Southern Republicans look to nationalize 2023 governors’ races by invoking Biden

By BRUCE SCHREINER and EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s name isn’t on the ballot in 2023. But you wouldn’t know it from campaigns Republican candidates for governor are running in Kentucky and Mississippi. The Republican nominees are Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and first-term Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves. Cameron and Reeves are as likely to mention the Democratic president as they are to name the Democrats they face Nov. 7. Gov. Andy Beshear seeks a second term in Kentucky, while Brandon Presley is the challenger in Mississippi. An expert on Southern politics says trying to tie a gubernatorial candidate to national political figures allows candidates to create a “mental shortcut for identifying individuals as ‘us’ or ‘them.’”