Republicans in the Kentucky legislature may yet try to steal the election, but it appears a Democrat beat Republican Gov. Matt Bevin by 5,000 votes yesterday despite Donald Trump’s plea not to make him look bad by failing to re-elect Bevin.
Andy Beshear, the Democrat, championed public school teachers and Medicaid expansion. He said to cheers last night that he’d repeal Bevin’s Medicaid work rule as a first order of business. That would leave Gov. Asa “Faubus” Hutchinson standing alone in federal court in defense of punishing poor people with an unproductive work rule that has been successful mostly in depriving people of health coverage.
It wasn’t the only election news. Democrats flipped the House and Senate in Virginia. A Republican won the race for Mississippi governor, which wasn’t exactly a surprise though the pro-gun, anti-abortion Democratic candidate held the winner to 52 percent.
I liked some of the lesser news. Turnout was high in many places, suggesting energized voters. Suburban voting suggested a strong anti-Trump wave among past Republican voters. Democrats ousted Republicans in municipal offices in such places as Mike Pence’s home town in Indiana and the Koch bastion of Wichita.
Trump’s bodacious lying about the margins he’d supposedly reversed by appearing for Bevin grew more exaggerated as the night went on, finally peaking near 20 points. Pre-election polls (facts as opposed to Trump lies) showed the race a dead heat, with Public Policy Polling putting Bevin up by 1 point.
But this was my favorite of the night:
The most amazing headline ever written. pic.twitter.com/dFw5y42ATb
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) November 6, 2019
Here’s the story on the win by Juli Briskman, fired by a government contractor after she was caught exercising free speech toward Donald Trump by flipping his motorcade the bird during a bike ride two years ago. Sweet justice that she’s now the county elected representative for the district including his golf course.