GOP leaders are sounding increasingly resigned to a Matt Bevin loss in the Kentucky governor’s race. That’s despite efforts by the Bevin campaign to re-examine the vote tallies in last Tuesday’s close race with Attorney General Andy Beshear.
Bevin vowed he was not conceding the race “by any stretch” last week, citing what he described as corroborated voting "irregularities" that could alter the outcome. But Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, a former Bevin rival, told reporters that he’s expecting his party to hand over the governor’s mansion in the coming weeks.
"I'm awfully proud of the rest of the ticket. Everybody won a very large majority. I'm sorry Matt came up short, but he had a good four years and I think all indications are, barring some dramatic reversal on recanvass, that we'll have a different governor in three weeks," the majority leader said.
Asked his opinion on the race on NBC’s Meet the Press, Senator Rand Paul said a few factors fed into Bevin’s apparent loss.
"One thing was the anger of the teachers, but another was some problems within the Republican base," the Bowling Green lawmaker answered. "He lost some Republican counties (in which) other Republicans got over 60 percent."
The GOP won all other statewide races, including the contests for attorney general and secretary of state.
Bevin has so far not provided specific examples of any voter fraud that could erase his more than 5,000 vote deficit, but he has requested a recanvass, which will involved county clerks rechecking totals they delivered to the state Board of Elections. Senate President Robert Stivers has also signaled that he believes the governor should concede the race if the recanvass doesn't yield major changes in the vote numbers.
The recanvass is set for November 14.
