Liberal writers label Black Republican Daniel Cameron as anti-Black.

Did Kentucky gubernatorial nominee sell his soul to the devil?

A liberal columnist has accused Kentucky gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron and other black Republicans of “selling their souls” to the devil and working to keep other black people “in check.” In his recent piece titled “Daniel Cameron and his ‘anti-woke’ conservative comrades want you asleep,” Louisville Courier Journal columnist and University of Louisville professor Ricky Jones compared Cameron to “Black slaves who were loyal to their masters” and said that “trusting people like Daniel Cameron just because of his melanin level can be deadly.”

Jones also accused Cameron and other black Republicans of selling their soul to “Old Scratch,” a nickname for the devil. “Politically mature Black people no longer support so-called successful Black people, political candidates like Daniel Cameron and new presidential hopeful Tim Scott,” Jones wrote. “That’s the Faustian pact they have made in exchange for their individual good fortunes.”

Attacks on Cameron

This is not the first time Jones has accused Cameron of selling out black people. Last year, the columnist called Cameron “white supremacy in blackface,” a line that MSNBC’s Ja’han Jones adopted in a piece earlier this month. “For many, Cameron, a Republican, is viewed as a Black face of white supremacy,” Jones wrote.

Joseph Gerth, another columnist at the Courier Journal, also attacked Cameron as anti-black in a recent piece. Gerth accused Cameron of working against “what the vast majority of Black people believe” and argued that Kentucky Republicans who backed Cameron as the party’s gubernatorial nominee still could have voted with “racism or racist intent.”

Cameron’s response

While Cameron has not responded to Jones’s column, the Republican hammered Gerth in a recent Twitter thread. “Joe Gerth has a unique perspective born out of a far-left worldview that cannot fathom black Americans thinking differently from him,” Cameron wrote. “For Gerth, my opinions, my parents’ opinions, countless family members’ opinions don’t matter, because we’re black conservatives.”

Conclusion

Despite the attacks, Cameron remains a popular figure in Kentucky politics. In 2019, he became the first black man independently elected statewide in Kentucky, defeating Democrat Greg Stumbo by 15 points in a lopsided attorney general race. Four years later, the Republican is running to unseat Kentucky Democratic governor Andy Beshear. Cameron earlier this month cruised to the GOP nomination, carrying 47 percent of the vote in a crowded primary field that included 12 candidates.