Bevin leads GOP wave, routs Conway

Matt Bevin became the first governor from Louisville in a century and Lt. Gov.-elect Jenean Hampton became the first African-American to win statewide office in Kentucky on Tuesday as Bevin led a near-Republican rout of state constitutional offices.

Democrat Jack Conway failed to roll up the large margin in Jefferson County he needed and couldn't minimize losses elsewhere as Matt Bevin grabbed large margins throughout the rest of the state. Republicans followed suit in the races for treasurer, agriculture commissioner and auditor and won as well.

With 100 percent of the vote counted, Bevin led Conway with 53 percent of the vote compared to the Democrat's 44 percent - a near landslide.

Independent Drew Curtis got almost 4 percent.

"What a night this is," Bevin exclaimed, clearly elated as he stood on stage greeting supporters at the Republican celebration at the Galt House in Louisville.

Bevin introduced his wife, Glenna, as "someone who will make a fantastic first lady," and called out the name of each of his nine children.

Bevin called for Republicans and Democrats to band with him as he begins the effort to confront Kentucky's challenges. "Do not forget we are one Kentucky. Black, White. Rural. Urban," he told the crowd.

5 takeaways from Matt Bevin's win

He also thanked opponent Jack Conway for his gracious personal comments in a concession phone call and he joked that negative campaign ads featuring unflattering images of him are over.

"I know many of you are weary of turning on the TV and seeing my evil twin," he said. "I have asked him to move out of Kentucky."

On a more serious note, Bevin called for parties to put aside negative and divisive campaigns. While he was running mostly positive ads, the Republican Governors Association was filling the air with attacks on Conway.

"This is the chance for a fresh start and we desperately need it," he said.Bevin won despite the fact that some Republicans feared he didn't make inroads with the GOP establishment in the state and didn't work closely with the state party apparatus to build a cohesive get out the vote effort. Still, in some ways he had the wind at his back in the election.

President Barack Obama has low approval numbers in the state, in large part due to environmental policies that are seen as being bad for the coal industry.

And while Bevin originally ran largely on economic issues, his campaign pivoted toward social issues as the gay marriage issue blew up in Kentucky with a federal judge sending Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis to jail because of her refusal to issue marriage licenses. Bevin called for Gov. Steve Beshear to issue an executive order freeing Davis of the responsibility of issuing the licenses and even had his photo taken with Davis.

State Senate President Robert Stivers, a fellow Republican, called Bevin's win a "total repudiation" of the Democratic Party in Kentucky as well as Obama's policies on coal and healthcare.

Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, which represented Davis in her legal battles, also claimed that Bevin's victory was due in part to the Davis saga.

“The people favor traditional values and marriage, and they are tired of the political elites represented by Governor Beshear who are out of touch with ordinary, God-loving citizens," he said.

As governor, Bevin has called for an austere budget to pay down Kentucky’s state worker pension program’s unfunded liability, and he has promised to move new teachers over to a 401k type program rather than a traditional pension. As governor, Bevin has promised to do away with the Kynect insurance portal, rescind the state’s Medicaid expansion and push for the Kentucky General Assembly to institute pro-business policies like so-called right-to-work and lawsuit reform.

The victory was near complete with Bevin winning all but 14 of Kentucky's 120 counties, including stalwart Democratic counties like Pike and Woodford.

For Conway, it was his second loss in a major statewide race in the last five years, having fallen to Rand Paul in the 2010 U.S. Senate campaign. And like in that race, Conway was facing the opponent that he wanted – a Republican who was not part of the GOP establishment.

In Bevin, voters got a candidate who has warred with the press just as he has warred with some in his own party.

He has refused to say who he would appoint to key positions, saying he hasn’t made promises to anyone.

Bevin largely funded his own race with millions he made as a wealth manager and raised little from donors. He likely owes his victory in part to the Republican Governors Association, which sunk more than $5 million into the race, attacking Conway and comparing him to President Barack Obama.

He squeaked through the Republican primary field in May and won an 83-vote victory over Jamie Comer after Comer’s former college girlfriend accused him of abusing her more than 20 years ago.

For Bevin, it was a huge comeback from a year and a half ago, when U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell thrashed him in the GOP primary. For much of the next year, he was treated largely as a pariah by establishment Republicans with ties to McConnell who were upset that he had refused to endorse McConnell after his loss.

McConnell, who did little fundraising for Bevin but did attend a rally for him Monday, said in a statement, "I congratulate Governor-elect Matt Bevin on his impressive win tonight. I look forward to working with him to pass a pro-coal, pro-jobs agenda at the state level to help put Kentuckians back to work.‎

Reporter Joseph Gerth can be reached at (502) 582-4702 or jgerth@courier-journal.com

GOVERNOR

All 120 counties

Matt Bevin (R) 511,771 (52%)

Jack Conway (D) 426,944 (44%)

Drew Curtis (I) 35,629 (4%)