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The biggest issue separating Kentucky's gubernatorial candidates; Beshear, Cameron weigh in

The candidates for Kentucky governor made their final campaign stops Monday ahead of a high stakes election getting national attention.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Just hours away from the general election that'll decide Kentucky's governor for the next fours years, each candidate made their final campaign stops across the state -- including in Louisville.

The incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat vying for reelection, hosted a late evening get-out-the-vote rally Monday at Mile Wide Beer Company, just east of downtown.

"I run as a proud democrat, but you saw the moment I won: I took that hat off, and I served every single family," Beshear said in front of a packed crowd.

Beshear spent much of his final day campaigning in Eastern Kentucky, then made a stop in Lexington before heading to the state's biggest city.

"It's time for us to recognize that a good job isn't Democrat or Republican, a new bridge isn't red or blue, clean drinking water is a basic human right," Beshear said in front of supporters.

Both Beshear and the challenger looking to unseat him, Kentucky's Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, brought few, if any, surprises with them to their final stops -- staying consistent with their campaign priorities.

Beshear told voters the state has momentum right now, and he's looking to continue putting Kentucky on the map.

Credit: WHAS-TV
Gov. Andy Beshear greets constituents during a campaign rally on Nov. 6, 2023.

Cameron, however, has continued to warn voters of the governor's alleged ties to President Joe Biden, saying his influence on the state is moving it in the wrong direction.

"This governor and this president -- Joe Biden [and] Andy Beshear -- there's not a dime's bit of difference between them," Cameron told reporters Monday. "They both embrace economic policies that are not good for Kentuckians."

Cameron hosted news conferences in key areas across the state in his last campaign sweep, hitting Northern Kentucky, Lexington, Louisville, Bowling Green and his home town of Elizabethtown.

In his Louisville appearance, standing in front of prominent Republican state lawmakers, Cameron said he's 'confident' he's going to win the race.

Cameron is once again nationalizing the race, tying Governor Beshear to President Joe Biden, blaming them for high inflation and other strains on Kentuckians' wallets.

Former President Donald Trump voiced support for Cameron in a voter rally over the phone Monday night.

"A vote for Daniel Cameron is a vote for Trump, and it's a vote against Biden and it's a vote to save the state of Kentucky and the great Commonwealth of Kentucky from Beshear," Trump said in the call.

Credit: WHAS-TV
A Daniel Cameron supporter shows his support for the attorney general in his quest for the governor's office during a Nov. 6, 2023 rally.

Throughout his campaign, Beshear has focused on the accomplishments of his tenure, which includes billions in new economic investment, the legalization of sports betting and medical marijuana, and what his team calls 'steady' leadership through the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters.

Aside from the White House, WHAS 11 asked Cameron what he feels is the biggest issue separating him from Beshear.

"There are parents and grandparents who acknowledge and recognize that their kids have had significant learning loss, but the Governor has no plan to address that learning loss," Cameron said. "We've got to catch our kids up."

We posed the same question to the incumbent.

"When you're running, you have to talk about your record and what you want to do -- how you want to work to make a family's life better," Beshear said. "My opponent has just attacked, attacked and attacked, and that's not how you lead."

Both candidates will be in Louisville Tuesday night for their election night watch parties.

Contact reporter Isaiah Kim-Martinez at IKimMartin@whas11.com or on Facebook or Twitter 

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