The wait is over: Cameron announces his pick for lieutenant governor running mate

Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the Republican nominee for Kentucky governor, announced Wednesday he’s chosen Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, as his running mate.

Cameron made the announcement on Twitter and at an event hosted at the Republican Party of Kentucky headquarters in Frankfort Wednesday morning.

Mills is a longtime public official in Western Kentucky. He spent 16 years on the Henderson City Commission starting in 1998 before serving a term in the Kentucky House, then winning election to Senate District 4 in a one-point 2018 win over an incumbent Democrat. In 2022, he won re-election to a second term by 33 percentage points.

Together the two hope to unseat Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman in November in what is expected to be the most expensive and closely watched governor’s race in the nation.

“It was Robby Mills, the state senator (who) represents Dawson Springs, (who) led the charge to rebuild Western Kentucky after the devastating tornadoes,” Cameron said at the press conference. “It was Robby Mills, who as a defender of our coal industry, has relentlessly fought off attacks from the radical ESG movement and improved the resiliency of our electrical grid. It was Robby Mills who passed a law requiring a photo ID to vote, which helps increase faith in our elections. And it was Robby Mills who was the first person in Frankfort to sound the alarm about radical gender ideology.”

Mills said as a member of the General Assembly, he’s seen Beshear “push his radical agenda into our schools, into our businesses and our homes.

“He has failed to support our values and it’s time for a change in the Kentucky governor’s office. Time for a change.”

Mills said their administration would “bring about a new era of cooperation between the executive branch and the legislature” and will deliver results on “Day 1, no learning curve.”

Beshear responded to Cameron’s pick Wednesday afternoon, slamming the senator’s legislative record.

“As a legislator, Robby Mills led the effort to pass a sewer bill that would have stripped the earned retirements of every teacher, police officer, firefighter, social worker, every state, city, and county employee that was made a promise and he was willing to break it. In fact, after I got that sewer bill declared unconstitutional, he pushed then-governor Matt Bevin to call a special session to take a second try at ripping away those pensions,” Beshear said. “Now, what that means is that Sen. Mills is anti-teacher, anti-worker and anti-law enforcement.”

Who is Robby Mills? Cameron running mate has focused on energy, elections, cultural issues

Despite Kentucky’s conservative leanings, Beshear is believed to be a tough opponent to beat. Polling shows he has consistently high approval ratings and is one of the most popular governors in America.

Beshear’s tenure as governor has been marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, devastating tornadoes in Western Kentucky and historic flooding in Eastern Kentucky, and his early campaign messaging seeks to convey that he’s a proven leader in difficult times.

But Cameron has been called a rising “star” in the GOP by former president Donald Trump, who threw his endorsement behind the 37-year-old nearly a full year before the May 20203 primary.

At the event announcing Mills’ spot on the ticket, Cameron said Kentuckians are “ready to turn the page” on Beshear.

“This is our chance to write a new future,” Cameron said.

A couple dozen Republican members of the General Assembly attended the Wednesday announcement to show their support for Mills. Among them was Sen. Gex Williams, R-Verona, who called Mills a “perfect pick” who can navigate the political landscape while remaining gracious and without making enemies.

“I think one of the last Republican administrations didn’t accomplish as much as they could have because they lacked the voice with the legislature and cooperation,” Williams said. “His real strength as lieutenant governor is that he will form the bridge between the two branches of government.”

Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer also praised Cameron’s choice of Mills, tweeting that his colleague has “has changed KY for the better” through his work.

Cameron bested 11 other candidates to emerge at the top of the Republican ticket — including Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles, former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft and Eric Deters, a former attorney — but did so resoundingly, with almost half of GOP voters choosing him.

The Beshear campaign wasted no time in skewering the selection. Alex Floyd, the Democratic governor’s campaign spokesperson, criticized Mills’ previous support for the so-called “sewer bill,” a controversial pension reform package pushed by former GOP governor Matt Bevin.

“Choosing a lieutenant governor is the first major decision a candidate for governor makes—it demonstrates their judgment and values. Selecting the person who helped lead the charge to enact Matt Bevin’s plan to slash pensions for our teachers, police and firefighters shows how Daniel Cameron does not care about hard-working Kentuckians,” Floyd said.

Mills supported that bill in 2018 as a member of the House.

Beshear campaign manager Eric Hyers was quick to mock the pick, tweeting that “certainly not even the Cameron campaign will argue with a straight face that two months ago Robby Mills was anywhere near the top of their wish list.”

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