Democrats have taken full control of the legislature in Virginia for the first time in more than two decades [...] in elections that will be seen as a blow to the president.
The Guardian
It better be seen by Republicans as a blow to the GOP.
Democrats won both the state house and state senate, with suburban voters turning out in big numbers to back Democratic candidates, continuing a trend of flipping districts that were once GOP-friendly.
Meanwhile in McConnell's state:
To cap off one of the wildest finishes to a gubernatorial election in Kentucky history, Democratic candidate Andy Beshear declared victory to supporters Tuesday night, moments after Republican incumbent Matt Bevin told supporters that he will not concede the race.
USA Today
Of course not.
"This is a close, close race," said Bevin, who trailed Beshear by 5,189 votes with 100% of precincts reporting across the state. "We are not conceding this race by any stretch."
Later that night, Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes told CNN her office had called the race for Beshear, as they do not believe the difference in the vote can be made up by Bevin.
As if matters couldn't get more complicated, Republican Senate President Robert Stivers then told reporters that a joint session of the Kentucky General Assembly may eventually decide the winner, citing a provision in the state constitution that hasn't been used in 120 years.
Whatever happened to the GOP cry: Let the people decide!
Bevin said he "wanted the process to be followed" under law before he made a concession, referring to unspecified "irregularities" that were "corroborated."
That were made up. The secretary of state is a Republican FFS.
The first step in that process under Kentucky law, when it comes to election results that are contested, should be as familiar to Bevin as anyone else in the state, as he won a razor-thin victory in the Republican gubernatorial primary of 2015 by margin of just 83 votes over now Rep. James Comer.
How utterly hypocritical! He took office in an 83-vote margin, and he's not willing to concede in a 5,000+ one? He should be kicked out on his ass.
The first step under Kentucky law is a recanvass of the vote, which is a review of the vote totals by each county clerk — counting absentee votes and checking printouts to make sure the numbers they transmitted to the State Board of Elections were correct.
[...]
Comer requested a recanvass of the vote totals in that 2015 race, but the results were unchanged. He declined to request the next possible step in the process under Kentucky law — a formal recount that includes a physical examination of the ballots.
One can certainly understand a request for recanvass over 83 votes. Let's hope the people remember the difference between a Democrat and a Repubilcan if Bevin demands a recount.
If petitioned, the judge would take possession of the paper ballots and voting machines and conduct their own recount. After doing so, the judge would make the final decision on who won the race, but that would be subject to appeal to the Kentucky Court of Appeals or the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Joshua Douglas, a professor in the University of Kentucky Law School, told The Courier Journal that while Bevin would not be charged for the costs of a recanvass should he want one, he would have to pay for a recount.
[...]
Last but not least, there is Section 90 of the state constitution, which addresses a "contest of election for Governor or Lieutenant Governor."
Section 90 states: "Contested elections for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be determined by both Houses of the General Assembly, according to such regulations as may be established by law."
[...]
“If the House and Senate were just to proceed on vague allegations without proof, that raises serious questions about disenfranchisement of the voters who voted for Attorney General Beshear,” Marcosson said. “It’s an extraordinary proposition to suggest that the General Assembly would take vague allegations of unspecified irregularities and call into question a gubernatorial election.”
Have you met the Republicans? They can't even read handwriting on the wall.
This contest really was a blow to Trump. He had just given one of his insane rallies in Kentucky the night before.
At the rally, Trump told the crowd: “If you lose, it sends a really bad message … you can’t let that happen to me.”
Guardian
And, yes, it IS all about him.
In a late-night tweet after results came in, Trump appeared to concede the Republican may have lost: “@MattBevin picked up at least 15 points in last days, but perhaps not enough (Fake News will blame Trump!).”
[...]
Trump won Kentucky with more than 60% of the vote in 2016 and remains popular in the state, Bevin – who polls as one of America’s most unpopular governors – could not ride that popularity to victory.
Beshear, the state’s attorney general and the son of Kentucky’s last Democratic governor, made public education the cornerstone of his campaign, choosing a public high school assistant principal as his running mate and accusing Bevin of bullying schoolteachers who protested against proposed pension reforms.
Bevin, who accused protesting teachers of acting “thuggish” and said school closures as a result of their actions would lead to children suffering sexual abuse and ingesting poison, said he did not regret his words.
You CAN go too far, apparently, even for Republican voters.
Some caveats: Bevin was among the most unpopular governors in the country, and other Republican leaders in the state outperformed him on Tuesday.
Vox
UPDATE:
UPDATE:
UPDATE 11/14:
