Ky. AG Daniel Cameron officially running for governor

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT/AP) - Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is officially running for governor in 2023.

Cameron, a Republican, filed his paperwork Wednesday morning to run.

Cameron has been busy during his tenure with issues that came to his office at a rapid pace—the pandemic, the Breonna Taylor case and an ongoing opioid crisis are some of those.

Cameron is a historic figure as the only African American elected statewide in his own right. His initiatives include targeting abortion in the state and, recently, an effort to figure out how TikTok videos are impacting young people. He’s the 51st attorney general of Kentucky and the first Republican elected to that office since World War II.

Cameron, seen as a rising GOP star, made history in 2019 as the first African American in Kentucky to serve as the state’s attorney general. Now he’s trying to blaze another trail in his bid for governor.

The attorney general last year led the legal fight against pandemic-related restrictions Gov. Andy Beshear imposed to try to stem the spread of the virus. Cameron won the case in the Kentucky Supreme Court, which cleared the way for new laws to rein in the governor’s emergency powers. The governor maintains that his actions saved lives.

Cameron has close ties to the state’s most powerful Republican — U.S. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell — having formerly served as the senator’s legal counsel.

Cameron enters what could become a crowded field of Republicans running to unseat Gov. Beshear in next year’s top-of-the-ticket race. Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles and State Auditor Mike Harmon have also announced their candidacy for the state’s top job on the Republican ticket.

With Cameron’s announcement, Secretary of State Michael Adams says he will now consider running for attorney general.

Copyright 2022 WKYT. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.