His Democratic challenger, Attorney General Andy Beshear, is the son of former governor Steve Beshear. He focused his campaign entirely on Bevin, attacking him on education and health care, naming a little-known assistant principal as his running mate -- in an obvious bow to angry public school teachers -- and distancing himself from all of the candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
One top Democratic adviser told the Louisville Courier that there was an informal ban on mentioning Trump in the Beshear campaign. Beshear's name was well known because of his father's eight-year administration (2007-2015).
The final Republican campaign rally in Lexington was a desperate effort to save Bevin by bringing in Trump and trying to turn the election into a referendum on impeachment. This connection was magnified by Trump's warning at the rally, "If you lose, they will say Trump suffered the greatest defeat in the history of the world," while pointing to the assembled news media. He continued, telling the crowd, "You can't let that happen to me," in words that were frequently cited in media accounts after Bevin's defeat.
Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale made a blustering attempt to correct Trump's words and downplay the implications of the defeat. "The Democrats nominated a moderate, whose dad was a moderate, who didn't talk about impeachment or Trump, and who acts like a Republican," he said. "Talk about Kentucky when an actual Democrat runs."
There is an element of truth in this statement. Beshear ran a right-wing campaign, avoiding any discussion of the vicious attacks by the Trump administration on immigrants, or Trump's systematic promotion of racist and fascist elements. He avoided national politics entirely, counting on popular hatred of Bevin and his ultra-right record.
As for a referendum on impeachment, there is no evidence that the issue played any role in the elections in any state, either to help Trump or his Democratic opponents.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
