The back-to-back announcements Jan. 25 that Republican state Sen. Whitney Westerfield was dropping out of the attorney general’s race and fellow Sen. Will Schroder was jumping in left us scratching our heads.

Just hours after Westerfield, a former Christian County assistant commonwealth’s attorney, quit the race to commit more time to his family, Schroder, a former Campbell County prosecutor, declared his candidacy and wasted no time taking a jab at U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell-backed opponent, Daniel Cameron, who threw his name into the hat earlier last week.

Schroder told reporters he decided to run because he believes “this job is too important for on-the-job training,” a dig at Cameron’s lack of prosecutorial experience.

Cameron, on the other hand, is marketing himself as “a new voice and new face for the Republican Party.” When he filed for the office Tuesday, he was quick to align himself with Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration, telling reporters, “We’ve seen what’s happened when a Republican does not win in the general election and how difficult that has been for the governor.”

At least Cameron, for one, is throwing punches at the Democratic Party, whose only AG candidate is former House Speaker Greg Stumbo. Current Attorney General Andy Beshear is in the field of Democrats seeking to challenge Bevin for the governor’s seat.

However, Cameron can afford to come out swinging. He’s McConnell’s lawyer and has the U.S. Senate majority leader in his corner, which, in addition to his growing family, is one of the reasons Westerfield decided to shutter his campaign. “I think I would rather stay home with them,” he said Jan. 25.

Despite the GOP winning the governor’s seat and holding supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature, there has not been a Republican attorney general in Kentucky since 1948 – more than 70 years.

Will this be the year the Republicans finally get over the hump? Or will Stumbo’s name recognition be enough to carry the Dems again? Only time and ballots will tell.