LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The two candidates vying to be Kentucky's next governor went head-to-head in an hourlong debate Monday evening.

About three weeks before the Nov. 7 general election, Gov. Andy Beshear, the Democratic incumbent, and Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the Republican nominee, tackled hot button topics during the debate at Northern Kentucky University.

Both candidates agreed on supporting the death penalty in the state under certain circumstances, but little else. 

On the topic of abortion, each accused the other of taking extreme stands on policy.

Daniel Cameron: "When he was in my position as attorney general, he refused to defend a 20-week ban on abortion. As governor, he has vetoed a ban on abortion at 15 weeks, and then just recently refused to sign legislation that would protect a baby born alive after a failed abortion."

Andy Beshear: "Kentucky has one of the most restrictive laws in the country. The trigger law removes any and all options from rape and incest, some as young as 9 years old, and that is wrong. Yet my opponent celebrated when it passed."

Beshear also pointed to Cameron's support for the law as written, without exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.

"My opponent's position would give a rapist more rights than their victim. It is wrong. We need to change this law," he said. "We need to make sure that those individuals have that option."

Kentucky's current abortion law bans the procedure except when carried out to save a pregnant woman's life or to prevent a disabling injury. 

Cameron reiterated during the debate that he would sign a bill that added abortion exceptions if given the chance. 

The two candidates also showed their stark contrast on education, where Cameron favors vouchers families could use to attend other schools, while Beshear maintains keeping funding for public schools.

Beshear: "As governor, I have stood with our public education system and against any effort to defund it. My opponent's catch-up plan has vouchers in it which would defund tens of millions of dollars in our public schools, take money out of public schools and provide them to fancy private schools."

Cameron: "We need a world class education system here in Kentucky. One in which our schools are about reading, writing and math, and they aren't incubators for liberal and progressive ideas, and I've offered the Cameron Catch-Up Plan to catch up our kids on the disastrous decision this governor made to shut down our schools."

Cameron accused the governor of mischaracterizing his plan to help students overcome learning loss when schools were closed during the pandemic. But Beshear highlighted his own plan, which calls for an 11% pay raise for teachers and all public school personnel, including bus drivers, janitors and cafeteria staff. The governor also argued that he's supported educators "every step of the way" to raise their pay and protect their pensions as governor and previously as attorney general.

Cameron has proposed raising the statewide base starting pay for new teachers, saying it would have a ripple effect by lifting pay for other teachers. Cameron’s plan also would develop an optional, 16-week tutoring program for math and reading instruction.

The candidates also spoke about jobs and unemployment in the state. Beshear touted statewide job growth and a historically low unemployment rate in Kentucky during his time as governor. Cameron countered with the low job force participation rate in the state, under 60% of adults working or actively looking for work.

The candidates also spoke about the ongoing United Auto Workers Union strike that has now expanded to Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville. Nearly 9,000 employees walked off the job last Wednesday, joining several other plants and thousands of other UAW workers on the picket lines as they fight for better pay.

Beshear: "We need them to come out of this more able to provide better opportunities for their kids, a better future here in Kentucky, but we also need a strong Ford coming out of it. They invested $5.8 billion in our Commonwealth, we are building the two biggest battery plants on planet Earth, and I was the governor that struck the deal for them to re-up that Kentucky Truck Plant to make the new F-250."

Cameron: "I support our workers and it's no question that we are in this mess because of the inflationary pressures that are coming from Washington, D.C., and wages need to be increased. These workers know that, but they are having to deal with the challenge of more expensive groceries, more expensive gas and more expensive child care."

Cameron said he will fight for cheap energy from coal and the elimination of the state income tax to help workers and attract more businesses. Beshear touted his bipartisan leadership to get Ford to select Kentucky for the battery plants in Hardin County, bringing about 5,000 jobs to the state.

Kentuckians head to the polls for the general election on Nov. 7. The deadline to register to vote was last week.

To check the status of your voter registration, click here. To find your polling location, click here.

WDRB carried the debate live on WBKI and the WDRB+ app. Watch the debate in full in the video player below or by clicking here.

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Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.