Historic Victory, Kentucky Elects First African American Attorney General

Facts

Shock was felt throughout the political world on Tuesday night when the historically Republican state of Kentucky elected a democratic Governor by a slim margin of 5,000 votes. Incumbent republican governor Matt Bevin has yet to concede the race, sighting irregularities in the way absentee ballots were counted. Lost, however, in the news of this historic victory is another event, one that is perhaps no less meaningful. Kentucky, for the first time ever, elected an African American man to be attorney General. The 33 year old republican, Daniel Cameron, won by over 220,000 votes. This is the first republican to be elected to the post since 1948. Cameron has worked for Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and was endorsed by president Trump during the election.

Left

CNN and the New York Times noted the victory by Cameron but pundits on the left have been largely silent on the significance of Cameron’s victory, focusing rather on the potential for a recount and what’s sure to be a bitter fight over the Governorship in the coming weeks. Interestingly, Krystal Ball – a far left progressive – took the opportunity on the Hill’s morning show The Rising to point out the double standard in the way the Left views the success of minorities who do not align politically. Ball argued for political discourse to move beyond identity as a grounds for political support. For her, the left should either be consistent or it should support candidates primarily for their ideas and policies – a situation that would be much the better for us all in her estimations.

Right

Republicans seem to see a bright spot in Cameron in another wise troubling election season. With Kentucky and Virginia both moving decidedly closer to the Democrats there is a since that clouds could be gathering over the horizon. Trump tweeted, “A star is born” in the wake of the Cameron victory as hope grows that Conservative ideas may be able to appeal to a wider and more diverse demographic. Ronn Blitzer of Fox chronicles the republican reactions to the victory.