Andy Beshear
Gov. Matt Bevin
***UPDATE** FRANKFORT, Ky. (11/19/19) — As the 2019 election night drew to a close, the state of Kentucky was left without answers to several questions, the biggest being who would be governor in 2020. Democratic challenger Andy Beshear ended the night with just over 5,000 more votes than the incumbent Republican Matt Bevin. Even though Beshear claimed victory, Bevin made it plain, he wasn’t conceding and intimated there may have been instances of voter fraud and “voter irregularities.”
Last Thursday morning, the county election boards for every county in the state gathered at the county clerk’s office for a recanvass of the previous Tuesday’s votes. A recanvass of votes is not the same as a recount of votes. During a recanvass, the county election board will review absentee votes and the check the printout of vote totals from voting machines.
At the end of Thursday’s recanvass, Kentucky Secretary of State Allison Grimes said the total votes for for each governor’s candidate was unchanged. Grimes also pointed out Governor Bevin shared no concerns about voter fraud or voting irregularities with her office.
While some questioned whether Bevin would accept the results of the recanvass, he called a press conference Thursday afternoon to concede the election to Beshear.
“We’re going to have a change in the governorship based on the vote of the people. And what I want is to see the absolute best for Kentucky,” Bevin said. “I’m not going to contest these numbers that have come in. So to that end, I truly wish the attorney general well as the next governor of this state, I truly do. I love this state and I love this country.”
After Bevin’s concession speech, Beshear thanked the state and has already begun the transition into the Governor’s Office.
“It’s official! Thank you Kentucky,” Beshear tweeted. “Governor Matt Bevin and his team have already begun a smooth transition. It’s time to get to work!”
Beshear’s inauguration is set for Dec. 10, 2019.
OHIO COUNTY, Ky. — As Election Night 2019 drew to a close, the state was left without a winner in the governor’s race, while Republican candidates fared much better on the down-ticket races.
About two hours after the polls closed, NBC News declared former Kentucky Attorney General, and Democrat, Andy Beshear as the “apparent” winner of the governor’s race. A short time later the Associated Press also declared Beshear as the winner. Both declarations, however, have been put on hold as the Kentucky Governor’s race has become too close to call.
At this time, unofficially, after all polls have reported, the Kentucky Secretary of State’s website has Beshear ahead of Bevin by 5,189 votes. Other outlets have the margin around 4,700. Statewide, Beshear and his Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman received 709,577 and Bevin and his Lt. Governor Ralph Alvarado received 704,388. Libertarian John Hicks and his Lt. Governor Ann Cormican received 28,425 votes.
At his campaign event following the election, Bevin said he would not concede the race and would let the process play out until a winner is decided. The result of the governor’s race could take days, weeks or possibly months.
In Ohio County, voters were with Bevin/Alvarado all the way as he received almost 57 percent of the vote, while Beshear/Coleman got 40 percent of the county’s vote and Hicks/Cormican got just over 3 percent of the vote.
In other races on the ballot, the Republicans had easy nights as many won their races by around 20 percent of the vote.
Republican Daniel Cameron becomes the first African-American to be elected Kentucky Attorney General. Cameron secured 58 percent of the vote to his Democratic opponent Greg Stumbo’s 42 percent of the vote.
In Ohio County, Cameron captured 69 percent of the vote to Stumbo’s 31 percent of the vote.
Republican Michael D. Adams defeated Democrat Heather French Henry in a tight race for Kentucky Secretary of State. Adams secured around 52 percent of the vote to Henry’s 48 percent of the vote.
In Ohio County, Adams received 64 percent of the vote, while Henry got 36 percent.
Incumbent Republican Mike Harmon won another term as Kentucky’s Auditor of Public Accounts. Harmon received 56 percent of the vote to Democratic challenger Sheri Donahue’s 41 percent and Libertarian Kyle Hugenberg’s 3 percent of the total vote.
In Ohio County, Harmon got 67 percent of the vote, Donahue got 30 percent and Hugenberg received 3 percent of the total vote.
In the State Treasurer’s race, Republican incumbent Allison Ball secures another term as she defeated her Democratic opponent Michael Bowman. Ball received 61 percent of the vote, while Bowman got 39 percent of the vote.
In Ohio County, Ball received 70 percent of the votes to Bowman’s 30 percent.
Another Republican incumbent, Ryan Quarles, will continue to be Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner. Quarles defeated two challengers, as he received 58 percent of the vote and Democrat Robert Conway got 39 percent of the vote and Libertarian Doug Gilpin received 3 percent of the total vote.
In Ohio County, Quarles secured 66 percent of the vote, while Conway got 30 percent of the vote and Gilpin received 3 percent of the vote.
Ohio County results and total state results – winners in bold, (*) denotes the incumbent candidate. Voter turnout for Ohio County was 39.89 percent (7,208 votes cast), state-wide was 42.16 percent. **Results are unofficial until certified by the Secretary of State.**
GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR (Vote for 1)
(R) *Matthew G. BEVIN / Ralph A. ALVARADO — 4,040 – 56.570% — TOTAL — 704,388 – 48.83%
(D) Andy BESHEAR / Jacqueline COLEMAN — 2,877 – 40.29% — TOTAL — 709,577 – 49.19%
(L) John HICKS / Ann CORMICAN — 224 – 3.14% — TOTAL — 28,425 – 1.97%
SECRETARY OF STATE (Vote for 1)
(R)Michael G. ADAMS — 4,521 – 63.88% — TOTAL — 746,275 – 52.26%
(D) Heather French HENRY — 2,556 – 36.12% — TOTAL — 681,763 – 47.74%
ATTORNEY GENERAL (Vote for 1)
(R) Daniel CAMERON — 4,866 – 69.04% — TOTAL — 822,932 – 57.75%
(D) Greg STUMBO — 2,182 – 30.96% — TOTAL — 602,004 – 42.25%
AUDITOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS (Vote for 1)
(R) *Mike HARMON — 4,613 – 66.69% — TOTAL — 779,327 – 55.65%
(D) Sheri DONAHUE — 2,078 – 30.04% — TOTAL — 574,561 – 41.03%
(L) Kyle HUGENBERG — 226 – 3.27% — TOTAL — 46,549 – 3.32%
STATE TREASURER (Vote for 1)
(R) *Allison BALL — 4,886 – 70.08% — TOTAL — 855,720 – 60.66%
(D) Michael BOWMAN — 2,086 – 29.92% — TOTAL — 555,013 – 39.34%
COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE (Vote for 1)
(R) *Ryan F. QUARLES — 4,714 – 67.57% — TOTAL — 820,971 – 58.21%
(D) Robert Haley CONWAY — 2,087 – 29.92% — TOTAL — 544,872 – 38.63%
(L) Josh GILPIN — 175 – 2.51% — TOTAL — 44,584 – 3.16%