Judge rules Cameron is eligible to run as GOP candidate for Kentucky Attorney General

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville attorney Daniel Cameron is eligible to run as the Republican candidate for Kentucky's attorney general race.

Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Barry Willett ruled that Cameron has practiced law for the required eight years to run for the office. Willett ruled that the time Cameron spent as a clerk and legal counsel for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell do count, because the jobs require an extraordinary level of legal research and analysis.

Joseph Jackson, of Louisville, filed suit claiming Cameron did not meet the qualifications because the two years Cameron spent working as a federal law clerk did not count.

"We are reviewing the order and are disappointed in the ruling," Jackson's legal team said in a statement Thursday, "but it appears the decision ignored many of the key facts admitted to by Daniel Cameron while he was on the stand. We intend to appeal."

Cameron's Democratic opponent, Greg Stumbo, who previously served as Kentucky's Attorney General, has made an issue of Cameron's relative inexperience. However, Jackson's attorney, Ben Gastel, said after a court hearing on Monday that the suit wasn't about politics.

"I am not a party to this litigation and had nothing to do with the lawsuit, however, now Mr. Cameron admitted under oath how little law he has practiced," Stumbo said in a statement Thursday. "The Office of Attorney General defends the state's laws, right up to the United States Supreme Court, and prosecutes massive multi-state litigation to bring much needed money back into the Commonwealth. Kentucky voters deserve a candidate with decades of legal experience in real courtrooms, trying real cases at the highest levels. I have spent my life becoming a seasoned trial attorney in the courtrooms of this state on behalf of Kentuckians. My opponent has never even prosecuted a traffic ticket citation.”

Cameron testified in court that he received his law license in October 2011. He then started a federal clerkship in September 2011, before getting his license.

"I'm not surprised we won but I'm thrilled to put this frivolous lawsuit behind us," Cameron said in a statement, which he posted to his Twitter account Thursday. "It's sad that Greg Stumbo stooped to this level. He can't win an election straight up so he tried and failed to cheat us off the ballot. For someone who talks about experience all the time it is funny that Stumbo and his cronies don't understand the law. But this was never about the law, it was always about politics. We are leading in the polls and leading in fundraising and we've got Stumbo on the ropes, so who knows what other nonsense he'll try. But we are ready for all his tricks. I remain confident that come Election Day voters are going to once and for all retire a corrupt Greg Stumbo."