Matt Bevin concedes Kentucky governor race. 'We're going to have a change.'

[JudyM]

Source: Lexington Herlad-Leader

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin conceded the race for governor Thursday, ending more than a week of speculation over whether he would contest the results of the Nov. 5 election, which he narrowly lost to Democrat Andy Beshear.

Bevin’s announcement came after a statewide recanvass that showed minimal changes in election totals. Beshear won by less than 0.5 percentage points.

“We’re going to have a change in the governorship based on the vote of the people,” Bevin said in a Capitol news conference.

Read more: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article237363874.html

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More:

A Democratic victory in Kentucky, a state Trump carried by 30 percentage points in the 2016 election, could be seen as an ominous sign for the President heading into his 2020 reelection bid. The result shows that Trump wasn't able to carry his preferred candidate over the finish line.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/14/politics/kentucky-governor-recanvas-begins/index.html

Blue Wave rocks on.

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. I was wrong then, glad to be

[lagomorph777]

2. Let's build on this!

Wash away hundreds of Russiapublicans next year!

[homegirl]

32. NEXT

Dump Moscow Mitch!!!

[NurseJackie]

3. Good! (But I really was hoping that a recount would increase his loss.)

[Cirque du So-What]

19. Perhaps Bevin anticipated that as well

Woulda been quite embarrassing, yet entertaining at the same time.

[lagomorph777]

23. KY uses e-voting machines; recount is impossible.

That's why it's called a "re-canvass." All they can do is ask the machines to repeat whatever count they already have. There is no paper record so we have to trust the Republican-manufactured machines.

In this case, it seems the Russiapublican scheme to reduce the accuracy and accountability of elections has not worked in their favor. Oops.

[Lexblues]

34. I vote in KY and I use a paper ballot

Most precincts offer both paper and e-voting machines. It's not true the whole state is only e-voting.

[lagomorph777]

43. Thanks for the correction. How many voters are choosing to waste their votes...

on the vapor machines?

[Lexblues]

44. My precint has only 1 e-voting machine

While there are many voting places for the paper ballots. I would say that 95% vote with paper. You might see a young person voting with the e-machine every now and then, but most of the time it's empty. The election worker asks you how you want to vote.

[lagomorph777]

45. We had that for a while but eventually the e-machines disappeared.

And good riddance.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Just saw a WaPo breaking!

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, a Trump ally, concedes reelection bid, clearing the way for Democrat Andy Beshear to be sworn in

By Washington Post Staff
November 14, 2019 at 2:44 p.m. EST

At a news conference Thursday, Bevin said the re-canvass of the election results that he requested last week was unlikely to change the outcome of the race. Beshear will take the office next month after defeating the incumbent by about 5,000 votes.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2019/11/14/kentucky-gov-matt-bevin-a-trump-ally-concedes-reelection-bid-clearing-the-way-for-democrat-andy-beshear-to-be-sworn-in/

[JudyM]

6. I was watching the news conference with bated breath, hoping he didn't send it to the legislature.

Huge relief.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. From the stories I read

it didn't seem like some GOP membes of the state legislature really supported him all that much - at least enough to go out on a limb for him. I'm guessing if it had been someone else from their party, it would have been a different story and they would have done it in a heartbeat.

[JudyM]

10. Right, and McConnell signaled a lack of support for fighting the result.

Of course, if McConnell loses by 500 votes, that’d be another story.
Don’t we all long for the day when McConnell doesn’t have any power...

[BumRushDaShow]

21. Turtle should do like Lyin' Ryan

and ride off into the sunset. He is set for life $$$-wise as it is.

[Cha]

26. This is brilliant news! I'm so

happy for Gov elect, Andy Beshear, and Kentucky!

[BumRushDaShow]

27. Me too Cha!

He tweeted this a week ago (and his dad has been out there stumping hard for him and had some fighting words for folks telling them "Well guess what? We got another one coming" ) -

Link to tweet

TEXT
Andy Beshear
✔
@AndyBeshearKY

We had a great time yesterday on the #TeamKentucky Bus Tour! Glad to be joined by my dad, @Steve__Beshear! I'll be a governor who gives Western Kentucky - and every part of our state - a seat at the table. And I'll never leave our Kentucky families behind.
Embedded video
337
10:56 AM - Nov 4, 2019

And here is what he tweeted a couple hours ago -

Link to tweet

TEXT
Andy Beshear
✔
@AndyBeshearKY

It's official - thank you Kentucky. @GovMattBevin and his team have already begun a smooth transition. It's time to get to work!
7,891
2:36 PM - Nov 14, 2019

[sakabatou]

5. Huzzuh!

[Marthe48]

7. Sounds so begrudging

The voice of the people say "HEALTH CARE and JOBS so we can afford it!"

If we could, if we would, change from fossil fuels to renewables, there would be a new generation of employment, with cleaner jobs.

[rocktivity]

9. What a relief -- I thought we were going to get a replay of what happened to Al Franken

rocktivity

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. I presume he never tried to describe the "irregularities" he claimed he know of

Bevin tweeted Wednesday: "For those interested in the integrity of the election process in Kentucky and in America (which should be ALL of us), this looks like an event worth attending ... I will plan to be in attendance at 2:00 pm today in Frankfort as my schedule allows..."

At the press conference, Calihan and Kris Stuebs — a Bevin supporter who has been appointed by the governor to three different commissions — both made claims of voter fraud and vote "hacking," but they did not appear to provide any solid evidence of such.

They played a video for reporters of Jacob Burd, a Louisville resident who goes to school in Florida, who said that someone forged his signature at his precinct and fraudulently voted in his place. His mother filed a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General.

However, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Clerk told The Courier Journal there was a simpler explanation, as two different people named Jacob Burd are registered to vote at the same polling location in different precincts. The other Burd mistakenly voted in the wrong precinct, and the clerk's office has provided the attorney general's office with this information.

https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/13/bevin-promotes-citizens-for-election-who-cite-voting-irregularities/4179104002/

(most of the rest of that article is other Republicans dropping heavy hints he should have stopped fucking around)

And I'm sure Bevin never even considered apologising for spreading baseless rumors and taking up state government time and money in a pointless recanvass.

[JudyM]

16. He blathered on vaguely about tally irregularies, making it seem like something was amiss but that

he was going to heroically do what was best for Kentucky by stepping away.

[cstanleytech]

12. Allow me to translate: My parties members are panicking that my challenge might expose certain

other irregularities in the voting that might end up with some of them going to prison and or out of office.

[JudyM]

17. Could be! We need hawklike vigilance going forward, everywhere.

[calimary]

31. THIS. Nailed it, JudyM.

As Mad-Eye Moody used to say to Harry Potter, “CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!”

[bucolic_frolic]

13. Nice he got over his ego tantrums

making yourself more important than the state constitution and the voters is a fail

[C Moon]

15. I think they also did that to get the win out of the media when it was peaking.

[Submariner]

14. The Never-Bevins persevered

Thanks Ohio.

[onetexan]

18. even his own kind didn't like him and didn't vote to keep him in office another term.

His own party didn't like him. The Teacher Union didn't like him. Beshear benefited from their assistance by uniting with the teachers. Together they took him down with their joint campaigning and delivered the votes. Good riddance Bevins.

[rpannier]

40. He lost a few republikkan counties in the north-eastern area

Campbell and Kenton Counties come to mind
Bevin also lost a few counties that voted for il douche, but almost always vote Democratic in every other race (Elliott County is an example)

Very few were going to go out on a limb for him

[Bayard]

20. Dang!

He won't have the state plane to jaunt around on anymore.

A big win for KY!

[Lulu KC]

22. Moral of the story: Every vote counts GOTV!

[Cha]

24. This is Wonderful jaw-dropping News!!

Thank you!

[IronLionZion]

25. Na na na na, hey hey hey, good bye!

[Hoyt]

28. Excellent. Maybe that'll reduce some of the "trump won't leave office if he loses" junk. GOTV.

[get the red out]

29. I was so happy when I saw that!

His whole attitude was to see what he could do to screw over the people of Kentucky on a daily basis. It's been 4 years of Hell.

[lordsummerisle]

30. k&r n/t

[Fritz Walter]

33. First, congrats again to Governor-elect Beshear!!

Well done, sir! And I know the challenges ahead may be daunting, but the Commonwealth has spoken. Make it so!

Regarding the loser:
Schadenfreude ist die schönste Freude!
Translation: Schadenfreude is the most beautiful/sublime joy!
Perhaps Cantaloupe Caligula will find a nice cabinet-level position for Bevin. On the other hand, he wasted no time distancing himself from Bevin when the election results first came in.
Oh well. I hear Amazon is hiring delivery drivers. If he could pass their screening for reliability, trustworthiness,...

Meanwhile...

[dustyscamp]

35. This is good news, but the Republican presence is still very strong in this state

[SunSeeker]

36. K & R

[yellowcanine]

37. Good but kind of a wiener way to do it. What does he know now he did not know 10 days ago?

He could have conceded and still asked for the recanvas. Concessions are not the deciding factor. Instead he chose to be a dick, probably because he is one.

[SKKY]

38. Bye Felicia!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

39. So he took care of those irregularities.

A good laxative will do that.

[VarryOn]

41. Guv, when you lose by over 5,100 votes...

There's no debate-- YOU LOST!!!

[riversedge]

42. Past time!

[Karma13612]

46. This is such good news!