Then-candidate for governor Daniel Cameron speaks during the Graves County Republican Party Breakfast on Aug. 5, 2023. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)
Former Republican governor candidate and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is now an executive with a group that aims to “steer public companies back to neutral on divisive, ideological issues.”
The 1792 Exchange announced Cameron would join the not-for-profit organization as its chief executive officer in a press release Wednesday morning. He will lead the group with its president, Paul Fitzpatrick
Cameron, who was the first Black Kentuckian independently elected to statewide office, lost the November gubernatorial election to Democratic incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear.?
Throughout his campaign and term as attorney general, Cameron criticized “woke” ideas. He joined other attorneys general in warning law firms and businesses against using race-based hiring practices for employment and contract workers and fighting a proposed federal rule intended to give LGBTQ kids greater protections in foster care. Before becoming attorney general, Cameron served as legal counsel for U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.?
“I’m honored to serve as the CEO of the 1792 Exchange, where I will continue meaningful work to put an end to the anti-American ESG agenda that threatens to take over our corporations and change the fabric of our country,” Cameron said in a statement. “We will shine a bright light on those whose ideological agendas seek to dismantle American freedom and prosperity. We will stop investment management firms, elected officials, and corporate interests from using other people’s money to advance their radical political agendas.”
As attorney general, Cameron joined then-Treasurer Allison Ball in requesting public retirement system boards of trustees to not implement ESG (environmental, social and governance) practices into their investing decisions. Ball was elected as state auditor in November.?
According to the news release, the 1792 Exchange “seeks to preserve freedom by partnering with allies to steer public companies back to neutral on divisive, ideological issues.”?
?“Our goal has always been to help corporations move back toward neutral on ideological issues so they can better serve their shareholders and customers,” said 1792 Exchange founder Nathan Estruth. “I simply cannot imagine a more capable and qualified chief executive to help us safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.”
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McKenna Horsley
McKenna Horsley covers state politics for the Kentucky Lantern. She previously worked for newspapers in Huntington, West Virginia, and Frankfort, Kentucky. She is from northeastern Kentucky.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
