Bluegrass Times

Kentucky's Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear's re-election chances are about 50-50, according to a recent Republican poll, which the GOP state attorney general candidate said signals what Blue Grass State voters want.

And it is not Democratic candidates, Kentucky attorney general candidate Russell Coleman said in a social media post.

"The poll results are clear," Coleman said in a June 1, Twitter post. "Kentuckians want strong, Republican leaders who will protect their families from violent crime, deadly drugs and the out-of-touch Biden administration."

Kentucky GOP attorney general candidate Russell Coleman. | Wikipedia-U.S. Department of Justice

Coleman's post linked to the Republican Party of Kentucky's own Twitter post that referred to a poll by Cygnal that found Beshear with about 47% of the vote and the same 47% also going to Republican challenger, incumbent Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Less than 7% of poll participants said they are undecided.

The poll also found that President Joe Biden remains unpopular in Kentucky, with only 36% of poll participants approving of his job performance. More than 62% of poll participants said they had an "unfavorable opinion" of Biden, while 52.1% had a favorable opinion of former President Donald Trump.

Cygnal describes itself as a "polling and predictive analytics firm who pioneered multi-mode research serving GOP candidates, committees and public affairs efforts nationwide."

In a separate news release, the Kentucky Republican Party said the poll's result showed "the vulnerability of Biden’s man in Kentucky, Andy Beshear" to Cameron's challenge, with the two "in a dead heat in the race for governor."

"This poll is bad news for Andy Beshear, Biden's man in Kentucky," party spokesman Sean Southard said in the GOP news release. "This poll confirms Kentuckians know Andy Beshear is out of touch with Kentucky and are excited about taking the state in new direction with Daniel Cameron, a strong leader who will get people back to work, restore law and order and get politics out of the classroom."

Coleman was Trump's successful nominee for U.S. attorney in Kentucky's Western District. He resigned that seat in January 2021, and in May 2022, he launched his campaign for Kentucky's attorney general. 

Cameron's race against Beshear for governor leaves Coleman to face Democratic challenger, U.S. Air Force veteran and Kentucky House Rep. Pamela Stevenson, in this year's general election.

The Cygnal poll reported Coleman has a strong lead over Stevenson, 39% to 29%, among poll participants.