A Bitter Fight For Governor Could Bring Kentucky Democrats Back From The Dead

LOUISVILLE, Ky. ― Three years ago this week, jubilant Kentucky Republicans declared their Democratic rivals were gone for good. A Beshear victory on Tuesday, McGarvey said, would “show that in Kentucky, given the choice between a really unpopular Republican and a Democrat who mostly talks about economic issues, public education and health care, we can win.” Another loss, though, would prove equally devastating, because if Democrats can’t win now ― against the least popular Republican governor in America, who struggled to win support from his own party in May’s primary and has antagonized and enraged seemingly everyone in this state at some point over the last four years ― it’s hard to imagine they have much of a near-term future here at all. But Bevin’s abrasive style could still leave him adrift in a state with a political culture that was historically “less confrontational” than national politics, said Stephen Voss, a University of Kentucky political science professor. “It’s that his policies are detrimental to Kentucky.” ***** The task of rejuvenating downtrodden Kentucky Democrats is not a new one for the Beshear family: In 2007, Steve Beshear ― Andy’s father, and a former lieutenant governor, attorney general and state representative ― easily defeated scandal-prone Gov. “I would think that 2020,” when the entire Kentucky statehouse and half of the state Senate will be up for reelection, “is a return back to normal.” Even if that’s not true, a victorious Beshear would take control of a state where Democrats face a long, grinding battle to shift power back in their direction, at least outside of reliably blue cities like Louisville and Lexington and in suburban counties that may trend their way over time.