Daniel Cameron (American politician)
Daniel Jay Cameron (born November 22, 1985) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 51st attorney general of Kentucky from 2020 to 2024. A member of the Republican Party, Cameron was the first African American, and the first Republican since 1943, to be elected to the office. He was the Republican nominee in the 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election, losing to incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear.
Daniel Cameron | |
|---|---|
| 51st Attorney General of Kentucky | |
| In office January 6, 2020 – January 1, 2024 Acting: December 17, 2019 – January 6, 2020 | |
| Governor | Andy Beshear |
| Preceded by | Andy Beshear |
| Succeeded by | Russell Coleman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Daniel Jay Cameron November 22, 1985 Plano, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
Elizabeth Cameron
(m. 2016; div. 2017)Makenze Evans (m. 2020) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of Louisville (BS, JD) |
| Website | Official website |
Born in Plano, Texas, Cameron moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky as a child. He attended the University of Louisville for his undergraduate and legal education. Cameron worked as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove for two years, and was then legal counsel to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from 2015 to 2017. In September 2020, he was among the final 20 additions to President Donald Trump's updated list of his potential Supreme Court nominees.
Cameron ran in the 2019 Kentucky Attorney General election, receiving Trump's endorsement after the primary. He won with 57.7% of the vote. As attorney general, Cameron unsuccessfully challenged several of Governor Andy Beshear's COVID-19 restrictions. Following the killing of Breonna Taylor, Cameron announced the decision of his office as special prosecutor not to charge the two police officers who had shot and killed her, leading to widespread protests against Cameron's decision.