Four special elections in Kentucky could control the fate of the state House of Representatives and the $650 million state spending cuts proposed by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.
Voters in four Kentucky House districts will elect representatives in special elections on Tuesday. The winners will immediately take office and have to decide whether to support Bevin's proposed budget. It takes 51 votes to pass a budget out of the House. Democrats have 50 votes and Republicans have 46. If Republicans win all four elections, they will share power with Democrats.
The Democratic candidates say they oppose Bevin's cuts because of the impacts they would have on public education and the court system. But the Republican candidates support the governor because they say the state must begin paying down the state's multi-billion dollar public pension debt.
