Donald Trump was humiliated on Tuesday as voters in deep-red Kentucky – a state the president won by 30 points in 2016 – went to the polls and tossed out incumbent GOP Gov. Matt Bevin.
According to Dave Wasserman from the Cook Political Report, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andy Beshear has won the election.
I’ve seen enough. Projection: Andy Beshear (D) has defeated Gov. Matt Bevin (R) in #KYGOV.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 6, 2019
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A local NBC affiliate in Kentucky also called the race for Beshear.
MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki pointed out how Republicans in the state lost support in areas that were strong for them in previous elections, which is what fueled Tuesday night’s Democratic upset.
Video:
An upset is brewing in deep-red Kentucky as Democrat Andy Beshear has a small lead over Trump-endorsed incumbent Matt Bevin. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/aW2UE24bWF
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) November 6, 2019
Trump’s election eve rally didn’t help Republicans
Donald Trump dropped into Kentucky on Monday night to rally his supporters around incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin in a race he thought was sure to bring results that would make him look like a political kingmaker.
Trump even said at the rally, “You gotta vote because if you lose, it sends a really bad message. It just sends a bad and they’re going to build it up . … You can’t let that happen to me.”
A day later, Kentucky voters showed up – in all parts of the state – and they let that happen to him by delivering a stunning upset to the GOP incumbent governor.
To be sure, it’s easy to overstate the importance of a single election, but Democrats winning a gubernatorial race in a state Donald Trump carried by 30 points should have the GOP – Mitch McConnell, in particular – sounding the alarm ahead of 2020.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
