Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) launched a counterattack against the Republican narrative that he is a backer of gender reassignment surgery for minors in a recent ad.

“My position on this has always been clear,” Beshear said. “I have never supported gender reassignment surgery for minors, and they don’t happen in Kentucky.”

INFLATION DECLINED TO 3% IN JUNE, ACCORDING TO KEY GAUGE WATCHED BY FED

Beshear cites his Christian faith and support for parental rights, a stance often rejected by his Democratic Party, to rebuke Republican criticisms backed by his opponent — Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron.

“My faith guides me as governor and as a dad," Beshear says in the ad. “I’m a deacon in my church, and I believe that all children are children of God.”

Over the last few weeks, the campaigns of Cameron and Beshear have heated up, as Republicans are pushing back against the Democratic governor for reiterating his stance in the ad after vetoing a bill that placed regulations on transgender youth earlier this year.

Beshear said Senate Bill 150 “allows too much government interference in personal healthcare issues and rips away the freedom of parents to make medical decisions for their children,” in the March veto.

However, the Republican-dominated legislature had enough votes to override Beshear’s veto, overturning his order.

“We cannot allow people to continue down the path of fantasy, to where they’re going to end up 10, 20, 30 years down the road and find themselves miserable from decisions that they made when they were young,” Republican Rep. Shane Baker said, praising the override.

Cameron filed an appeal against a federal judge’s ruling this month that blocked the state’s ban on gender surgeries and treatment for minors.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“It’s indefensible that leftist activists are disguising sterilization and genital surgeries as pediatric care for vulnerable children,” Cameron said, calling the surgery “child mutilation” in a statement.

The GOP state Attorney General Cameron is polling behind in the high-stakes race against Beshear, who was sworn in as governor in 2019. With the general election in four months, recent statewide polling shows Cameron 10 points behind Beshear. Beshear’s favorability rating is one of the highest among governors in the nation — 63% of registered voters in the deep-red state say they approve of the way he is handling his job.