With just 10 weeks until Election Day, voters in Kentucky should be getting more worried about Mitch McConnell’s recent staffer and Republican nominee for Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

Cameron’s lack of legal experience and his Washington, D.C. connections to McConnell are clearly concerning qualities for someone who wants to serve as the chief legal officer in the state. When it comes to who will keep those in power in check and put the people of Kentucky first, Cameron just doesn’t cut it. Here are five things voters should know:

1. WASHINGTON FIRST, KENTUCKY SECOND

Daniel Cameron left Kentucky to go straight to Washington D.C. to work for his mentor Senator Mitch McConnell. Then, he swung right through the revolving door to a lobbying job at a big firm, Frost Brown Todd, which represents pharmaceutical companies including opioid manufacturers and other businesses accused in lawsuits of violating consumer protection laws.

Daniel Cameron is very public about his goal to follow his mentor Senator Mitch McConnell’s footsteps saying, “when I first met [McConnell] I knew he was somebody I wanted to emulate.” Recent polling shows that McConnell is underwater in his home state with only 13 percent of voters very favorable and a majority of voters disapproving of the Senator. In fact, three times as many voters strongly disapprove of McConnell than find him very favorable.

Voters can’t tell whether or not Cameron understands the issues facing Kentucky families because he spends so much time talking about his D.C. connections and going on national news networks.

Given his shocking lack of legal experience, he doesn’t have the background that shows he knows how to protect the people of Kentucky in court. Voters might as well just call him “Daniel McCameron” because this is at best a power grab by Mitch McConnell, not a serious candidate capable of doing the work the Office of Attorney General requires. Cameron has never been a partner at a law firm or won a major case in court.

2. OPIOIDS

More than 1,500 Kentuckians die from drug overdoses every year, yet Cameron’s employer is representing the same opioid companies that are accused of causing this devastation. Cameron’s employer, Frost Brown Todd, is currently representing Purdue Pharma in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation – despite the fact that the Commonwealth of Kentucky and several Kentucky counties have sued Purdue for alleged illegal and improper marketing of Oxycontin.

In stark contrast, Democrat Greg Stumbo has a track record that shows he knows how to hold the opioid industry accountable. He was one of the first Attorneys General to file suit against Purdue, which eventually led to a $24 million settlement for Kentuckians, one of the first settlements in the country. Greg Stumbo will continue to hold opioid manufacturers who violated the law accountable, not represent them as Cameron’s employer does.

3. PENSION REFORM

During a GOP AG primary debate, Daniel Cameron was asked by the moderator if he, as Attorney General of Kentucky, would have contested Matt Bevin’s unconstitutional “Sewer Bill” that the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down unanimously after current Democratic AG Andy Beshear fought on the side of Kentuckians and beat this dangerous bill back in court.

Reminder: the “Sewer Bill” contained a pension bill that was secretively tacked on in a late-night move by Bevin that would have gutted pensions for teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Here’s how Cameron responded, “I would have enforced and upheld the law that was passed by the General Assembly regardless of what issues there might be.”

Kentucky families and communities cannot afford an AG like Cameron, who clearly doesn’t know how to fight for them in and out of the court room. He is not on the side of teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants.

4. HEALTH CARE
   

Mitch McConnell and Matt Bevin continue to take actions to undercut the health care that the people of Kentucky desperately need. Matt Bevin wants to let health insurance companies get away with selling weak plans that don’t cover preexisting conditions, prescription drugs, or mental health care. Bevin is also attempting to gut Kentucky’s Medicaid program and throw thousands of families off their insurance. Bevin’s actions put nearly 400,000 people in Kentucky at risk of losing their coverage.

In response to Bevin’s dangerous attacks on health care in Kentucky, Daniel Cameron hasn’t pushed back one bit. Not even in a tweet.

Since the Affordable Care Act passed, the state has reduced the uninsured rate from 20 percent in 2010 to just 7.5 percent today—one of the largest reduction in the country. Whereas Democrats like current AG Andy Beshear and Greg Stumbo have consistently stepped up to hold Bevin and others who are attacking Kentucky health care accountable, voters just can’t trust Cameron to do the same.

5. CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

At a Federalist Society event last Fall, Daniel Cameron said he supports mandatory minimums: “I’m Actually Pretty In Favor Of Mandatory Minimums […] I Actually Do Not Have Personally An Issue With Mandatory Minimums.” Reforming sentencing guidelines is a crucial element of the criminal justice reform movement.

Even Donald Trump supports criminal justice reform. Daniel Cameron, on the other hand, believes Kentucky should continue to use the same broken, ineffective system that is costing Kentucky taxpayers unnecessary millions.

It’s not surprising that Daniel Cameron is muddying his positions on issues like mandatory minimums because he doesn’t have any real-world legal experience handling criminal justice issues, much less any time in the courtroom. At best, Cameron is a lobbyist, not a lawyer.

At the top of the ticket, Matt Bevin is the least popular governor in the United States. Matt Bevin and Mitch McConnell are on outs with Kentucky voters because people just can’t trust them to put Kentucky interests first and get the job done.

With Cameron’s lack of experience and cozy relationship with McConnell and Bevin, Cameron is not the type of leader Kentucky voters can trust to hold those in power accountable and he’s not qualified to do the work. When it comes to who they can trust to represent them and put their interests first, Daniel Cameron just doesn’t cut it.