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PADUCAH — In what’s turning out to be a heated race between the two men vying for votes in the race for Kentucky attorney general in November, Republican candidate Daniel Cameron said Tuesday he has a number of issues he’s eager to tackle if elected.

Daniel Cameron

Daniel Cameron 

 

Among them are restoring credibility to the Office of Attorney General, better leveraging relationships with federal leaders to benefit Kentucky, and supporting law enforcement.

“I think our law enforcement community has been under attack the last few years, and I want to stand with them shoulder to shoulder to make sure they know that they’ve got someone in this office that’s going to be their advocate. Morale is incredibly low right now in the law enforcement community, and I think it’s the responsible thing for the next attorney general, and I’m hopeful that that is me, in many ways to be their advocate on a whole host of issues as it relates to getting additional resources into the Commonwealth, and also making sure that they get the equipment that they need,” Cameron said.

Daniel Cameron two
Republican candidate for Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron interviewed by Local 6 anchor Todd Faulkner

Cameron spoke with me during several planned stops in western Kentucky on Tuesday.

Part of the conversation included questions from Local 6 viewers. A question from Local 6 viewer Brad Darnall was, “Is he able to keep the office independent from ‘politics’ regardless the political party of the governor? In reality, wouldn’t it be better if the attorney general was a non-partisan office?”

“What I’ve told people over the course of this campaign is that, in many ways, the office of attorney general needs to be de-politicized. It shouldn’t matter who’s in the governor’s office and in many ways it shouldn’t matter who sits in the mansion, because I think you have a responsibility — you take the oath to defend and enforce the laws that are passed by the general assembly and signed by the governor regardless of who that is,” Cameron said.

The Republican also hit back against those who’ve criticized him after welcoming and celebrating an endorsement from President Donald Trump in light of Trump’s divisive rhetoric against minority groups and immigrants. As an African American, Cameron said he’s proud of his record and being a member of the Republican Party.

Cameron with President Trump
Daniel Cameron photographed with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office

“Well, I’m proud to have the support of President Donald Trump, and I was honored to sit in the White House with him in the Oval Office and have a conversation with him about the issues that are confronting Kentucky. I think some of the backlash that I’ve seen because I’m an African American Republican is because for too long black folks in this country have been told that they have to vote a particular way and they have to speak with one voice. I don’t subscribe to that notion. I think we need to have diverse opinions and views as it relates to the political discourse of this country,” Cameron said.

Cameron is running against Democrat Greg Stumbo. He’s the former speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. Stumbo also previously served as Kentucky Attorney General from 2004 to 2008. The election is Nov. 5.