(The Center Square) – Less than 24 hours after a Kentucky gubernatorial election survey showed the Democratic incumbent with a large lead, a new poll conducted by the same firm shows Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron has cut into Gov. Andy Beshear’s lead by more than half.
However, yet another poll indicates Cameron may face a challenge in swaying enough voters in a key voting bloc away from his opponent.
Public Opinion Strategies polled 500 likely voters in Kentucky last week and found Beshear leading Cameron 49% to 45%. On Thursday, a poll Public Opinion took for The Prichard Committee, a Kentucky-based education organization, had Beshear up 52-42. However, that poll of 800 registered voters was taken in late June.
“New polling shows there is clear momentum behind Daniel Cameron and the Kentucky GOP as they head into the final months of this critical election,” the RSLC said in a polling memo. “Since June, Cameron has closed the gap in the race for governor and is now within the margin of error against Andy Beshear.”
Beshear is a popular Democrat in a red state, and he won the election four years ago by a slim margin. Republicans have set their sights on Beshear this year and hope they can swing enough voters to make Cameron Kentucky’s third Republican governor in 20 years.
One way Republicans will try to do that is by tying Beshear to President Joe Biden. According to the RSLC poll, less than 1-in-3 Kentuckians hold a favorable view of the president, who is running for re-election next year. However, another poll released Monday shows that could be a challenge.
Early Monday, Morning Consult released the July edition of its governors’ rankings, which charts the popularity of each governor in their state. With a 64% approval rating, Beshear is tied with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu for the third-highest rating in the country.
However, Morning Consult found half of Kentucky registered voters it polled who dislike President Biden approve of the job Beshear has done, with 37% somewhat approving and 13% strongly approving of the governor’s work.
Republicans control other statewide offices in Kentucky, and the RSLC’s poll indicates the GOP is in a strong position to maintain that. Incumbent Secretary of State Michael Adams and candidates for attorney general (Russell Coleman) and agriculture Commissioner (Jonathan Shell) all hold leads of at least 14 points over their Democratic competitors – Buddy Wheatley, state Rep. Pam Stevenson and Sierra Enlow, respectively. However, none of the Republican candidates have majority support yet, and more than a quarter of the voters remain undecided in each race.
