Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, is projected to win reelection to a second term in office Tuesday, defeating Republican challenger Daniel Cameron, the state’s attorney general, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.
Beshear, 45, led the Trump-backed Cameron, 37, for most the campaign, but late polling showed the candidates in a dead heat.
Beshear is broadly popular with voters, with a 60% approval rating, despite governing as a Democrat in a socially conservative state where voters overwhelmingly backed former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.
As a Kentuckian, I’m very (pleasantly) surprised by this result. Sure, we’ve historically preferred a democratic governor, but I thought in the post Trump era that wouldn’t matter. I was sure that the only reason Beshear beat Bevin in 2019 was because of all the shit Bevin pulled with teacher’s pensions. Anyways, exciting stuff!
It honestly shocks me that KY keeps on electing R senators while putting in D governors. Is it a turnout thing?
I don’t think so, the state leans red in everything else. In this same election, every other statewide election (including secretary of state and attorney general) went to the republican candidate by a ratio of like 60-40. I think Beshear’s just popular.
MA has done the same shit, and they lean ever further to the left. I’m not entirely convinced it’s a turnout thing, maybe more of a “balancing things out” kind of deal.