Bevin’s win as governor’s race leads historic GOP election gains
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015, 9 p.m. — Despite being hammered relentlessly for weeks by a heavy rotation of negative TV ads calling him a liar and tax cheat, Republican Matt Bevin handily defeated Democrat Jack Conway to be Kentucky’s next governor, leading historic gains for the Republican Party of Kentucky.
Matt Bevin is pictured during a campaign stop early this summer after winning the Republican primary for governor. Despite being hammered repeatedly by millions of dollars of negative ads, Bevin carried Nelson County and Kentucky.
With 118 of 120 counties reporting in Tuesday’s election, Bevin received 52.5 percent of the vote compared to Attorney General Jack Conway’s 43.84 percent.
In a race watched nationally, Bevin’s campaign worked hard to appeal to disenfranchised voters and conservative Christians. Richard Hardin, Bevin campaign’s county coordinator said last week Bevin’s campaign expected a groundswell of support from voters who agreed with Bevin’s views on religious freedom and conservative values.
Bevin narrowly carried Nelson County by 22 votes. Bevin and his running mate, Jenean Hampton, visited Nelson County several times during the campaign.
Bevin carried 13 of the county’s 24 precincts, with Conway’s support centered on precincts in the Bardstown, eastern and southern Nelson County.
In his acceptance speech, Bevin thanked his supporters, calling them the wind that propelled them to victory, and called his election “a fresh start” that Kentucky needs to move forward.
With tongue in cheek, he told his supporters that he had banished his “evil twin” from the state, meaning the portrayal of Bevin the negative attack ads. “You can now watch football, you can now watch Jeopardy, you can now watch whatever you want to watch and not have to put up with that guy,” he said.
NEXT UP. The election results will be the topic of Wednesday’s “Bradford & Brooks’ at 11 a.m. on WBRT 1320 AM, 97.1 FM and streaming live.
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