In 2019, Andy Beshear (D-KY) became Governor Beshear after upsetting incumbent Governor Matt Bevin (R-KY) in a squeaker, 49.2% to 48.8%. Trading on a famous political name and widespread dismay at Governor Bevin’s performance, more of which can be found at the reader’s discretion, Beshear had moved up from the state’s Attorney General position, which he had won in 2015 in another close election.
Beshear is running for re-election now, and common conservative wisdom might have it that the Kentucky governor’s seat would be a prime candidate to be flipped. With Kentucky running this election in November of 2023, just four weeks away, how close will this race be?
Emerson College Polling, a highly rated pollster by FiveThirtyEight, seems to think it won’t be close.
A new Emerson College Polling survey of Kentucky voters finds incumbent Democratic Governor Andy Beshear with 49% support in the upcoming November gubernatorial election, while a third of voters (33%) plan to support Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Five percent plan to vote for someone else, while 13% are undecided.
Emerson College is not infallible, and there’s still room for Cameron to make a comeback, yes, but it’s a steep hill to climb. Republicans have to be concerned, because, at least using the On The Issues summation, Cameron isn’t the worst conservative in the world. However, the key may be his apparently unapologetic support for anti-abortion laws. While such a position may hearten conservatives, the fact of the matter is that telling women their lives are optional is not a positive approach to politics, no matter how zealously one believes abortion is evil.
If a Democratic governor looks unbeatable in Republican stronghold Kentucky, that’s a big red flag for conservatives. But while some of them may realize those flags are red, those who are in charge, who are most zealous, may also be color-blind when it comes to the flags that are waving.
Democrats had better hope the Republican Party Civil War being waged between the moderates and the far-right extremists does not cease, because it promises to make 2024 a year to remember.
For both Parties.
