While Democrats are cheering what appears to be a razor-thin win for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andy Beshear in Kentucky, which would be a major pick-up for Democrats, President Trump and the RNC are declaring victory in the state nonetheless after sweeping all of the other races and seeing what they say is a double-digit surge for embattled, unpopular Republican Gov. Matthew Bevin following Trump’s efforts to rally voters.
“Won 5 out of 6 elections in Kentucky, including 5 great candidates that I spoke for and introduced last night,” Trump tweeted early Wednesday. “[Matt Bevin] picked up at least 15 points in last days, but perhaps not enough (Fake News will blame Trump!). Winning in Mississippi Governor race!”
“Our big Kentucky Rally on Monday night had a massive impact on all of the races,” Trump wrote in a follow-up tweet. “The increase in Governors race was at least 15 points, and maybe 20!” Backing up his claim about the surge for Bevin, Trump retweeted a post by Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, who wrote: “In Kentucky, the governor was down 17 points. President Trump helped lift the entire ticket, winning 5 of 6 statewide races so far!”
As predicted by Trump, the media has indeed already begun painting the unpopular Bevin’s likely loss as a failure by the president. “Trump couldn’t save the unpopular Bevin after campaigning with him the night before the election in Lexington, where the president told supporters a loss by the GOP governor would be portrayed as Trump’s having suffered ‘the greatest defeat in the history of the world,'” NBC News reported late Tuesday night.
But Trump is pointing to the positive. “A lot of winning in Kentucky. Check out the numbers,” Trump wrote in a follow-up tweet linking to the latest numbers from Kentucky’s ABC 8.
As of Wednesday morning, Beshear (D) is edging out Bevin (R) by just over 5,000 votes, 709,673 – 704,523. That Bevin appears to have lost the race is unsurprising. As NBC notes, Bevin is “one of the least popular governors in the country.”
The rest of the races are firmly in Republicans’ hands:
- Secretary of State: Michael Adams (R) defeated Heather French Henry (D) 52-48%.
- Attorney General: Daniel Cameron (R) trounced Gregory Stumbo (D) 58-42%.
- Auditor: Mike Harmon (R) easily defeated Sheri Donahue (D) 56-41%.
- Treasurer: Allison Ball (R) demolished Michael Bowman (D) 61-39%
- Ag Commissioner: Ryan Quarles (R) buried Robert Haley Conway (D) 58-39%.
- House District 18: Samara Heavrin (R) downed Becky Miller (D) 60-40%.
- House District 63: Kimberly Bantra (R) won by the biggest margin of the day over Josh Blair (D) 63-37%.
As The Daily Wire reported, Daniel Cameron’s sizable victory for Attorney General is historic. Cameron, 33, is not only the first Republican elected to the position in more than 70 years, he is the first African-American to ever be elected to the position and “the first African-American voted individually to state-wide office in Kentucky history,” as LEX 18 put it.
“It’s really heartwarming and encouraging when folks regardless of political affiliation walk up to you and express support for the idea that you put yourself out there and made a decision to put your name on a ballot,” Cameron said Tuesday. “I can hit the ground running. I bring that experience to the table. I’ve been a trial lawyer for over 40 years. I’ve prosecuted both criminal and civil cases through my career. So experience we think matters in the attorney general office.”
Cameron, who ran on a solidly conservative platform, appeared at a big rally in Kentucky with Trump earlier in the week at which the candidate declared that “Kentucky is Trump country.”
“We are proud to stand with you on pro-life issues in here in the Commonwealth, we are going to stand up for those who cannot speak for themselves,” he said. “Mr. President, we are going to stand with you in protecting the Second Amendment rights of all Kentuckians, and Mr. President, I make a personal commitment to you as the next Attorney General, we are going to make sure that Kentucky is never a sanctuary state. Thank you.”
In his series of tweets Wednesday morning, Trump predicted an easy victory for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2020. “Based on the Kentucky results, Mitch McConnell will win BIG in Kentucky next year!”
Trump’s tweets below:
#ElectionNight Won 5 out of 6 elections in Kentucky, including 5 great candidates that I spoke for and introduced last night. @MattBevin picked up at least 15 points in last days, but perhaps not enough (Fake News will blame Trump!). Winning in Mississippi Governor race!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2019
A lot of winning in Kentucky. Check out the numbers. https://t.co/xcXIzIwylg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2019
Our big Kentucky Rally on Monday night had a massive impact on all of the races. The increase in Governors race was at least 15 points, and maybe 20! Will be in Louisiana for @EddieRispone on Wednesday night. Big Rally!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2019
Based on the Kentucky results, Mitch McConnell @senatemajldr will win BIG in Kentucky next year!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2019