It's horrible that the GOP cries voter fraud when they lose and yet evidence usually shows that their voters are the fraudsters or that nothing happened. The GOP relies of the fear of minorities to make these false claims. More wedge politics. Further in Kentucky, a white guy who lost the election can't believe that he might have lost because of his policies. Between the Russians and GOP, voting in America, worse still, democracy in America is under siege.
5
Meanwhile back at the ranch in the US the EPA is being gutted (already air quality is plummeting), the CFPB is being dismantled, Dodd–Frank is being compromised, the deficit is going through the roof, the wholesale sell off of huge swaths of public lands, world free trade seriously assailed and markets for farm produce gutted, the justice department is being revamped with a slew of GOP biased judicial appointees, and all while the nation’s intelligence agencies and the FBI are being disemboweled.
5
The only way this country survives is for voters to forget the party and look to the candidate or incumbent and vote on their record. Those that 'always vote... blue or red' are part of the problem. Too many vote for the incumbent just because, they're the incumbent!
Good job Kentucky! Wonder if NYC could accomplish as much when they next vote for their mayor. Doubt it, but I can hope.
Shades of Wisconsin, where Scott Walker was at last shown the door by Dem Tony Evers in 2018, but the rejection does not extend beyond Walker. A right-wing Supreme Court nominee has since outpolled an experienced centrist Dem appellate court judge for an open seat. And our legislature, of course, is gerrymandered to the extent that the concept of "majority" is meaningless. Evers has no need even to show up at his "office" which was stripped of much of its authority by the legislature even before he was sworn in. All this is just dandy with the 51% Repub majority.
9
How can Republicans claim they are patriots when their actions are clearly against democracy? We need to stand up and say that we want fair elections. Stop gerrymandering (on both sides), stop making it so difficult to vote and respect the outcomes. I can’t understand why people continue to vote for a party that is clearly against the constitution.
12
As I've posted at other sites recently and since Republicans loss in two key states Kentucky governorship and its wholesale loss in Virginia, the future for GOP nationwide looks bleak. And will continue to be so all the way up to the next presidential election which will all be about or against Trump's lawlessness and treasonous behavior.
9
All you have to do to see where Mitch McConnell's priorities lie is glance at the statistics about the state he has helped govern since the mid-1980s. By any measure, Kentucky is a mess*. It is poor, unhealthy, under-employed, non-competitive, poorly educated, addicted, and despairing. While Mitch has been off playing tactician, his state has continued to sink. McConnell is a heartless, cold, ruthless man who is out for himself. Maybe the chickens are finally coming home to roost.
* Kentucky:
/ #46 in Educational attainment..
/ #46 in Poverty.
/ #43 in Employment.
But #5 in receipt of federal subsidies & #1 in obstructionist politicians
35
I am a Kentucky Democratic voter. And a poll worker. This article is spot on. People did not vote for Andy. They voted for any one who was not Bevin. Hence the amazing showing by the third party candidate.
156
@Bruce Kleinschmidt-I've read as late as Nov. 2018, that Kentucky's election laws are some of the most restrictive in the nation. thank you for your service as a poll worker; civic involvement helps protect elections.
15
"The name-calling, the behavior... That’s not someone I’d want to represent Kentucky."
"I’m more likely to vote Republican" ... "That is, she said, until Mr. Bevin — what he did, how he talked, who he was — broke old habits."
It's amazing to me how Republican voters apparently have the ability to hold state politicians accountable for their behavior, but somehow fail to apply the same logic to the President of the United States. The cognitive dissonance is mind-blowing.
404
In 2016 when they voted for Trump they surely thought he’d become “presidential”. Now that they know better, let’s hope they vote better.
34
"The name-calling, the behavior... That’s not someone I’d want to represent Kentucky."
"I’m more likely to vote Republican" ... "That is, she said, until Mr. Bevin — what he did, how he talked, who he was — broke old habits."
That is what makes my head explode when you look at the 2016 campaign where it was pretty much out in the open, we even had inklings of Russian involvement, 'what he did, how he talked, who he was, broke old habits' and they still voted for him. Please, please explain that to me.
31
Republican voters making thoughtful choices? Please. The current day Republican party has no soul or conscious. Zero moral compass. Their supporters even less. The reason a Democrat was elected is that the usual non-voting, watch from the couch, Kentucky registered Democrat actually made the minimal effort to vote because they were so disgusted with the current state of affairs. It’s clear to me that the average American is unable and unwilling to make a thoughtful and sensible decision. If this wasn’t true, a cretin like Trump would have never made it to the White House.
16
Now he needs to be told he cannot appeal because there are 5000 (not 100) who voted for the other candidate, not for him.
8
Given that election results are stored on Amazon owned AWS and the partisan founder of Amazon, Bezos, is the major shareholder in Amazon, the security of the elections is not guaranteed and disputed elections will require recounts.
1
Oh really? Well how so is Bezos personally interested in rigging elections? Please do tell us.
13
He can "struggle to survive"...but he didn't. He lost.
7
5000 vote difference is a poor showing?
2
In comparison to previous Kentucky elections Gov. Bevin had an awful night. Every other statewide election that night was easily won by GOP candidates. He lost because a percentage of conservative voters couldn't stomach another Bevin term.
10
Trump has been impressively consistent in his flipping off, in your face, unapologetic, focus on no policy but increasing the Trump brand. Supporters have known that from Day One, which is why they largely stick with him. The new "revelations" are actually surprising pretty much no one.
Bevins, from what I understand, has been inconsistent in these matters. In addition, to the extent that the electorate in Kentucky (and elsewhere) takes its identity as more that of a citizen of the state than of the country, Trump's foibles (to put it politely) seem less a reflection on them personally than those of their governor.
As to the question, "How many lines can a politician cross?" The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind, the answer is blowin' in the wind.
3
I'm not as enthused about the Kentuck result as other liberals are - sorry to be a killjoy, but I don't think there's a ton of positive to take from this. It reminds me of when Doug Jones beat Roy Moore - even in the worst possible circumstances, the Dem candidate scraped through by a whisker.
Yes, Kentucky will probably have a Dem governor (although it seems like Bevin and state GOPers are already trying to figure out how to toss out the results).
However, keep in mind that in Kentucky it only takes a 'simple majority' to override a governor's veto - so how much power will Beshear really have? (and to the extent he has power, I can easily see the Kentucky GOP do what the Wisconsin GOP did - legislate away the governor's power as the GOP gov leaves office).
16
@Megan Trump won Kentucky by 30points . Moscow Mitch is less popular than Bevin. The glass is more than half full.
6
Totally agree that the KY result is no reason for liberals to be overjoyed. Bevin was tremendously disliked by many conservatives. In every other race in KY, the GOP was wildly successful. They hold the majority in the state legislature and will block everything the governor attempts to do (That is if the governor is even seated since it looks as though a decision about this may end up in the legislature anyway). Democrats do not gain anything by closing their minds to the facts and giving into emotional desire for it to be something other than what it was, an anomaly.
Decency. Civility Maturity
All missing in the now ex gov of Ky
All missing the still for now president of the US
Let’s work for a similar outcome in the 2020 race
And send the draft and tax dodging clown down to drown in in fla residence
11
I must say, I’m enjoying the heck out of seeing Trumpists tey to pass off getting clobbered in Kentucky as a mere flesh wound, á la a certain knicht in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
Ouchie, kids.
8
I feel a little disgusted by the outsider argument. You'll see it here in Montana next year, where Greg Gianforte will have Jersey thrown at him relentlessly. I really dislike Greg. But he has lived in Montana for a long time, and it's the state he would live in without a political career. Making the argument that only a "true" Montanan can represent us also feels disingenuous to those of us that moved from out of state.
Mostly on just sad to see this argument get used again by Democrats, and I'm fairly liberal.
3
Bevin may have a overly confrontational style, but KY has a huge underfunded pension problem... and his opponent's campaign promises of paying teachers more money, or paying off student college loans, is just not going to work.
2
David Vitter's campaign for his first term emphasized his strong family values as a married man. He was re-elected for a second term after confessing to being serviced by prostitutes here and in D.C. The quickest way to get Louisiana republicans to get off the subject of the Clinton/Lewinsky affair is to remind them why Henry Hyde and his successor Bob Livingston resigned their positions as head of the Clinton impeachment investigation. Like most states that claim to be pious, we are largely a bunch of racist hypocrites.
21
Good work, Kentuckians.
9
Amazing the “pro-life” crowd can’t get behind someone who wants to make life better for living children.
I wish the Times would call the “pro-life” crowd what they are- “pro-forced birth.”
42
@Sterling I agree.
We do not want women to be birth machines.
15
What do you mean by saying that some Kentuckians might vote against Trump "if offered an acceptable alternative?" Any of the eleventy-seven Democratic presidential candidates for 2020, past, current, and future, including some of very dubious merit, gleams with heroic virtue by comparison. To say that you have set the bar pretty low is a drastic understatement.
43
Kentucky has always been not quite deep South and not quite Yankee. They want socialism when it comes to health and hardcore libertarianism when it comes to guns. Can't have both.
13
Why not?
8
How many lines has McConnell crossed by now? And he and wife still sit in their celebrity box at the Kentucky Derby, sipping mint juleps and planning where to spend their next million.
Have lost faith in my brothers and sisters of Kentucky, despite what just happened to their “Governor.”
35
As someone who was born in KY and has lived most of my life there, I understand why Kentuckians continue to vote for him. One, this is a red state, so only another Republican would stand a good chance of beating him. And what Republican would dare go up against him? Two, he’s seen as someone who has done a lot for the state. And as majority or even minority leader he is in a far better position to direct funding to Kentucky than a freshman senator would be. And three, Kentucky often gets discounted in national politics. I think, though others might disagree, that Kentuckians feel a sense of pride at seeing McConnell in the news because it makes us feel like we are not only being included in government, but are a major player. And I say all this as a Democrat who is often times both embarrassed and angered by McConnell’s actions.
6
@Clara Putnam
“And I say this as a Democrat whole is often times both embarrassed and angered by McConnell’s actions.”
Your words ring hollow.
You either feel embarrassed and angry, or “feel a sense of pride” at McConnell’s actions. Can’t be both Clara. Nope.
12
@Clara Putnam Gee, I grew up in KY and have many good friends there, some of who knew McConnell back when he was a decent person. He is widely despised now and widely recognized as corrupt and self-dealing, and doing very little for the Commonwealth in the bargain. He has a horse race on his hands in his bid for re-election next year and after 35 years, he cannot count on an easy loping victory. He may just be put out to pasture.
16
The Republicans took the whole ballott in KY , except the Governors race. Bevin lost to an established political figure with and established political family, by 5000 votes and 25ooo siphoned from a Libertarian candidate. The Dems are grasping at straws, I cant wait to see Bloomberg enter the race and see the Dems try to trash him without sounding anti semetic, this is going to be good
Democrats have to be very careful not to read too much into this victory. In large measure it was a bit of an aberration. The fact is Bevin was a very flawed candidate, (much like Roy Moore). That said, the strategy ought to be, in part, to send money to Amy McGrath against Mitch. It is unlikely that she can win, but if the republicans are the least bit scared by the Bevin loss, and do the inverse of what the democrats ought to do, it takes resources away from other races that the democrats might have a shot at...see also Scott Kelly AZ.
12
@Tony Ickes Yes, support Amy. And not just to draw Republican resources away from other states. She is a pragmatic progressive populist who has the voice to speak to Kentuckians, as I saw when she ran against bluegrass representative Andy Barr last year. She lost but trimmed his margin considerably compared to 2016. Doing as well as she did in the bluegrass country and running strong in the cities and suburbs, she actually stands a chance of winning. Which would be a breath of fresh air, badly needed in the Senate.
16
"anger of many Kentuckians about Mr. Bevin’s rolling back of government benefits like public pensions and Medicaid"
Imagine how they will feel when they realize what the Trump administration is currently doing to Medicare.
30
You would have to be here to witness the unbridled arrogance and disdain Bevin has voiced for his citizens, many of which voted for him. He may be the worst/best example of the aristocracy syndrome I have ever seen. I am a life long Republican, but I could not bring myself to vote for a man so disdainful toward the democratic process, and so erratic in his actions. He told the Republican house and senate what he wanted, and when they gave it to him.....he vetoed it??? He believed he had the right to make his religious beliefs laws, so all of us could live by his beliefs. Bevins sharia. I am no fan of Andy Breshear, but I sure hope Bevin is gone. You can bet he will bend every law to try to stay in office.
21
@Edd
Disdain for the democratic process. I guess, and hope, you will not be voting for Trump.
18
@Edd Thanks for your 'boots on the ground' view Edd. I was hoping to hear from some people from Kentucky in the comment section. It helps the rest of us put this race in perspective.
8
@Concerned Citizen
I have been a Republican for a long time, back to the days of Barry Goldwater, the days before a religious wing hijacked the party. I still believe in what the party stands far, sans religion. Goldwater, throughout his life was staunchly against religion in politics and he thought that religion generally infringed upon freedom. It seems to me that the Democrats are in danger of being hijacked by their own religious (far left) wing, a wing sometimes far divorced from reality,
He's not a cautionary tale yet; he has yet to concede.
As is now more often the case, The New York Times makes its own news. Wait until it's over. The GOP might not let him lose.
2
@B. Sorry, you need to read the NYT, they have a good article about Bevin’s canvass move. They are not making their own news, and to say so is a misrepresentation of their coverage.
5
This is good practice for the schadenfreude I fully intend to indulge in come next November.
10
@r mackinnon Ohhh please, such a hostage to fortune!
@Will
Sorry
I’m human
I try
But Id like to see karma iron out some wrinkles in this lifetime
This was all precipitated by that fateful Christmas Eve vote in the House in 2009 where Nancy Pelosi forced 68 of her moderate members of the party to "walk the plank" and vote for ACA against their political instincts and definitely against their political futures.
That created a chasm between D'sand R's that'll take 20 years to clear out (we're 1/2 way there). Those 68 moderate D's were replaced by 68 Tea Party types and the middle of bell curve (ideologically) was largely abandoned.
Erik Paulsen (R-MN) was one of the most compromising figures in the House who could work with D's or R's to do things for our district, but Nancy Pelosi wanted that seat to get her power back.
So instead of a RINO like Paulsen doing the work for a moderate district, we have an 'alleged' moderate D who is part of the problem, even though he belongs to the Problem Solvers Caucus.
He's toast after the 2020 Census since Pelosi is shoehorning in as many immigrants as possible into CA to steal this seat and 9 others like it across the Midwest.
The most moderate Democrat in the House is Colin Peterson (D-MN) who can work with both D's and R's.. since he's voting so often with Pelosi..he won't survive 2020 .
The media is helping clear out the ideological middle, yet the middle of the bell curve is exactly where the US Constitution resides.
Until we ALL come back to the middle and show tolerance for our ideological diversity..things are going to stay ugly for another 10 years. Get used to it.
7
@Erica Smythe Health care that works with private insurance is SO radical. /s
As to Peterson, he is a very conservative Dem, not a moderate at all. I recognize the political reality of his district, and why he votes the way he does, but he is not a moderate.
18
By these means does the Republican leadership continue to move the country to the right.
8
@Erica Smythe
Well for that very unpopular vote, that Nancy forced politicians to support, we now have health care and peoples lives were saved. Maybe we should never have taken a vote for the Civil Rights bills because politicians jobs were more important than ensuring that minorities were treated like the white folks in this country. Despite having the bills the next generation of white politicians try to find a way to gut it every opportunity they get.
We are living in the real world not a book, politicians need to take the Constitution seriously or get out of their positions. Citizens dont need to have a governor who is still in high school by the way they act. Bevin insulted the wrong people in much the same manner that Chris Christie insulted the people of NJ when he shut lanes down on the George Washington Bridge to get back at mayors who didnt endorse. Bevin insulted people who do more work in one day than he has ever done in years. Christie stacked the Port Authority with his home boys who did nothing but praise Christie for insulting teacher, medical professionals and he closed the beaches because he cut funding for the parks and recreations.
Politicians work for the public if they cant remember that then leave the office. The GOP enjoy getting rich off the backs of the public.
20/20 it is a new day the traitors, gutter people need to move on . They will be voted out except in the red states, they enjoy being miserable and left behind.
50
Even if a challenge goes forward and the results stand, Bevin lost by 5000 votes.
How does that correlate to being one of the most unpopular Governors in the country? Or does it just mean his challenger has the distinction of being almost as unpopular?? Bevin should have lost 30% to 70% if he is really so strongly disliked. It seems to me that he may be disliked, but that doesn't mean people went rushing to the polls to vote for his opponent, they just didn't vote.
Another article in the Times recently, stated that Mitch McConnell, similarly, is one of the most unpopular Senators, yet polls show him neck and neck with his challenger, and he wins re-election over and over.
There is more to these examples, NYT, and I wish you would do some deeper reporting.
87
@HR Kentucky has become a strong red state in recent years. Trump won the State in 2016 with 60% of the vote. The Democratic Party has become weaker over the last few years. Any Democratic candidate has to overcome a lot of Republican voters in rural counties.
Andy Beshear ran a good campaign; and he is the son of a former Governor who was popular. Democrats came out in force in Louisville and Lexington--Democratic strongholds--to support him. He also carried a couple od counties in Northern Kentucky--suburbs of Cincinnati, OH--that usually vote Republican. Bevin won many Republican counties by smaller margins than usual. So, Beshear's win was small, but decisive.
As for McConnell, he seems to have a "machine" working for him and for our Republican Congressional delegation. He is running neck-and-neck with the Democratic candidate, but he usually pulls it out in the end. He is not really well-liked and his poll numbers are lower than ever. So we shall see. His opponent is Amy McGrath, former Navy pilot and officer, I think.
38
@HR
It is well known that most people do not vote.
It is also well known that the GOP could never win a national majority if everyone voted. hence their strategies of limiting votes by hook or by crook and gerrymandering.
The solution to all of our problems is mandatory voting for all adults. Then set adulthood at 21 years of age and make that the same age one must be to joint the services.
25
@HR Interesting point though if people vote party over candidate an unpopular candidate can still win as longa as he or she belongs to the right party.
If Bevin wasn't unpopular he would have easily won re-election. It's highly unlikely that Kentuckians will vote Mitch McConnell out but that doesn't mean he's well liked.
6
The mystery to me is how people who see themselves as decent with decent values can support trump. This is a man who crows about grabbing Women’s private parts, repeatedly uses the term “bullshit” in public discourse and will not admit that the Russians interfered mightily in our elections. I just don’t get it
30
@Sean Casey junior
You have only described the first chapter. Right now it is the 50th chapter in what appears will be a long book.
7
@Sean Casey junior
American society has coarsened and standards and decency have been reduced to almost nothing. Even back in the 70's most politicians had enough integrity to know that Nixon committed crimes. So many people today aren't convinced Trump has done anything wrong or don't care. It's the result of decades of the dumbing down of the masses who live better than most people in the world.
The day of reckoning will be traumatizing.
14
Mississippi is and has been at the bottom of state rankings for a long time. Where have these good stewards been? As they would say in the South (and I am a bred Southerner), they ain't been round here.
11
Andy Beshear is a positive man and son of the most recent Democratic governor - but he was not the the best campaigner. There no major gaffes in the race he ran, but the results should have been a 5% margin and that was a consequence of his “Aw Shucks” campaign. Still he has persevered. Mc Connell and Rand Paul are neither as invincible as the national media and political activists would have you believe. They are not beloved by many of the people who vote for them. But they have run against ho-hum Dem candidates who are slow to decide, slow to campaign and campaign in ways influenced by the DNC. Here is the truth folks, Kentucky is a unique sort of place - charming in ways and infuriating in others. A smart and savvy sit-on-the-porch candidate who has moderate positions can beat both Mc Connell and Rand (when his time comes). In Tuesday’s election some may look to Beshear’s victory and Republican gains and scratch their heads. But those of us native to this state know that it’s just Kentucky being Kentucky. And for those of us who want to see Kentucky move ahead, we will wait for those pragmatic personable Democratic candidates arrive and help Mitch and Rand join Matt Bevin in leaving government.
20
What cost Bevin was his plan to take away Obamacare from the people of KY
They don't call it Obamacare - but they still want it...
Bevin should have learned from how the Turtle did it...
He was AGAINST Obamacare BUT he was strongly in favor of keeping the Gubermint out of Kentuckians Medicare and Medicaid...
Welcome to the twilight zone...
Welcome to the Turtle getting re-elected...
All Politics is local Gov. Bevin next time pay attention to how the Turtle dances...
9
Trump is a conman and a pathological liar, tries to make money off of other people’s or country’s expense. That works for a short time and situation is catching up with him.
Bevin has none that trump has, should concede instead of making a fool of himself.
11
Do the people of KY realize the irony here? Name calling from your governor is unacceptable but it’s ok from your president?
58
I honestly laughed out loud when I heard this piece of info on the daily. The hypocrisy is downright laughable.
4
@BR: That's because Trump's name calling wasn't directed at them personally.
8
Matt Bevin's final vote count was not really a poor showing. There was a little more than 5,000 votes between him and his opponent, Andy Beshear. It was quite close but not enough to carry Mr. Bevin into the governor's office. He probably would not have done this well if President Trump had not endorsed him during his Kentucky rally. It was just not meant to be that the governor's race be kept in Republicans hands. You have to give the Republicans a lot of credit for winning the many seats that they acquired on Election Day. They had more wins than losses and should be congratulated.
1
@KMW
In a state as red as Kentucky who went for Trump at more than 30 points, Bevin's showing was a disaster. It's called statistics.
8
@KMW Matt Bevin was elected as governor 4 years ago by a margin of 80 votes. So a margin of approx. 5,000 votes in favor of Andy Beshear in this election could be called a “landslide”. The race was Bevin’s to lose and he did it to himself. We are still a group of people who collectively regard arrogance, blatant disrespect, rudeness and lack of character as reasons to look for other options in any political race. I am a proud Kentuckian and it is a great feeling to see our state stand out as an exception to the steamrolling going on right now in this country. ALL the other republicans won handily in Tuesday’s Kentucky election, except one. We are independent thinkers and won’t be pushed too far when it comes to important issues like healthcare, education and pensions for state employees. In my view, Mr. Bevin’s loss was self-inflicted.
8
"They did not like Mr. Bevin, but they found it hard to vote for a candidate like Mr. Beshear, who supports abortion rights. Some of these voters ended up punishing Mr. Bevin by opposing both major party nominees: John Hicks, the Libertarian nominee, received over 28,000 votes, more than five times the size of Mr. Beshear’s statewide margin."
If voters didn't like Beshear for his views on abortion, why vote for Hicks? A devout Libertarian would believe that the government has no business in an individual's medical decisions.
17
@retnavybrat
Because Kentuckians would never understand something like that.
24
@cm Pardon me??
1
First, from the PLATFORM OF THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF KENTUCKY: “Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people, including Libertarians, can hold good-faith views on all sides, individual candidates and party members should be asked their view on the issue.”
And then from the article ‘Kentucky governor race: Where Andy Beshear and Matt Bevin stand on key issues’ in the Courier-Journal, the newspaper of Louisville, KY: “Hicks, Libertarian
As part of our pro-life and anti-abortion stance, both my running mate, Ann Cormican, and I believe in the importance of supporting women with good sex education, access to birth control and accessible adoption services. We also support the efforts being made by private citizens to encourage fathers to stay with and support their families. A strong economy and strong families will eliminate the need for anyone to consider abortion.”
1
While the wind has been against the Democrat backs, but these upset wins have been against very flawed candidates in deep red states. Overall the House and Virgina show Republicans have lost their suburban voters in many areas, but in 2018 they still had good showings in Ohio and Indiana. Blue dogs like IN were cast aside, and besides Brown in Ohio, it was mostly red.
Looking at Alabama and Kentucky, similar stories how a very unpopular candidate lost despite being in a favorable state. The thing is these flawed and awful candidates barely lost, showing how partisan politics are in many states. My main point is Democrats shouldn't ignore these states, but be mindful when the race is in play since in most cases it won't be.
I honestly struggle seeing Kentucky turning against Mitch since he gives their state power, despite how they don't like him. There is a cult of personality with Trump, and a senate seat with impeachment and the courts isn't something any Republican voter would give up. Hopefully Democrats realize that and focus on suburban votes in swing races and states.
2
@Patrick l
I counted close to 25 states where the Republican Party Is either irrelevant or struggling to stay viable.
Maine
Ma
Vt
RI
Ct
Ny
Nj
Md
Va
Calif
Wash
Oregon
Illinois
Hawaii
Texas
Colorado
Az
Minn
Wi
Del
Mich
Wi
DC
Pa
NM
Totaling about 300+ electoral votes
Kinda makes Ohio a anf florida seem irrelevant ........
3
@adam stoler It's naive to think Trump can win WI, PA, MI, or Wi again. Texas, moving to purple, but still likely a couple election cycles away from being a true battleground after they re-elected Ted Cruz. Otherwise the states you listed have been solid blue for a while, and/or don't count to many EC votes.
1
“if offered an acceptable alternative.”
I don’t think that acceptable alternative is Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders. I like both but too many never-Trumpers have pleaded with Democrats not to nominate either.
Remember the olden day’s, when men (it was men then) met in smoke-filled rooms and picked the best candidate and one that could win for their party. Those men would never have picked Donald Trump in 2016. And for different reasons, they wouldn’t choose Warren or Sanders for 2020.
Of course, Primaries now determine the nominees and only the most ardent members of both parties vote in primaries. Is it better? I don’t know - Obama probably would probably never have been the choice of the ‘smoke-filled rooms’. But, I fear the current folks who vote in Democratic primaries won’t pick a nominee that people not associated with their views would support. That’s why Trump lost the popular vote by millions in 2016 and the Democratic nominee might lose in 2020.
I like Mike Bennet and am upset that he has gotten so little media attention. He won’t win the nomination and that’s a shame.
4
I don’t know why the democrats are gloating over Bevin’s loss. He is an unpopular governor and only lost by 5K votes.
After all these events under trump and this republican administration, this is quite worrisome.
2
@Surya
Bevin lost--- five hundred, five thousand or five million, he lost. That is what counts. Lets not forget Kentucky is a red state. Now lets just run with the ball.
7
“and the Kentucky results seemed to affirm that there are limits to what you can do and say and still be elected.”
It would appear, nonetheless, that the bar for those limits has been dropped to the ground...and below.
9
"Mr. Reeves made the case that he and his fellow Republicans had been good stewards of Mississippi’s economy."
The poorest state in America with the 46th worst economy. Who says Republicans don't have a sense of humor?
31
In order for Bevin to be so unpopular, he has to be unpopular among Republicans. And respected Kentucky newspapers make it clear that Bevin's low popularity is about his abrasive personality on social media and his abrasive attacks on state teachers. Bevin is not charged with corruption. He is not charged with indiscretions toward women or minorities. Democrats vehemently oppose his policies, but you won't find a policy of his that isn't championed by some other governor in some other state. Bevin's lack of popularity is about his being unlikable. Take McConnell. Take Roy Moore. Take Sheriff Joe. These are people who are dangerous. Bevin's policies are abhorrent to Democrats. But he's one of many in that regard. We are told he is among the worst because he is so abrasive that even Republicans object. But trust me. Many that the Republicans embrace are much worse. Starting with the guy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
10
Enjoy the juxtaposition while you can. The repubs are huddled trying to figure out why their gerrymandering and minority voter suppression machine let them down this cycle. Heads will roll and this won't happen again.
3
@Doug S
They can't do a thing about it. The younger generation moved in and the older one is moving out. Even conservative millennials are more tolerant about things than their older counterparts, but the majority lean left.
6
@Doug S
They can't do a thing about it. The younger generation moved in and the older one is moving out. Even conservative millennials are more tolerant about things than their older counterparts, but the majority lean left.
Matt Bevin's attitude as governor has been tactless, tasteless, spiteful, and cruel. And his policy agenda has been very harmful to common people. That's how he managed to lose on a day when Republicans swept every other statewide office.
Moreover, I'd venture to guess that a significant number of Republican state legislators would rather work with Andy Beshear than Matt Bevin.
6
Why emulate the style of a president whose highest approval rating ever is 42% and who didn't even become president with a majority of the vote?
7
I absolutely love that this piece is anchored by a photo of people
wearing the gaudiest apparel adorned with Trump's mug, and they ended up at an election night celebration that never materialized. Fascists? Probably pretty close. Fashionistas? Not so much
11
I wish the reporter has asked ms Jimenez if she voted for trump and if he had gone too far
4
If Kentucky doesn't respect the wishes of the voters, I will give up on their whiskey.
7
Matt Bevin got what he deserved from the people of Kentucky. Mitch Mcconnell needs to be next fora better future to all of us.
Please, Ditch Mitch!
13
Thank you - it all comes down to the candidate. An unpopular candidate, even with good strategies and legislative imperatives, can easily lose an election, irrespective of party.
10
But...but...Hizzoner CAMPAIGNED for him! And sniveled and begged!
The real mystery is why Bevin got any votes at all.
85
@Mark Esposito. No, no, no. The real mystery is why voters think that it is worse to have an abrasive personality than to be corrupt, sexually abusive, criminal, and a threat to the future of mankind. After all, Trump is way more popular in Kentucky than Bevin is.
14
Bevin is as mean as a junkyard dog. The amazing thing is that he got as many votes as he did. He has no grace at all. He lost this election, and if he tries to send this to the Kentucky legislature, it will cause a scandal--and what will voters think of him then? Sour grapes on steroids. I guess he thought that there were enough MAGA-heads hopped up on Trump demagoguery to save his bacon. Wrong! You can't insult people all the time and take away their health care and expect to survive. (A lesson for Trump?)
63
@William O, Beeman
Unfortunately, the WH occupant cannot learn a lesson. Don't you recall he's a stable genius and knows more than anyone else in the world.
11
I wonder if the Kentucky results will have any effect on the Louisiana Governor's election?
I think Agent Orange is scheduled to go down there a couple of times before the 16th.
17
As the old saying goes, 'you get what you deserve.' All these Trump loving Republican politicians like Ex-Governor Bevin, who are so full of themselves refuse to accept the message that disgraceful idiotic conduct is being rejected by the majority of decent Americans. But then again, let them keep it going, the consequences are working out just fine.
36
@TIm Love
No, Bevin came very close and might yet win. The lesson is for Democrats- Trump could win in 2020. We have to choose our nominee carefully. Job ONE must be to defeat Trump. Promising things like single-payer which won’t be possible won’t do it. Time for our candidates to put on their ‘big boy and girl pants’ and deliver plans that are DOABLE!
5
The political noise is still disparaging. Kentucky's governor's race is good news, and I wish him well, but their neighbors to the south are handing their century to the wolves, howling into the night, keeping poverty and ignorance the governance of choice. When Democrats lose in the south, we lose our nation just a little bit more every, single election. Democrats have been learning, much too slowly, how to run those wolves off the land, for good.
26
This result should NOT be interpreted in a national context. Think about Kentucky’s countless red counties up against a handful of populated, blue enclaves. When you add the total votes, the democrats pulled out a small victory. Now, think of those counties as states in a national election; you don’t get to add the popular vote, those red counties add up to more electoral votes than the few blue ones. Trump wins.
13
@Daniel B It won't be like that - Democrats need to win by about 6-10% more than Trump and they have been doing that. In fact, 2016 was very close (about 5% more for Democrats).
In other words, the popular vote count won't be close. I don't think your analogy is correct anyway.
1
Bevin needs to take a page out of the Dems playbook. Keep counting and recounting until you ... win.
@RandyJ
No, that was Bush, who stole the election from Gore.
Don't you remember the recounting?
Pot calling the kettle black.
69
@LauraF Being a Republican these days is like 100% projection. They do all the things they accuse everyone else of, starting with Trump.
13
@RandyJ It seems you are alone on this one. Bad memory got you this time!
8
"How many lines can a politician cross", before you call him a crooked coward?
The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind, the answer is blowin' in the wind.
11
Too little importance is given to the basic personality of candidates. Bevin was Governor long enough that his every human flaw was revealed: arrogant, cocky, narcissistic, drunk on power, condescending, and utterly charmless. Like his pal Trump. Yet he nearly got re-elected despite himself. Scary.
52
Someone who is incapable of empathy should never, ever be a politician.
36
What I am most disgusted with is his claim that he is challenging the result of the election because "the voters will be cheated otherwise." In fact they voted him gone. He is challenging it because he is a poor loser who like too many current Republican Politicians cannot stand to lose. He cares little about the people he represented and they realized that.
53
Look, I don't support Matt Bevin, and I once did live in Kentucky. However, is it not editorial bias to call the results for Bevin a "poor showing" when he earned 704,523 votes, only 5000 plus votes shy of Beshear's 709,763? The Times hurts its reputation when it exercises such editorial discretion. Kentucky is also a state known for its political dynasties. The Beshear family with Andy, the son of a long-serving previous governor, would be an example of that. If the Times were more even handed, it would point out these facts, and provide more context so that the readers can judge for themselves.
7
@Moso
It's a poor showing because he was the incumbent and his party holds both Senate and Executive and Trump supported him.
29
Bevin’s mistake was actually accomplishing some of the things Trump has been unable to do, like repeal the Kentucky ACA exchange, Kynect. What Bevin failed to grasp was that Kynect was actually very popular, and many Kentuckians did not understand that Kynect and the ACA were one and the same.
Bevin’s other mistake was thinking that acting like an obnoxious bully the way president Trump does would make him popular. As it turns out, it’s one thing to come to a state once and a while, say some mean things about the people you don’t like, and then leave. It’s a whole different thing when your constituents have to endure it front and center on a daily basis.
32
There is a lot more to this story than reported here.
First, the Libertarian candidate got 28,000 votes.
Second, I heard this morning on NPR that Democrats out-register Republicans 49% to 46% in Kentucky.
Both sides had big get out the vote efforts.
That resulted, third, in 200,000 more votes for the Repub candidate, but even more for the Democrat. That is, when Bevin was first elected he got a little over 500,000 votes, and evidently a lot of Democrats stayed home. This time even more Republicans voted for him, but the D's had a good get out the vote effort in their strongholds.
What's the lesson here? The only way to defeat Trump and his lackeys is to get more Dems to vote. See 2016 for the consequences of not doing so..........
33
I want to hope this is true but Bevin sans Trump loses by way more than 0.4 percent.
2
In reading this article, it came to me that being a Republican in the South is close to belonging to a religion with a battle cry: We have to stop those infidels!
Even though Kentuckians faithfully pay their taxes, they are not getting their needs met by the state government. They have to fight for teachers and health care and all of those things we all need government to help us with, because, with our tax dollars combined, those things represent a powerful arm to bring help to those who need a "leg up" or a boost, even though they are working, or some medical treatment they cannot afford. And in spite of all that, to be a Republican, an identity that seems dear to so many, has also become "shooting themselves in the foot." And to support 'one of another faith,' i.e. the opposing party, even though doing that would bring a better life, well, it just can't be done.
Put down the shotguns, stop the hill-dweller feuding! Your political affiliation will not get you past St. Peter's Gate!
Be rational. Save yourselves! Stop treating a political party as a religion and be kind to yourselves. KY is a gorgeous state and deserves all the best that can be had for all its amazing citizens! I should know, both my parents were raised there!
8
Your comment is well said, but care to explain why these people in Kentucky keep voting against their own interests?
Moscow Mitch votes against his own constituents and they keep voting for him.
Doesn’t seem smart, does it?
6
Had this piece not been datelined "Louisville" I'd wonder if the writers had ever even been to Kentucky.
Let me educate anyone who cares: Matt Bevin made a justifiable economic, but terrible political decision to target teacher's pensions. In Kentucky - which has 120 counties for four million people - that was the equivalent to attacking Public Safety unions in some big cities. It was even worse, because with 120 county school systems in the state, getting a job in that system as a bus driver, custodian or basketball coach is a step toward middle class status for many working poor -- who then come to identify with and defend educators.
I had a lifelong friend in her 60s who drives a bus -- and who voted for Bevins the first time -- call me to beg me to vote against him. I have a niece who is a 3rd grade teacher do the same. Everyone in the state did.
To contort this to fit an anti-Trump agenda displays either an ignorance of what happened in Kentucky or, probably more likely, a disregard for the truth.
10
Yeah, because Trump just adores teachers’ unions and has done ao very much for education, starting with zooming up the costs of education loans.
By the way, you ever trouble yourself to look at what Kentucky teachers earn? Boy, they’re just swimming in it, huh?
4
With Trump's support? Trump should have made more people vote for someone else. Have they not been paying attention to what he has been saying and doing?
3
There is a culture of meanness and exclusivity in the Republican Party that has backfired on Matt Bevin. While Trump’s cult members, mostly white and uneducated, hoot and holler each time he sticks it to someone, Bevin tried it and it didn’t work. Hopefully this strategy will begin to disgust people who tried to stomach Trump but find in the end he is just too awful to support. He’ll still have his cult members, but maybe, just maybe, the rest of them will see the light.
20
What this showed is that there were 5,000 smarter people then Trump in Kentucky.
To bad for you Bevin, next time if there is a next time get support from a better person.
5
"Poor showing"?? He nearly won. What does THAT say about Kentucky Republicans?
4
Here’s a big secret: Women win elections for Democrats, and lose them for Republicans. And who votes in the highest percentages? Women. Particularly Black Women. Want to Win? Give us ALL a reason to VOTE for you, and ASK us to do so.
Seriously.
21
Imaginary scenario:
Mr. Trump standing on Fifth Avenue in New York City. A smoking pistol in his hand. He is looking down at the prostrate body of a many he's just shot.
Onlookers--with horrified faces--are backing away. Mr. Trump looks up, searching the crowd for a friendly face. He sees none.
A long minute passes. And then--
--the sound of wailing sirens coming ever closer. Five police cars pull up. Armed officers spring out and hustle a still-stupefied, disbelieving Donald J. Trump into a waiting paddy wagon.
Okay, New York Times--for all his vaunted ability to hoist loser-candidates up into an uncontested victory--
--that ability DOES have limits.
Thanks, Kentucky.
We needed that.
11
I really thought that scenario would end with Rudy jumping out of the paddy wagon handing Donnie the key to the city.
3
GOP congressmen and Senators are afraid of doing the right thing in FEAR that if they say or do anything that Trump dislikes they will lose Trump's support to get re-elected they will lose their election.
These cowards are more afraid of getting insulted by Trump in rallies and tweets than doing the right thing for America.
Maybe Bevin's loss will serve as a lesson that Trump's support is not everything in this world, and that they should grow a spine and do the right thing.
8
Unless you live here in Kentucky, you cannot possibly understand just how very hateful, hurtful, divisive, and corrupt bevin really was.
He changed laws making public protest on the capital nearly impossible. He blocked free speech. He blocked our right to petition the government. He put rich front friends in positions of power. He passed bills in the dead of night forcing courts to overturn them. He snuck teacher pension plans into a sewage bill.
He was truly awful, it felt so good voting for Andy Beshear!
37
As long as democrats don't tailor their entire approach to winning over this small but important slice of the electorate, great. If 2020 just becomes about who can win over older/whiter voters in the suburbs in a handful of states, I will be really made and a lot of other people may once again not show up, no matter how much they hate Trump.
3
I'm dismayed by the fact that we live in a divided country in a highly partisan environment. But I am encouraged by the fact that voters are rejecting arrogant extremists like Kris Kobach and Matt Bevin. Ramming down unpopular policies or slashing funding for vital programs will result in a backlash.
This is something that Democrats should learn from too.
14
Only 42% of Kentucky’s registered voters went to the polls on Tuesday making apathy and indifference the outright winners.
15
@JPLA And this is a really high turnout by KY standards, unfortunately.
7
It is the Republican agenda. Mr. Bevin became unpopular because he blatantly pushed the Republican agenda as brashly as Republicans in Washington DC. What does that tell us?
9
The well-known motto of Kentucky's favorite son, Davy Crockett was, "Be always sure you're right, then go ahead." Today's GOP seems to read everything the way they do the 2nd Amendment, be always skipping the first part.
2
@J111111 Crockett was from Tennessee.
1
"How many lines can a politician cross?"
The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind, the answer is blowin' in the wind.
2
I can see it now, a Fed TV channel called the Wealth Tax Road Show, where appraisers try to put a price on Mark Zuckerberg's Mickey Mantle signed rookie card and Donald Trump's hand-made hair pieces.
2
I spent half a year working in Kentucky; enough to gain a flavor for the place. Bevin didn't like the "liberals" running the state universities so he fired all of them and replaced them with his sychophants. This angered a lot of people. Then, there was his support of Mitch McConnell's prison corporation where inmates are terrorized with additional time if they can't pay for their time in prison. Next, there was his robbing of firemen's pension funds to pay for tax breaks for his buddies.
If anyone stole the election, I wonder if it isn't the republicans, not the democrats.
23
@Rocketscientist
Republicans what wonderful Christian people!
15
The key to look at in this vote is the Cincinnati suburbs....the Northern Kentucky counties that are middle class and proudly conservative.
I know these people.
Conservative for them does not mean they just follow the red line, no matter who it leads too.
They are not interested in mess and nonsense and unstable garbage.
Bevin tied himself to that and underestimated what would happen.
9
Bevin's disastrous policies (eviscerating Medicaid, diminishing teachers' pensions, etc.) would probably not have sunk his campaign, but he gratuitously maligned and insulted many diverse sectors of the population. He seems to suffer a tragic character flaw which causes him to lash out at people who might otherwise be on his side. I'm relieved that the electorate chose to replace him with somebody who seems more emotionally stable and more capable of caring about others.
18
I continue to be mystified as to why someone like Ms. Jimenez, a teacher, would want to vote Republican in the first place. This is a party openly dedicated to gutting funding for her profession, her family’s health care and her own pension.
Better late than never I suppose.
41
If Bevin doesn't concede in a timely manner, I hope corporate America sees fit to boycott various forms of business in Kentucky.
15
New York Times, please stay on the story of this particular race. I'd like to know on what information Matt Bevin is basing his allegations of "irregularities." I'd also like to know how secure Kentucky's voting system is. I don't remember if Kentucky is one of the states that has only electronic voting, with no paper backup. Does Bevin believe that some behind-the-scenes machinations will make the vote go his way in a recanvass?
I hate that I have to wonder about tampering, but I do wonder if or how anyone would know if that did happen.
The GOP does seem to have fallen just that far.
5
How much does the loss of a Republican Governor in Mitch McConnell's home state signal cracks in the red wall? I'm guessing not much - that this is more like the Democratic victory of Doug Jones against the fatally-flawed Roy Moore (which doesn't make Alabama blue). Still, the fact that Trump is sagging nationally and McConnell now is irrevocably tied to him does suggest the beginning of a wider change. Let's try to build on this and find vulnerable areas for 2020.
7
It is obvious that these Republican Governors and State Legislatures are 100 percent against any type of public services, unions and education. Just look at the last decade and look at how These Red States have all reduced expenditures for Infrastructure,Health care and education to below a bare minimum(Mississippi does not even have a functioning road system in Rural areas). These voters must know this before they go to the voting booth but continue to re-elect them which would indicate they have no problem with these policies until it starts to have an effect on their lives after they have thrown everyone else under the bus. Keep those tax cuts coming.
3
As much as I can't stand Trump, I think these attempts to compare him to Bevins are faulty at best. Now, what Bevins *has* learned is that he can use a combination of demagoguery and the mechanisms of democratic governance to construct roadblocks to prevent the democratically elected new governor who defeated him from assuming his post.
3
Let us not ignore the impact of third-party voters who threw away far more votes than the current razor-thin margin.
5
Absolutely everything that Bevin did in Kentucky has been what Trump has been doing at a national level only more so. So when the Republicans say Bevin lost just because he was a bad candidate, I'm curious what they are expecting in 2020.
7
One of the revealing things about the Bevin defeat is that Republicans (especially conservatives) love social spending, but ONLY for themselves.
Let's not forget that blue states subsidize the red states, who disproportionately draw government aid. And this is something red states love -- that is, attacking social spending and government aid, but only when it's NOT applied to them.
Bevin's key blunder was having drunk enough of the red Kool-Aid to think that he could hack Kentucky's portion of that government aid to the bone without consequence, and nobody would hold him to account.
Republican/conservative/reactionary voters absolutely love receiving aid from the government (I mean, look at farm subsidies for another example -- ruby red Republicans, on the government dole), and any Republican who attacks that cozy arrangement is going to lose.
That dependency on government aid that plagues red states (despite their ideological fiction around self-sufficiency) ultimately drives the corrupt state of affairs.
To use their own language against them: blue states are givers, and red states are takers -- and woe to the Republican politicians who tries to take from Republicans.
That it's politically pathological speaks volumes about the problem with red states in general. Free market? Not so much. Meantime, they depend on the prosperous blue states to fund them. Trump and the GOP would love to bleed blue states dry of funds to fluff up their failing, flailing red states.
5
Apparently for Kentucky conservatives divisiveness and name-calling are only objectionable when directed at them personally or professionally. Suggesting that conservatives have lost their ability to empathize.
4
"Mr. Reeves made the case that he and his fellow Republicans had been good stewards of Mississippi’s economy"
Considering Mississippi lags most of the nation in per capita GDP and are well down the list by growth rate, how can that be considered being a good steward?
24
@mtbspd
Perhaps Mississippi lags behind on education?
8
As much as I'd like this recent election to be a bellwether for the 2020 presidential, its important for people to understand it is not. Bevin was a uniquely despised Governor in KY, believe it or not we DO actually take pride in our education system even if its not the best and of the people you do not cross in KY, teachers are at the very top of the list. That and not really understanding or working with with the republican politicians in the legislature and taking on the political "no win" of the pension crisis made him despised by even Trump supporters I know.
118
@Jim
Jim, this is a question, not a critique. Your post is very interesting. If some Trump supporters voted against Bevin because of his attempt to gut Obamacare and take away their insurance why would they still vote for Trump again since he wants to do the same thing.
27
@Jim
Yet they voted in republicans again to do that. Good luck.
8
@Jim
You are wrong this is very much a preview of 2020. the loser refuses to respect the vote and will actively seek to undermine all confidence in the election and the idea of elections. Trump will do the same.
21
Bevin was unpopular because he tried to gut public education. He tried to annul the Affordable Care Act in his state. He campaigned against Medicaid expansion. He tried to make the National Republican Party Platform Kentucky policy. What is really unpopular is not just Bevin, it's actual Republican governance.
119
@Kent Hancock The five most popular governors in the U.S,, according to a Jan. 10th, 2019 Morning Consult report, are Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead whose approval ratings are, respectively, 72%, 68%, 63%, 60% and 60%. And all are Republicans, according to this ranking, as are four of the next five governors.
So you were saying that what’s “really unpopular is …. actual Republican governance”?
2
@Kent Hancock , I'm almost enlightened about education in Kentucky. I thought all Republicans want to gut education, which is how we ended up with trump.
Bevin must be beyond the pale when even Republicans intensely dislike him.
And then there's McConnell and spouse. The entire Republican party structure is so corporate.
Here are two examples , well maybe three, ( hmm, counting the cabinet, dozens) of unqualified for their position bumped up the corporate (US government ) ladder.
Kentuckians don't feel alone, a friend of mine in Indiana told me Indianans could wait to rid themselves of Pence.
Unqualifieditis is running rampant throughout the country. Why would the richest country in the world be 47th in medical care.
Here are some countries way ahead of us in education:
South Korea,Taiwan,Switzerland,France, Israel,Canada Scotland, Spain China, England, Italy.
How are we ever going to compete? Oh yeah, tariffs.
4
@Kent Hancock
To Bevin's credit, he was pretty clear about his platform during his campaign. That the people of Kentucky swallowed it whole and got a tummy ache for their trouble is no surprise to me.
The man was as advertised.
5
Oh Kentucky, a state that gave us two strange bedfellow Senators; McConnell, he the gleeful obstructionist, and Rand Paul, the all across the map libertarian, both who are willing to accept the largesse of federal dollars to benefit their state(see Chao), yet willing to thwart any meaningful legislation to accommodate other suffering American citizens(see 911 funding, Hurricane relief, etc). This is a state, not unlike Louisiana, that is underwater in respect to federal tax dollars in and tax dollars taken; that is still struggling to meet the needs of their most needy citizens. Bevin, a bloviator akin to POTUS, refuses now to accept the will of the citizens. We need to watch closely POTUS next year as he most likely will take this a step further and fail to concede defeat.
90
@Robert Peak You have provided a true and succinct portrait of Matt Bevin.
"This is a state, not unlike Louisiana, that is underwater in respect to federal tax dollars in and tax dollars taken; that is still struggling to meet the needs of their most needy citizens." Bevin and the Republican controlled General Assembly could have closed the massive loopholes in Kentucky's state tax laws to help the needy but the have refused to do so because those loopholes reward their wealthy donors.
19
I am most encouraged to think that, likely due to strong grass roots efforts and the possibility that more people can distinguish facts from lies than I thought, our country is showing small signs of righting itself. What's more, it is among those you would assume are most likely to support Trump regardless of his misdeeds including coal workers who are also southerners.
21
"How many lines can a politician cross?"
The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind, the answer is blowin' in the wind.
29
Notice that the Times, once again, repeats the bourgeois liberal mantra that only “moderate” and “pragmatic” Democrats can compete with Republicans. Americans are sooo happy with the way things are, they wouldn’t think about changing anything except for swapping Dirty Don for another Democratic “centrist” who will promulgate the status quo on income inequality, health care, the environmnt, guns and immigration.
Yes, let’s run another Republican-lite candidate so the Right gets its way no matter who is in the Oval Office.
27
@Philip S. Wenz
Just remember that the 2018 Blue Wave was made possible by many moderate Democrats, the ones who won by razor thin margins in Republican districts. Given the thin margins of their victories there is the chance that they do not get re-elected. How would that make you feel then? As it is, the Democrats lost seats in the Senate rather than gaining.
Although I do not consider myself a moderate, I will not force my views on others.
We need to maintain as well as increase our numbers or we will never be able to turn the tide.
5
@Philip S. Wenz: "Fortune favors the bold."
1
“But the anger of many Kentuckians about Mr. Bevin’s rolling back of government benefits like public pensions and Medicaid, and the startlingly abrasive way he went about it,...”
Proving once again Merica is more socialilized than they’d like to admit
60
@John crockett, especially in rural areas of red states.
6
When they act like jerks, the jerks stick with them on Election Day. Everybody else quietly stays home (or leaves that box unchecked).
8
Bevin only has himself to blame for this result - he's a jerk! It's that simple. He was hoping Trump could help refocus the Kentucky governor's election on national issues by holding a rally the night before the election. The rally was covered throughout the voting day by all the major news networks, which I feared would help Bevin. Instead, voters sent him a message that while they embraced the republicans in all other state-wide offices, he had to go. Hope other politicians take note that calling names and attacking government employees might work for the President, but it won't be tolerated at home. Personally, I am glad to no longer be living in Bevinistan and I hope this is the last we hear from him in Kentucky.
56
@Chrissi ,
Well said. As a contract engineer I visit many places. I quickly grew tired of Bevin. I couldn't believe the things he did.
15
@Chrissi I lived in Lexington for 7 years (2009-16) and concluded that Lexington/Fayette County was politically and socially more similar to Montgomery County, MD (where I lived for 35 years) than to the rural areas of Kentucky. However unlike Maryland and now Virginia where the majority of population lives in major metropolitan areas, KY's two major population centers - Lexington and Louisville - only account for about 35% of the state's total. Any candidates for statewide office must appeal to the rural and small-city voters. And Northern KY's suburbs of Cincinnati are just as conservative, if not more so, than the rural areas - witness their House representation by Thomas Massie.
Unlike some prior Democratic office-seekers, Beshear was aware of this demographic and not only carried some rural counties but also cut Bevin's majority in others. What astounded me the most was Beshear capturing two of the Cincinnati-area counties.
I thought on Monday and still today, that Trump's decision to hold the rally in Lexington was stupid, given that Fayette County went for Beshear by a 2-1 ratio. If the locale was switched to Northern KY, a different outcome might have resulted.
2
@Chrissi
Bevin saw that Trump is still in high school acting as a ignorant frat boy he thought that the people should just accept his own bad behavior. Last week the GOP stormed the security area, with their phones, Jim Jordan running off with the mouth just like they were at a hazing event in college.
Middle aged white men engaged in criminal behavior. The GOP will be the men who are stuck in high school and were the bullies. Their video seen round the world, ignorant old men trying to be something they are not.
2
It's interesting that far right Republicans, who are always for the rule of law seem to never respect election results when they are the loser.
Mr. Bevin cast aspersions on the results with no proof other than he lost. It reminds me of the Republican party here in NC that are always talking about voter fraud and when it is actually done they are the one's responsible, i.e. Mark Harrs the Republican conservative, who ran for congress in the 9th district of NC.
190
@Reasonable Man Not to mention that the Republican party did quite well down-ticket, so apparently the "irregularities" only impacted the governorship. Yeah, that makes sense ...
55
@Reasonable Man Guilty consciences project on others; today's GOP.
20
@Susi Good point! I had not thought of it that way in terms of down ticket, thanks!
9
The voters knew when he ran about certain "lines" crossed.
He proudly supported denying Medicaid to desperately needy people.
Did his voters care about people suffering and dying in Kentucky?
89
@David Henry
No because they are just like him
4
My first thought was the Trump image on those jackets looks like the face of a loser. On the other hand, that’s also true of Trump’s actual expression these days. One has the growing sense that he knows his presidency is going to end up as one more bankruptcy.
84
"The vote results in Kentucky and a handful of other states suggest that the president’s theory does not apply to other Republicans..."
This is what I find fascinating about the Trump phenomenon. I can't imagine any politician getting away with what Trump does in thoughts, words, and actions.
Why can Trump fool so many people so much of the time, do horrible unethical, unlawful, and unconstitutional things, and even be cheered by his political party, a major news network, and 35-42% of our citizenry?
Or is Trump and the Republicans' house of cards about to come tumbling down--Lord I pray!
56
@PB, my theory all along was that this was a one-time phenomenon, because Trump already had name recognition and could get away with being a "non-politician" in the eyes of voters. Clinton did her part in this perfect storm by not putting Bernie on the ticket, arrogantly assuming all Berniecrats were going to turn out for her.
The GOP has no clue what to do post-Trump, which explains so many retirements, and Mitch doesn't really care at this point, because even if he loses his individual race or the GOP loses the Senate, he feels his life's work is complete with the hijacking of the Supreme (and lower) Courts.
8
We need more people like Ms. Jimenez, those willing to evolve with new information and circumstances.
I hope Governor-elect Beshear does well by her and those Kentuckians who took that step in the correct direction.
21
@Josh
My first thoughts about Ms. Jimenez was "How could you?"
To his credit Mr. Bevin never misrepresented himself, he was as advertised. I would have never voted for him.
If Bevin had presented as a genial doofus like, say, George W. Bush, he would have been re-elected easily. Some people, god help them, think that an imaginary potential beer buddy is more important than health insurance.
251
"anger of many Kentuckians about Mr. Bevin’s rolling back of government benefits like public pensions and Medicaid"
Whomever the Democratic presidential candidate is, I hope they remember the lessons of 2018 and 2019: Americans want to hear about healthcare, education, and their paychecks. The GOP, despite trying to pretend otherwise, has failed the working class on each of these. Hammer that home again and again. Let the others tear Trump down for the horror that he is. But, as the future President, show all Americans you care about their day-to-day needs. It is working for so many Democrats at lower levels and it will work on the big stage, too.
179
@Hey Now And don't forget Medicare. Remember, nearly all Republicans are on record as having supported the so-called "Ryan Budget" which called for abolition of Medicare. Yes, that was several years ago but it still represents their Gilded Age values.
20
Funny you see it this way. My first thought was: it is impressive how a politician who by all accounts was universally disliked and a failed policy maker lost by "only" 5K votes. This would suggest that voters toe the party line to an extreme degree.
304
Trump definitely increased support for Bevin. The overwhelming results for the other officers on the GOP ticket show the true measure of voters here.
4
Or that half the voters are masochists who lack self respect.
20
@Steve I agree with your interpretation as well as that in the article. Yes, voters toe the line to an extreme degree. Yes, Bevin won by 10 points last time and lost this time, which is a huge swing.
12