Washington, D.C. – Republicans held on to the Governorship in Mississippi but may lose the seat in Kentucky after the November 5, 2019, gubernatorial elections.
Lt. Governor Tate Reeves won the race for Governor in Mississippi. He beat Democrat Attorney General Jim Hood, with 52.2 percent of the vote. Reeves will take over when current Republican Governor Phil Bryant’s term ends.
The Kentucky Governor’s race, on the other hand, is too close to call. Democrat challenger, Attorney General Andy Beshear, captured 5,086 more votes than incumbent Governor, Matt Bevin, as of Wednesday morning.
Bevin, refused to concede the election, citing that he “wanted the process to be followed.” That process begins with a recanvass of the vote by county clerks. Clerks review vote totals and ensure the correct numbers were sent to the State Board of Election.
The next step in the process is a recount, followed by a contested election decided by the state legislature. It is unlikely the election will reach the final step. The last contested election happened in 1899.
Democrats are already using Bevin’s unofficial loss to attack Trump, who carried Kentucky by 30 points. There is one problem with that line of thinking, though. Republicans won sweeping victories in all of the other gubernatorial races.
The real reason for the tightly contested Governor’s race is disenfranchised voters. Bevin simply made too many enemies and not enough friends among his constituents, despite signing meaningful legislation into law.
Kentucky’s electorate is solidly red, despite what Democrats might claim.