Donald Trump says he stopped Kentucky vote being a landslide win for Democrats
Democrats have taken full control of Virginia and are in front in deeply Republican Kentucky as state election results signal concerns for Donald Trump’s re-election.
Democrats took full control of the Virginia legislature for the first time in more than two decades while the race for governor in deeply Republican Kentucky was too close to call despite a last-minute boost from President Donald Trump.
In Kentucky, Democratic challenger Andy Beshear held a narrow lead and declared victory in the governor’s race over Republican incumbent Matt Bevin, though Gov. Bevin had not conceded.
It came as Democrat Adam Schiff revealed that public impeachment hearings would begin on Wednesday next week.
“Those open hearings will be an opportunity for the American people to evaluate the witnesses for themselves and make their own determinations about the credibility,” Mr Schiff said.
Mr Trump took to Twitter to state that the result against Gov. Bevin would have been much worse had it not been for his involvement campaigning for him.
#ElectionNight Won 5 out of 6 elections in Kentucky, including 5 great candidates that I spoke for and introduced last night. @MattBevin picked up at least 15 points in last days, but perhaps not enough (Fake News will blame Trump!). Winning in Mississippi Governor race!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2019
Our big Kentucky Rally on Monday night had a massive impact on all of the races. The increase in Governors race was at least 15 points, and maybe 20! Will be in Louisiana for @EddieRispone on Wednesday night. Big Rally!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2019
A lot of winning in Kentucky. Check out the numbers. https://t.co/xcXIzIwylg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2019
In Virginia, Democrats flipped control of the state Senate and House, gaining outright control of a government in a state that is often a battleground for the White House.
“I’m here to officially declare today, November 5, 2019, that Virginia is officially blue,” Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam told a crowd of supporters in Richmond.
A year before the presidential election, the results offered warning signs for both parties. Voters in suburban swathes of Kentucky and Virginia sided with Democrats, a trend that would complicate Mr Trump’s path to re-election if it holds.
The Democrats who made gains did so by largely avoiding positions such as “Medicare for All” that have animated the party’s left flank in the Democratic presidential primary.
Democratic pick-ups in Virginia occurred in Washington, DC, and Richmond suburbs that already had trended in the party’s direction in recent years.
In Kentucky, Mr Beshear gained considerable ground on Gov. Bevin in Kentucky’s suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, counties that had helped propel the Republican to office four years ago. Other statewide Republican candidates in Kentucky won by comfortable margins. But the dip at the top of the ticket still offered another example in the Trump era of suburban voters’ willingness to abandon established Republican loyalties - even with the president making a personal appeal on behalf of a Republican standard-bearer.
Mr Trump’s 2020 campaign manager tried to find a positive frame for the results in a state Mr Trump won by 30 percentage points in 2016.
“The president just about dragged Gov. Matt Bevin across the finish line, helping him run stronger than expected in what turned into a very close race at the end,” Brad Parscale said. Mr Trump may depend on Mississippi, where he also campaigned in the final stretch before election day, for something to crow about.
With Republican Gov. Phil Bryant term-limited, Republican nominee Tate Reeves defeated Democrat Jim Hood to extend the Republican Party’s 20-year hold on the state’s top office. But even that contest could finish with a single-digit margin in a state Mr Trump won by 28 percentage points three years ago.
The tighter result for Mr Reeves reflected the same suburban trends seen in other states. Heavily Republican counties outside Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee, still tilted to the Republican nominee but by noticeably narrower margins than what Gov. Bryant had four years ago to win a second term.
Legislative seats also were on the ballot in New Jersey, with Democrats positioned to maintain their overwhelming majorities and quell any opportunity for Mr Trump to suggest that the Republicans were encroaching on Democratic territory ahead of 2020.
While the results aren’t necessarily predictive of what will happen next November, voters in multiple states tied their decisions to the national atmosphere, particularly the president.
In Kentucky, 73-year-old Michael Jennings voted straight Democratic.
A Vietnam veteran, retired state worker and former journalist, Mr Jennings described the president as unfit for office and a threat to American democracy.
“If Kentucky can send a small flare up that we’re making the necessary turn, that’s a hopeful sign that would have reverberations far beyond our state,” he said.
Yet Richard Simmons, 63, a butcher from Glen Allen, Virginia, was just as staunchly in the Republican camp, saying he voted for GayDonna Vandergriff in a state House race.
Her Republican affiliation, Mr Simmons said, “means everything to me, especially now.”
A staunch Trump support, Mr Simmons called the impeachment investigation unfounded.
“It’s one diversion after another to keep Trump from doing anything,” he said. “He’s helped the economy, like, big-time. And I trust the guy.”
To explain Kentucky, Republicans undoubtedly will echo the Trump campaign and focus on Gov. Bevin’s weaknesses.
He spent his term battling with state politicians - including Republicans - and teachers. Mr Beshear, meanwhile, is well known as state Attorney-General and the son of Steve Beshear, who won two terms as governor from 2007 to 2016 even as the state trended more solidly Republican in federal elections.
Still, a Bevin upset would leave Mr Trump explaining why his signature tactic of late campaign rallies wasn’t enough in a state he won easily in 2016.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who easily defeated Gov. Bevin in a 2014 Senate primary, also has a vested interest in the outcome.
Senator McConnell is favoured to win re-election next year in Kentucky, even as national Democrats harbour hopes of defeating him.
The powerful senator likely will see a fundraising bonanza for a potential challenger if Mr Beshear prevails.
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