LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new radio ad is targeting a candidate for Kentucky governor, in part for the action he didn't take in the Breonna Taylor case. That's as the general election sits just days away.
Republican nominee and state Attorney General Daniel Cameron is accused of ignoring Black values. The Black Voters Matter Action PAC funded the 30-second spot, that starts by saying, "It's election time, and all skin folk ain't kinfolk."
The ad goes on to say, "Now, uncle Daniel Cameron is threatening to take us backward -- the same man who refused to seek justice for Breonna Taylor."
It's been a campaign season where Breonna Taylor's name has seldom been mentioned in debates or advertising. But the radio ad brought the issue back to the surface, criticizing Cameron for what some viewed as an inadequate investigation by his office into her death.
The ad also attacks Cameron's proposals on healthcare, and suggests his views on abortion don't represent those of Black Kentuckians.
WHAS11 talked to Cliff Albright, the executive director of the BVM Action PAC, which falls under the same umbrella as the Black Voters Matter fund -- a national voting rights organization.
"Just because somebody is a Black candidate doesn't mean that they have the best interests of the majority of Black voters at heart," Albright said. "Here we have a situation where you have a Black candidate who's been diametrically opposed to the interests of the Black community, particularly on issues like police accountability."
WHAS11 showed the clip in person to Black Lives Matter Louisville co-lead organizer Chanelle Helm, who agreed with some of the points made in the ad.
"I absolutely get it," she said.
But Helm also believes the efforts are mistimed during a period where she says advocacy groups instead should be focusing on getting disadvantaged voters to the polls.
"If you're a voter, you already know who you're going to vote for [at this point]. Who we need to focus on are the people who are just like, 'Why vote?' That has been the most important question that I hear," Helm said.
Meanwhile, regarding the ad itself, Cameron pushed back in a statement, reading in part, "I never faced racism or discrimination while growing up or working in Kentucky until I decided to stand up to the national Democrat establishment. I don't support their policies, so the Left attacks me for my skin color."
"Kentucky's first-ever Black gubernatorial nominee is being called a white supremacist because he is a Republican," a campaign spokesperson added. "That sort of irresponsible language is an insult to every conservative-thinking person in the state."
Albright confirmed to WHAS11 a video ad on the very same topic is expected to be released some time Wednesday, Nov. 1.
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