Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) went out of his way to not blame Trump for Gov. Matt Bevin’s loss in Kentucky.
Sen. Paul said on Meet The Press, “When you look at all the races, there were six state-wide races, we won 5 out of 6, Republicans won 5 out of 6. We did lose a governor’s race, but the interesting thing is we beat a lot of other candidates no one expected us to. So in many ways, it was a red wave in Kentucky. I think it was mostly about one race and the teachers were very unhappy. He tried to fix the pension and the teachers’ anger came out. I think he was trying to do the right thing, which is saving the pension for teachers. But it’s tough when you ask people to pay more to keep their pension in place. People get unhappy.”
Video:
Rand Paul refuses to blame Trump for Bevin's loss, claiming that Republicans won five of the six statewide races, but Trump only campaigned for the one who lost. pic.twitter.com/j6yGkSGos9
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 11, 2019
The problem with Rand Paul’s logic is that Trump didn’t campaign for all of the Republicans in the state who won. Trump held one rally on election eve and tied the reelection of Matt Bevin to impeachment. He made Matt Bevin’s election a referendum on himself, and the Republicans lost.
Republicans adore the myth of Trump having coattails, but the reality is that when Trump campaigns on the ground and makes local or state elections about himself, and the Republican loses, that wrecks the myth of Trump’s ability to deliver elections to Republicans.
Matt Bevin’s loss belongs to Donald Trump.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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