Bevin concedes election after recanvass

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Gov. Matt Bevin conceded the election to Attorney General and Gov. Elect-Andy Beshear following a recanvass Thursday.

In a press conference, Secretary of State Alison L. Grimes said the recanvass did not show differences in numbers for either Bevin or Beshear.

In the nine days since the election, multiple politicians have called on Bevin to concede.

Breakdown of Votes

According to the Secretary of State’s website, Beshear and Bevin received a total of 709,890 and 704,754 votes, respectively.

Approximately 42% of Kentucky voters turned out for the Nov. 5 election — 11% more than predicted by Grimes.

Al Cross, former longtime political reporter at the Courier-Journal,  referred to the high percentage of turnout as part of “the great Democratic get-out-to-vote effort.”

Cross said he thinks Trump’s 11th-hour rally on Nov. 4 in Lexington encouraged both parties to vote.

Bevin won 97 of the 120 counties, including Calloway County and far western Kentucky. Beshear won the remaining 23 counties, including Jefferson and Fayette counties.

Beshear also won in Warren County, home of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, as well as other in several counties with universities, except for Calloway County. However, it is not known if age had to do with this.

Cross said universities tend to help Democrats because social issues either have no effect or have a liberal lean.

Cross addressed this trend in a column published on KyForward. “…the results were to some degree a reflection of the national trend of better-educated, higher-income suburban voters peeling away from Trump and the party he has remade in his image.”

Western Kentucky Results

In Calloway County, approximately 38% of voters turned out. This was the fourth lowest voter turnout in western Kentucky.

Voter turnout for each county in the region can be found below:

• Graves: 49.71%
• Marshall: 48.86%
• Ballard: 47.44%
• Lyon: 47.21%
• Carlisle: 46.63%
• Livingston: 43.57%
• Hickman: 42.07%
• McCracken: 41.77%
• Calloway: 38.08%
• Trigg: 37.36%
• Fulton: 26.59%

Bevin won all counties listed.

Bill Bartleman, former longtime political reporter at The Paducah Sun, said the western part of the state has been heavily conservative over the past decade.

Approximately 50% of Calloway County voters voted straight ticket—that is, all Republican or all Democratic.

Bartleman said he thinks this has become normal over the past few years.

“…a lot of it has been inspired by what is happening in Washington,” Bartleman said.

He said ultimately, the race came down to personality and not policy.

“If they had looked at the issues between the two candidates, Bevin would have kept his support and would’ve won the race,” Bartleman said.   

What Comes Next

Beshear tweeted Thursday afternoon following Bevin’s concession.

It's official – thank you Kentucky. @GovMattBevin and his team have already begun a smooth transition. It's time to get to work!

— Andy Beshear (@AndyBeshearKY) November 14, 2019

According to tweets by Kentucky Public Radio reporter Ryland Barton, Beshear has already announced his plans for his first day in office.  

Beshear mentions his "day 1" priorities.
-rescinding Bevin's Medicaid waiver
-"giving this state a brand new board of education"
-"restoring voting rights for more than 140,000 non-violent felons"

— Ryland Barton (@RylandKY) November 6, 2019

Both Cross and Bartleman said Beshear will face challenges accomplishing his goals because he is working with a Republican legislature.

Beshear’s inauguration will be Tuesday, Dec. 10.