From the DGA: New Report Reveals Daniel Cameron’s Pattern of Using Taxpayer Dollars to Promote Himself in Ads

DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION

A new report from The Daily Beast reveals a “pattern” of “promotional efforts paid for by Cameron’s state office,” that align with “Cameron’s 2022 candidacy announcement, the primary election, and the pivot to the general.” 

In one blatant example, less than one week before the GOP primary for governor earlier this year, Daniel Cameron used $175,000 in taxpayer dollars on a “paid video ad campaign” to promote himself and his office, many of which were later “‘paused and flagged’ after Google ruled that it was political advertising.” 

The report also notes that “nearly 80 percent of the OAG’s 2022 advertising spending (about $40,000 out of roughly $52,000 total) came shortly after Cameron announced his candidacy.”

Overall, under Cameron’s leadership, the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General spent “more than $316,000 on ads,” representing “more than a $315,050 increase” in ad spending compared to his predecessor, now-Gov. Andy Beshear, who spent just $50 on ads while in the office. 

This is not the first time Cameron’s corruption has been put on display. Earlier this year, several reports revealed stunning conflicts of interest between Cameron’s official capacity as Attorney General and his political donors. The Associated Press revealed that “Cameron directly solicited donations for his gubernatorial campaign from executives with a Kentucky drug treatment organization that his office began investigating last year,” and a follow-up report from The Daily Beast revealed “major inconsistencies” in Daniel Cameron’s claims about the Edgewater donations scandal. 

“Daniel Cameron has made a habit of wasting Kentucky taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars,” said DGA States Press Secretary Emma O’Brien. “This report makes clear Cameron made taxpayers foot the bill for ads to promote himself at key moments throughout this campaign, including $175,000 in ads, many of which were paused and flagged for being political. If this is how Cameron spends Kentuckians’ hard-earned money in his current job, how can he be trusted as Governor?”