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KDP: What to Know About RNC Speaker Daniel Cameron

Berry Craig
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By KENNY COLSTON

Kentucky Democratic Party

Frankfort, KY Tonight, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is scheduled to speak as part of the Republican National Convention, an interesting choice for someone who took office 9 months ago. 

Here’s what you need to know about Daniel Cameron’s failed first year as Kentucky’s Attorney General:

1. His office has delayed the Breonna Taylor case for 100+ days, with no end in sight. 

On May 13, Cameron’s office confirmed they would be the special prosecutor to oversee the Taylor case. Now, more than 100 days later, Cameron has still provided no timeline for a decision on the case. He didn’t even meet with Taylor’s family until Aug. 12. For reference, Gov. Andy Beshear met with the late Taylor’s family more than a month earlier.

Rather than focus on getting a decision on the case this week, Cameron has decided to make a political speech instead. 

2. His top deputy resigned because of controversial pardons made while he was part of former Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration. Two more deputies are also involved, but still on the payroll. 

Steve Pitt was the general counsel to former Gov. Matt Bevin, who made several controversial pardons at the end of his term in 2019. One of those pardons was a sex offender who brutal sodomized an underage male, causing serious injuries. The Courier-Journal reported in May that Pitt personally recommended the pardon to Bevin before going to work for Cameron. Pitt resigned shortly after the story broke, but not before working for Cameron for six plus months. 

Another attorney involved with the Bevin pardons, Chad Meredith still works for Cameron as state solicitor general.

3. Cameron is so inexperienced, he had to go to court to prove his eligibility for office. 

During Cameron’s 2019 campaign, his inexperience was highlighted in a lawsuit filed to determine whether he had spent enough time practicing law to qualify for the AG’s office. As part of his testimony in the lawsuit, Cameron said his time as a law clerk counted toward the time requirement for being a practicing attorney.

But he still had to hire the former governor’s general counsel as “special advisor and counsel” as soon as he took office. 
 
4. He was the first Attorney General to sue his own governor over COVID-19 restrictions. Cameron relied on partisan judges with close ties to the Republican Party of Kentucky to undermine Governor Beshear before the Supreme Court finally stepped in.

In July, Cameron asked a state judge to invalidate all of Gov. Andy Beshear’s COVID-19 orders, including a mask mandate, a change to allow COVID-19 to be used in workers compensation cases for first responders and an order that waived testing fees and copays for COVID-19 testing. 

But rather than sue in Franklin Circuit Court, where cases against a governor or state government usually go, Cameron purposely picked another circuit court, where the judge is part of a family that are long time GOP donors -- and where the judge used to be the local GOP chairman. 

Thankfully, the Kentucky Supreme Court took the unusual step of blocking Cameron’s attempts before the hand-picked circuit judge could rule.

5. Many Kentucky Politicos think he’s being groomed to replace Mitch McConnell in 2026.

USA Today reporter Phillip Bailey, who previously worked for the Courier-Journal in Louisville, has tweeted bluntly that he thinks Cameron got a speaking spot as part of being “groomed” to replace U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell in 2026. 

And Cameron has been described as McConnell’s “protege”, with Cameron saying “It’s more than just a professional relationship. He is a dear friend and has been an advocate for my career.”