Democratic Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear looks set to pull off a big win in Letcher County, which former President Donald Trump won by nearly 60 points in 2020, as he fended off a challenge from Republican Daniel Cameron to secure a second term in office.
With more than 95 percent of the votes cast in Kentucky counted, Beshear had 53 percent of the vote to Cameron’s 47 percent, with the Associated Press calling the race for the Democratic incumbent.
Beshear’s victory looked particularly impressive in Letcher County, in the east of Kentucky, which voted for Trump by 79.1 percent of the vote versus 19.7 percent for Joe Biden in 2020. By contrast, in 2023 Beshear is leading in the county with 52 percent of the vote against 48 percent for Cameron, the Kentucky attorney general.
which voted for Trump by 79.1 percent of the vote versus 19.7 percent for Joe Biden in 2020
Holy shit I thought that 60 points in the headline was using it a weird way or something. Nope.
I think some helpful context here is that Beshear got 44.9% of the vote in this same county in the 2019 race that he narrowly won. This time he got 52.3%.
In the popular vote, Beshear received 2,626 votes in that county in 2019 and 2,205 votes this election.
He won a greater percentage but had fewer overall votes? Sounds like Republicans are disillusioned and didn’t show up to the polls.
Good.
rEd wAvE
Don’t worry, as soon as Republicans can, they’ll be gerrymandering
The fear is they only show up for trump. And will when the time comes. I think that fear is valid. Low engagement voters either don’t mind trump, or they love trump, and they will show up in much greater numbers in the general.
Yes, that’s a totally valid concern.
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Every one seems to be ignoring why this happened. The republican candidate is black. The ultra MAGA rural Kentucky County didn’t vote for a black man.
This should not be a gigantic surprise.
I think it’s a mistake to assume that racists won’t vote for an Uncle Tom black candidate over a non-racist white candidate.
Remember, progressives like Beshear can’t win in deep red states.
/s.
In case people don’t get it😀
Is this guy prez material?
I’d rather have J. B. Pritzker from Illinois. I held my nose and voted from him in 2019 when it was him (democratic, white, male, billionaire) vs Rauner (republican, white, male, multi-hundred millionaire) and I have never been so pleased to be wrong about someone.
Pritzker has done an amazing job in Illinois dealing with the economic problems that have dogged Illinois by having balanced budgets every year and paying down a huge chunk of the state’s enormous debt which resulted in the first credit upgrades for the state in decades. He raised the minimum wage, legalized recreational marijuana, signed the SAFE-T act which eliminated cash bail in the state, signed a ban on assault weapons (which is of course being challenged), and he led the state through the Covid crisis as a reasonable grown up even though he had to drag the rural parts of the state kicking and screaming all the way. Frankly, I would hate to see Illinois lose him, but I truly believe he would make a great President.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Democratic Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear looks set to pull off a big win in Letcher County, which former President Donald Trump won by nearly 60 points in 2020, as he fended off a challenge from Republican Daniel Cameron to secure a second term in office.
Posting on X after AP called his victory, Beshear commented: “Tonight, our Commonwealth rejected anger politics and proved there is more that unites us than can ever divide us.”
Speaking to Newsweek on Tuesday, D. Stephen Voss, an associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky, said observers should be cautious about assuming the state’s result reflects the national picture.
Beshear’s win came after a preelection poll, released on November 3, recorded the governor and Cameron were tied at 47 percent.
Speaking to Newsweek last week, the company’s spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said: “For the Kentucky governor election, Andy Beshear is the clear 1/5 frontrunner to serve a second term, with Republican Daniel Cameron 7/2 to upset the odds in the race.”
President Biden celebrated Thursday’s results, which saw a number of prominent Democratic wins, and Ohio voters entrenching abortion rights in the state constitution, on X.
The original article contains 522 words, the summary contains 193 words. Saved 63%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
