Trump-loving Kentucky governor loses to Democrat

[Bob Juch]

On Tuesday, Kentucky voters denied GOP governor Matt Bevin a second term, electing Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear in a furiously contested race that captured nationwide attention.

Beshear, the son of a popular former Democratic governor, spent a large part of his term as attorney general challenging Bevin’s policies, from state benefit cuts to abortion restrictions, setting up a fierce rivalry that came to a head in the gubernatorial race.

Bevin, the first Republican governor in Kentucky to preside over unified party control of the legislature, has had a controversial and bitter tenure in office, waging war against teacher pensions and picking fights with members of his own party. Polls consistently ranked him among the least popular governors in the United States, and some observers speculated the race could inform the state of play in next year’s Senate election, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is seeking re-election.

But while these numbers made the race close, Kentucky is an extremely conservative state, having backed President Donald Trump by nearly 30 points. To blunt his unpopularity, Bevin tied himself as closely as possible to the president, who held multiple campaign events to promote his re-election including a rally the night before the election.

The result is a massive defeat for Republicans — and a serious humiliation for Trump.

"Here's the story," Trump told thousands of supporters ahead of Tuesday's election. "If you win, they are going to make it like, ho hum. And if you lose, they are going to say Trump suffered the greatest defeat in the history of the world. You can't let that happen to me!"

[Bob Juch]

Democrats will control all three branches of government in Virginia.

[earendel]

Not to put too much of a damper on the victory parade, but the election wasn't so much a triumph of the Democratic Party as it was a repudiation of a loathsome governor. Trump is still very popular in Kentucky and will probably win the state by 30-40%. Moreover, Republicans swept the other statewide races and still control both houses of the legislature, so anything that the new governor may propose will probably be DOA. Not only that, but as attorney-general, Beshear challenged Bevin repeatedly in the courts; the new attorney-general, a protégé of Mitch McConnell, will likely do the same. It may be my cynicism showing, but although the governor's race is a brief shining moment, it won't really matter a hill of beans in the end.

[flockofseagulls104]

Hey, but Sean Spicer is still dancing!!

[silverscreenselect]

Not to put too much of a damper on the victory parade, but the election wasn't so much a triumph of the Democratic Party as it was a repudiation of a loathsome governor. Trump is still very popular in Kentucky and will probably win the state by 30-40%. Moreover, Republicans swept the other statewide races and still control both houses of the legislature, so anything that the new governor may propose will probably be DOA. Not only that, but as attorney-general, Beshear challenged Bevin repeatedly in the courts; the new attorney-general, a protégé of Mitch McConnell, will likely do the same. It may be my cynicism showing, but although the governor's race is a brief shining moment, it won't really matter a hill of beans in the end.

There was a lot more to the Democratic victory last night than KY and VA. There were local elections in PA, and many of the Philadelphia suburbs, which had been under Republican rule since the Civil War, went Democratic in a big way this time.

I have a feeling that when the news networks go looking for "swing" voters to get quotes like Bob just mentioned, they go to rural areas where the residents are still supporting Trump. They should be looking at those in the suburbs who voted for one Republican after another for generations and have now abandoned Trump.

[silverscreenselect]

I've got a question for Ear as our resident Kentucky expert. I've seen it reported that Bevin can contest the election and, if so, the KY legislature (dominated by Republicans), would determine the winner. This raises questions as to whether Bevin could claim some vague sort of voting irregularities and then have a partisan vote of the legislature return him to office. Is this a realistic scenario?

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/n ... 174103002/

[Bob Juch]

I've got a question for Ear as our resident Kentucky expert. I've seen it reported that Bevin can contest the election and, if so, the KY legislature (dominated by Republicans), would determine the winner. This raises questions as to whether Bevin could claim some vague sort of voting irregularities and then have a partisan vote of the legislature return him to office. Is this a realistic scenario?

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/n ... 174103002/

More here:
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/n ... 172935002/

[earendel]

I've got a question for Ear as our resident Kentucky expert. I've seen it reported that Bevin can contest the election and, if so, the KY legislature (dominated by Republicans), would determine the winner. This raises questions as to whether Bevin could claim some vague sort of voting irregularities and then have a partisan vote of the legislature return him to office. Is this a realistic scenario?

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/n ... 174103002/

As the article says, Bevin would need to seek a re-canvass and possibly a recount. If he chooses to challenge the result he has to provide cause, such as ballot irregularities or campaign finance violations. So, yes, it's possible that Bevin might try this. But I don't think the re-canvass or recount would change things enough, and I doubt he could make any challenges stand up. That said, since Republicans do control both houses of the legislature, the election outcome could be reversed.

[Bob Juch]

For the first time in nearly 40 years, Democrats have taken control of Columbus, Indiana—the hometown of Vice President Mike Pence.

https://www.newsweek.com/mike-pence-col ... ium=Social

[tlynn78]

Democrats will control all three branches of government in Virginia.

And ooh, isn't Morrissey someone Virginia can be proud of electing!

[Appa23]

For the first time in nearly 40 years, Democrats have taken control of Columbus, Indiana—the hometown of Vice President Mike Pence.

https://www.newsweek.com/mike-pence-col ... ium=Social

Here's how Nebraskan I am -- the biggest shock to me is that city council is a partisan position. Around here, mayor, city council, even the state legislature is non-partisan. [Many of the county positions are partisan, however.)

[mrkelley23]

For the first time in nearly 40 years, Democrats have taken control of Columbus, Indiana—the hometown of Vice President Mike Pence.

https://www.newsweek.com/mike-pence-col ... ium=Social

Here's how Nebraskan I am -- the biggest shock to me is that city council is a partisan position. Around here, mayor, city council, even the state legislature is non-partisan. [Many of the county positions are partisan, however.)

I attended a recent trivia fundraiser put on by the bar association here, and was sitting at the table with an at-large city council candidate. The man who invited me is a former student and fairly prominent Republican (but never-Trumper -- he gave up his elector status in Indiana rather than vote for him), but the candidate ran as a Democrat. I expressed my wish that all City Council candidates could run as non-partisan candidates, and got hearty agreement at the table. But in her case, she may have won her race because of her party affiliation. The Democrats turned out in much higher numbers than the Republicans (maybe because of political climate, but more likely because our Republican mayor was unopposed by a Democrat) and our City Council went from a 4-3-2 alignment (2 independents) to 7-2 Democrats.

[silverscreenselect]

I've got a question for Ear as our resident Kentucky expert. I've seen it reported that Bevin can contest the election and, if so, the KY legislature (dominated by Republicans), would determine the winner. This raises questions as to whether Bevin could claim some vague sort of voting irregularities and then have a partisan vote of the legislature return him to office. Is this a realistic scenario?

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/n ... 174103002/

As the article says, Bevin would need to seek a re-canvass and possibly a recount. If he chooses to challenge the result he has to provide cause, such as ballot irregularities or campaign finance violations. So, yes, it's possible that Bevin might try this. But I don't think the re-canvass or recount would change things enough, and I doubt he could make any challenges stand up. That said, since Republicans do control both houses of the legislature, the election outcome could be reversed.

A followup:

Senate president Stivers now says that Bevin should concede if the current recanvass doesn't change the vote totals. Apparently, public reaction to the initial suggestion of bringing before the General Assembly was extremely negative. That's a typical Trumpian tactic. Float something extremely outrageous to see what happens and then claim you were just kidding when you back down in the face of criticism.

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/n ... 530822001/

[Vandal]

Hey, but Sean Spicer is still dancing!!

Not no more, he ain't!

[Bob78164]

Bevin has conceded. Andy Beshear will be Kentucky's next governor. --Bob

[jarnon]

Polls consistently ranked him among the least popular governors in the United States.

This parting shot will decrease Bevin's popularity to below zero.

Bevin pardons a KY man convicted of beheading a woman and stuffing her in a barrel

[kroxquo]

Polls consistently ranked him among the least popular governors in the United States.

This parting shot will decrease Bevin's popularity to below zero.

Bevin pardons a KY man convicted of beheading a woman and stuffing her in a barrel

And I'm sure that the fact that Andy Bashear, the man who defeated him for Governor, was previously the Commonwealth's Attorney General and as such ultimately in charge of prosecutions had nothing to do with all the controversial pardons.

[silverscreenselect]

Looks like Kentuckians aren't the only ones upset with Matt Bevin's last-minute pardons, including the brother of a man who hosted a big fundraiser for Bevin. The brother had served two years of a 19-year sentence for killing a man in front of his family during a robbery.

The FBI is asking questions about former Gov. Matt Bevin's pardons