LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Three days of early voting started Thursday in Kentucky as the candidates running for governor make their final pitches to voters.

Republican candidate Daniel Cameron, the state's first Black attorney general, is trying to unseat incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, in one of the most closely watched off-year elections in the country.

In the days leading up to the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 7, Beshear continues to lead in the polls.

Cutting through the noise of the attack ads and campaign commercials on television, where do the candidates stand on the issues?

Abortion:

Cameron is anti-abortion and Beshear is pro-choice. But both call each other's views on abortion "extreme."

Following the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade, 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 now said he would support exceptions for rape and incest.

"If the legislature were to give me a bill with exceptions in it I would certainly sign it," he said during an Oct. 16 debate with Beshear.

Beshear's campaign previously released two ads talking about Kentucky's abortion law not having exceptions for rape or incest. One features a rape victim herself.

"I'm speaking out because women and girls need to have options," the woman says. "Daniel Cameron would give us none."

"I have always believed in reasonable restrictions, especially on late-term abortions," Beshear said during an Oct. 16 debate with Cameron.

Education:

Beshear wants to give teachers and staff an 11% pay increase and funding to expand pre-K for all 4-year-olds in the state.

Cameron is calling for catching students up from COVID learning loss with a 16-week plan, called the "Cameron Catch-Up Plan," and also wants to give teachers a pay boost.

Beshear has faced criticism for shutting down schools during the COVID pandemic, but he's stood by the decisions he made.

"I believe we made the best decisions we could with the information we had," he said.

The global health crisis dominated the first half of Beshear's term, and his restrictions on businesses and public gatherings during the worst of the pandemic have drawn repeated attacks from his challenger. Cameron says the restrictions hurt small businesses, many of which haven't recovered, and that pandemic school closures led to widespread learning loss among students.

Beshear says he leaned heavily on guidance from Trump's coronavirus task force in his executive orders. The virus has killed more than 19,000 Kentuckians since early 2020.

Cameron wouldn't give clear answers during debates on whether he supports school vouchers, but acknowledged during a debate on Oct. 23 that if elected he would sign legislation that included school vouchers after being pressed for his stand on the divisive education issue. 

Cameron said he wants to "expand opportunity and choice," while noting that the education plan he unveiled earlier in the campaign focuses on public schools. Democrats say that was a strategic omission meant to mask his support for school choice measures they say would weaken public education.

Beshear, meanwhile, has reiterated his staunch opposition to vouchers saying "they steal money from our public schools and send them to our private schools."

Economy:

Cameron wants to eliminate the income tax entirely to offset inflation, but Beshear argues that would force a sales tax hike or cuts to government services. Beshear did sign a Republican bill this year that cuts the income tax rate by half a percent.

Public Safety:

Beshear calls for moving all statewide law enforcement officers back to defined pension benefits and a $2,500 pay raise for Kentucky State Police Troopers. 

Cameron wants to add a KSP post in Louisville, and $5,000 recruitment and retention bonuses for law enforcement.

In the remaining days on the campaign trail, both candidates will be flooding the airwaves making their final pitches to voters as they head to the polls.

Beshear and Cameron have set a new state record for the amount of money raised in this campaign with a reported $44 million. Beshear far outpaced Cameron in contributions, but election finance data shows GOP Super PACs have stepped in to prop up Cameron's advertising dollars.

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