A record amount was spent on the race for the Governor’s Mansion in Frankfort, Kentucky, according to a leading watchdog organization.
With the victory, Mr. Beshear secured a prominent Democratic position of power in a state that has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 2000.
Open Secrets said it was a record amount for a statewide race in the Bluegrass State.
According to Open Secrets’ Follow The Money website, Mr. Beshear raised more than $23.1 million in his winning bid. Mr. Cameron raised $6.5 million. That amount was less than the $12.4 million Kelly Craft, a former U.N. Ambassador under President Trump, raised in a losing bid for the Republican Party ticket.
The Kentucky Democratic Party was the largest single donor for Mr. Beshear. It gave $7.5 million. The Kentucky Republican Party, with $1.8 million, was the single largest donor for Mr. Cameron.
Groups identified by Open Secrets as out-of-state “independent spenders” spent the most on the campaign.
Bluegrass Freedom Action, a group supporting Mr. Cameron, spent more than $4.8 million. Its organizational statements with the KREF list Washington-based Perspective Strategies CEO Stephen Aaron as its chairman.
Commonwealth PAC, a group organized to support Ms. Craft, spent $1.8 million on the race. That political action committee was principally funded by a trust linked to Joe Craft, CEO of Alliance Resource Partners LP, and Ms. Craft’s husband.
American Principles Project PAC, an Arlington, Virginia, based conservative group, spent $1.67 million on the race. American Principles Project identifies itself as “the only national pro-family organization engaging directly in campaigns and elections.”
