Cameron said Tuesday.
Beshear supported school closures at the height of the deadly pandemic, while making it a priority to get teachers vaccinated in the push to reopen. Beshear says his policies saved lives and reflected recommendations from then-President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force.
Cameron's plan calls for developing an optional, 16-week tutoring program for math and reading instruction. Students who have fallen behind grade level would be given first priority for the after-school and summer instructional program.
“This plan is designed to rescue the students who have fallen behind the most,” Cameron said.
Cameron, a school choice supporter, didn't offer any such initiatives in his plan. Cameron drew the wrath of public education groups when, as attorney general, his office defended a Republican-backed measure to award tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition. The measure was struck down by Kentucky’s Supreme Court. The measure's opponents said it would divert money from public schools, a theme continued by Beshear's campaign.
Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman said Tuesday that Cameron has spent time in office “advocating to weaken our public schools with vouchers that would send public tax dollars to private schools.”
