Who made moves at the KY GOP debate in governor’s race? Here’s a rundown.

The first GOP gubernatorial debate of the season came and went. And candidates in the four-person debate mostly kept their gloves on, staying relatively tame throughout the Spectrum TV-hosted debate.

A lightning round-style debate asked the candidates to take positions on more than a dozen issues, answering each for a relatively short amount of time. Candidates included Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles, Auditor Mike Harmon and Somerset Mayor Alan Keck. All are hoping to win the contest to take on presumptive Democratic nominee Gov. Andy Beshear.

Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft, who was invited, did not attend the debate.

Here’s a rundown of the moves made, important questions answered, positions staked, and subtle digs taken.

Keck takes the risks, shows some signs of gaining

Agreement was the theme of the night between the mostly like-minded Republicans.

Keck was largely the exception.

Whether it was being the only candidate on stage for additional exceptions to the state’s ban on abortion, steering a subject toward the economic health of families, or taking some understated shots at fellow GOP candidates, Keck worked the hardest to differentiate himself from the pack on Tuesday night.

The move makes some sense, as Keck came into the race with likely the lowest name ID. Everyone else has held statewide office for at least one term, and Keck is mayor to a city of roughly 12,000.

For instance, when candidates were asked about the opioid crisis, the dominant themes were proven conservative talking points: punishing drug dealers and striving to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. Keck’s response focused on the health of Kentucky families.

“It’s important to talk about the real problem, which is the lack of open opportunity for Kentuckians for generations,” Keck said. “Why would people be on drugs? Because they’re desperate, because of generational poverty.”

Though candidates kept their powder mostly dry, Keck took some oblique shots at Quarles and Craft.

He opened thanking the other debaters “who understood the importance of being here tonight,” in potential reference to Craft. On medical marijuana, for which Quarles recently held a press conference to announce his support, Keck said: “It’s another area I think that I’ve led in. I came up with this policy position months ago.”

According to a poll conducted by the Jefferson County Republican Party of attendees on who they were supporting heading into the debate and who they supported afterwards, Keck’s support rose from 8.8% of the room to 15.7%.

Cameron stays true on Trump, abortion; plays frontrunner

Cameron is the nominal frontrunner in the GOP race – a campaign poll and an independent public pollster show him up big over the other contenders – and he stuck to his guns on two of the most campaign-defining and controversial stances of his race.

Does he support former president Donald Trump, who endorsed Cameron’s bid for governor but is starting to show signs of slippage in national Republican circles, in his run to reclaim the presidency? Yes.

Does Cameron still support Kentucky’s trigger ban on abortion, which includes no exceptions for rape, incest or fetal abnormalities? Unequivocally yes.

On abortion in particular: “I’ll continue to support the human life Protection Act. Our office will continue to defend that law.”

It appeared that Cameron played the frontrunner for most of the night, perhaps directing more fire at “the left” and Beshear than any other candidate.

“Whether it’s the legacy media, or a Democratic president in Washington DC, or an absolute Governor here on the far left, it’s created the perfect storm of conditions that, if left unchecked, will destroy our values will indoctrinate your kids, will ruin the pensions of teachers, firefighters and police officers, will hurt our coal industry and ultimately destroy our economy,” Cameron said. “So 2023 is a transformational moment for the Commonwealth.”

Quarles makes case for best odds vs. Beshear

Quarles was the first candidate post-debate to declare victory, sending a news release while the venue was still packed with viewers.Though Quarles’ recent fundraising efforts have lagged behind that of Cameron and Craft, he’s adamant that he’s the Republican who can best Beshear.

“I have a grassroots, people-first campaign across all 120 counties,” he said after the debate. “We’re visiting about 20 counties a week right now. We take a lot of pride in that. A lot of these other candidates are not visiting the rural areas of the state. I think I’m gonna do very well in rural Kentucky, especially after eight years of serving as Commissioner of Agriculture.”

Quarles has made his “big red truck” a fixture of his campaign branding, even posting photos demonstrating his ability to change a flat tire. He also took a slight dig at Cameron, asking why the attorney general has not done more to look into the legalities of gray machines.

Noting that he earned more votes than Beshear when they were both on the statewide ballot in 2019 - though in different races - Quarles said he’s got the best shot at winning a general election.

“Andy Beshear will tell you that I’m the only Republican candidate that he’s afraid of because he knows that I can appeal and unite our state,” he said. “And it’s not just Democrats and Republicans that are uniting behind me; we’ve had over 300 Democrats change their party registration just so they can vote for me.”

According to the Jefferson County Republican Party poll, Quarles’ support rose from 15.5% to 24.3%.

Harmon stresses unity, can’t “bear” attack ad

The elephant, or bear, in the room was Craft’s absence.

Auditor Mike Harmon, who , said that he “could ‘bear’ly believe” that negative ads were airing so early in the race.

“I think it’s unfortunate, you know that, that there’s an attack ad in that regard, because we’re gonna have our differences, but let’s talk about what’s positive about each of us and then let the people decide. When we come out of this primary, we’ve all got to come together,” Harmon said.

Harmon’s fundraising numbers have been relatively low, despite declaring his candidacy much earlier than the others in the field.

Shared prediction: “Kentucky values” will beat Beshear

Beshear’s approval ratings, at least the ones that are publicly known, are strong. Polls show support for the Democratic governor hovering around 60%. Cameron polled the strongest against him in one survey, but still fell short 49% to 40%.

So how does the group of Republicans propose to defeat him?

“Values” was a word that came up often.

It appeared that most candidates meant it as a reference to social issue. Keck, for instance, used it for gender transition services (all Republican candidates agreed with a proposed ban on gender affirming surgery and puberty blockers for minors) as well as abortion.

“I think so many of us are in lockstep, except our current governor who does not share or reflect the values of the majority of conservatives.”

Beshear has said he supports the abortion access standard set in Roe v. Wade, which allowed abortion up to viability around 24 to 28 weeks.

Cameron’s example of “values” hurting Beshear’s odds at re-election was wide-ranging.

“He certainly doesn’t understand Kentucky’s values, and Kentuckians need to be reminded of that. If he understood our values, he wouldn’t have shut down churches in the midst of the pandemic… If he understood our values, he would have spoke up for parents when the department justice called them domestic terrorists. If he understood our values, he would be fighting daily to preserve our coal industry,” Cameron said.