Tuesday鈥檚 election served as a testing ground for themes that could resonate with voters in 2024. Abortion is obviously among the biggest. One that鈥檚 not getting as much attention as it deserves: opioid settlement money.
In Kentucky, both the newly reelected Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, and his Republican challenger, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, were involved in lawsuits against companies that made, sold or distributed opioid painkillers.
They sparred for months in news conferences and over who deserved credit for bringing hundreds of millions of dollars to their state to address the opioid epidemic. Beshear filed several of the lawsuits when he was attorney general, but Cameron finalized the deals during his tenure.
More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year. The billions in opioid settlement dollars arriving nationwide could make a dent in the epidemic. But there are widely differing opinions on how to spend it. Some people favor investing in law-and-order efforts to stop the trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, while others prefer to focus on treatment and social support to help people achieve long-term recovery. While politicians talk about the amount of cash they鈥檝e brought in, many people directly affected by the crisis are more concerned with how the money will help them and their loved ones.
It鈥檚 hard to tell how much of a role opioid money played in Beshear鈥檚 victory. But this playbook could be instructive to gubernatorial candidates next year, some of whom have a more decisive claim to the settlements.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, are among the most prominent voices on the opioid settlements across the country 鈥 and they鈥檙e both running for governor in 2024. (鈥淎G,鈥 the joke goes, stands for 鈥渁spiring governor.鈥)
Stein, a Democrat seeking to succeed Gov. Roy Cooper, has made his name as one of the lead negotiators in the national deals. He has emphasized his office鈥檚 role in ensuring opioid settlement money is spent on addiction treatment and prevention 鈥 unlike the tobacco settlement of 1998, from which less than 3 percent of annual payouts go to antismoking efforts.
He has discussing the use of settlement funds and has for the state鈥檚 transparency in reporting how dollars are spent. Securing opioid settlement funds is listed at the top of the 鈥渁ccomplishments鈥 section of .
Morrisey鈥檚 claim to fame is a bit different. He chose not to participate in many national deals, instead striking out on his own to win larger settlements just for West Virginia. The state is set to receive over nearly two decades. Morrisey has repeatedly about his record of securing the 鈥渉ighest per capita settlements in the nation.鈥 The claim appears on his , too. Morrisey鈥檚 looking to succeed Democrat-turned-Republican Gov. Jim Justice, who is term-limited.
KFF polling suggests that even , the impact of the epidemic is broad: 3 in 10 Americans say they or a loved one have been addicted to opioids. Throw in alcohol and other drugs, and the burden of addiction rises to two-thirds of the country. It鈥檚 not clear whether politicians can break through to voters by touting their records on the settlements, but regardless, we鈥檙e going to hear a lot more about the money on the campaign trail next year.
, an associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky, said it鈥檚 a smart talking point for politicians.
鈥Scoring money for your constituency almost always plays well,鈥 he said. It 鈥渋s a lot more compelling and unifying a political argument than taking a position on something like abortion,鈥 where you risk alienating someone no matter what you say.
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