(LifeSiteNews) — In a disappointing setback for conservatives, Kentucky voters chose Democrat incumbent Andy Beshear over Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron in the Kentucky governor’s contest on Tuesday. The abortion debate played a key role in the race, with Cameron running on a record of defending Kentucky’s sweeping ban and Beshear calling for exceptions.
Maintaining a strong lead over Cameron as the votes trickled in through the evening, Beshear’s victory was called by The Hill by 9 p.m. EST.
NewsNation reported that the gubernatorial contest in the Bluegrass State has had “an abortion focus.”
Cameron, who has earned the endorsement of former U.S. President Donald Trump, had run on a conservative platform opposing draconian COVID-19 lockdowns, transgender ideology, and abortion.
As attorney general, he successfully fought in defense of his state’s near-total abortion ban, the 2019 Human Life Protection Act, against myriad court challenges. Cameron seemingly suggested he would consider legislation to allow abortion exceptions in cases of rape or incest, though he later explained he would do so if required by the courts, ABC News reported.
“I’m the pro-life candidate, and I’ve said that Andy Beshear is the abortion candidate,” Cameron said in an October debate. “I’ve also said that if the legislature were to give me a bill with exceptions in it, I would certainly sign it.”
Cameron has steadfastly backed Kentucky’s abortion ban — which does not contain exceptions for rape or incest — despite his apparent openness to new legislation that would introduce carveouts.
RELATED: Kentucky’s abortion ban resumes following emergency request by pro-life attorney general
Meanwhile, Gov. Beshear, who achieved a narrow victory in 2019, turning Kentucky blue, went on to lock down his state, impose mask mandates, and urge churches to restrict their capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic. He previously suggested that the federal “right to abortion” established in Roe v. Wade had been “generally right,” though he said he opposes late-term abortions.
“This ultimately should be a rare but legal procedure,” Beshear said during a 2022 news conference, explaining his support for abortion ban exceptions in cases of rape or incest. His campaign ran ads featuring a woman raped by her stepfather to promote his support for rape and incest exceptions.
Running in what remains a largely Republican state, the incumbent also sought to distance himself from U.S. President Joe Biden, whose popularity has been steadily declining. Biden enjoys a mere 22% approval rating from Kentucky voters, according to a poll from Emerson College, The Hill reported.
Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky’s director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, predicted in comments to NBC ahead of the vote that she believed Beshear would score a victory due to his stance on abortion in the post-Roe landscape.
Kentucky voters last year rejected a ballot measure clarifying that the state constitution did not contain a “right” to abortion, LifeSiteNews previously reported.
While Kentucky already bans nearly all abortions thanks to a trigger law that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate the federal “right” to abortion established in Roe, Proposition 2 would have safeguarded the state’s pro-life laws in the courts if challenged by pro-abortion groups.
READ: Kentucky’s abortion ban resumes following emergency request by pro-life attorney general
The decision by Kentuckians to pick Beshear over Cameron casts a continued pall over the statewide efforts to elect pro-life leaders and achieve success with pro-life ballot measures after the rollback of Roe v. Wade last year.
Since the landmark pro-life victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022 that reversed nearly 50 years of radical federal abortion precedent established in Roe v. Wade, pro-life advocates have experienced a patchwork of victories and defeats at the state level. Strong trigger laws and gestational age bans have been passed in states like Florida, Texas, and Idaho. However, all ballot proposals thus far have been decided in favor of the pro-abortion agenda.