Republican Matt Bevin isn't conceding Kentucky's governor race

(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/Getty Images)

last updated 6 November 2019

With all precincts reporting in Kentucky, Democrat Andy Beshear appears to have unseated Gov. Matt Bevin (R) on Tuesday, 49.2 percent to 48.8 percent, or by 5,189 votes. Beshear claimed victory Tuesday night, saying that while he hadn't yet spoken to Bevin, "my expectation is he will honor the election that was held tonight and he will help us make this transition — and I tell you what, we will be ready for that first day in office." That expectation was wrong.

"We are not conceding this race by any stretch," Bevin told supporters late Tuesday. He claimed to know of "more than a few irregularities," adding that "they are very well corroborated" and will be adjudicated "according to law that's well established." The Associated Press has not yet called the race, deeming it too close to call.

President Trump's re-election campaign issued a statement focusing on the other five statewide races Republicans won in Kentucky on Tuesday, thanks to Trump's Monday night rally in Kentucky, according to campaign manager Brad Parscale. Trump "just about dragged Gov. Matt Bevin across the finish line, helping him run stronger than expected in what turned into a very close race at the end," Parscale added. "A final outcome remains to be seen."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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