LOUISVILLE, Ky., Nov. 4 (UPI) — A wealthy businessman and political outsider likened to Donald Trump won the hotly contested governor’s race in Kentucky Tuesday and helped several fellow Republicans into office.
Matt Bevin, 48, will become the next Republican governor of a state where Democrats have held the governor’s mansion for 40 of the last 44 years. Bevin beat Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway 52.5 percent to 44 percent with 99 percent of the precincts reporting.
Last year, Bevin lost badly to Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in the Republican primary. Tuesday’s victory for governor came despite stumbles on the campaign trail and a go-it-alone style that rubbed some GOP leaders the wrong way.
Bevin campaigned across the state in a gold Cadillac Escalade, saying he was self funded and couldn’t be bought. But as a political outsider, he battled with reporters about his taxes and blacklisted reporters and organizations he didn’t like, drawing comparisons to Trump.
“I have no favors to pay back,” the Washington Post reported Bevin said last week at a diner. “There’s not one person in this state who believes they are going to have a job in my administration. There’s not one person who I’ve promised anything to.”
Among the other Republican Bevin’s popularity helped on Tuesday was his running mate, Jenean Hampton. Hampton will become Kentucky’s first African-American to win statewide office.
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