Liberals have declared the death of the Tea Party countless times—but apparently, no one told Republican Matt Bevin, who won the gubernatorial election in Kentucky last night with strong support from the Tea Party.
Bevin is a successful businessman who is pro-life and a veteran. News of his win is sending shockwaves through political media as the Democrat incumbent Conway was strongly favored to win, according to polls.
The election was highly contested, as Kevin Robillard of Politico reports:
Republican Bevin wins Kentucky governor’s raceGOP businessman Matt Bevin easily won Kentucky’s governorship on Tuesday night and will become just the second Republican to inhabit the governor’s mansion in Frankfort in more than four decades.The Associated Press called the contest with Bevin leading Conway, 52 percent to 44 percent, with 80 percent of precincts reporting. Polls prior to the vote showed a close race, with most surveys giving Conway, the state’s sitting attorney general, a slight advantage.Bevin, a multimillionaire investment manager who has spent $7 million trying to win elected office between this run and his failed 2014 Senate primary against now-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has completed a stunning political turnaround. In 2014, he lost the primary to McConnell by 25 percentage points, was mocked by fellow Republicans as an “East Coast Con Man” and a supporter of cockfighting. He entered the governor’s race just hours before the filing deadline and won a May primary against two more establishment-oriented Republicans by a mere 83 votes.The general election was ugly, with both candidates repeatedly impugning the other’s integrity and Conway repeatedly blitzing Bevin with negative ads branding the eventual victor as a hypocrite and a liar.
Bevin’s win also represents a threat to Obamacare, which was embraced by Conway.
Bruce Jepsen of Forbes:
Republican Victory In Kentucky Governor’s Race Is A Blow To ObamacareTea Party favorite Matt Bevin’s surprising win in tonight’s race for governor of Kentucky over Attorney General Jack Conway is a blow to the health policy initiatives of outgoing Democrat Steve Beshear, a staunch supporter of the Affordable Care Act.With nearly 90 percent of precincts reporting, Bevin, a wealthy Republican businessman, led by 8 percentage points over Conway, his Democratic opponent, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader’s tally. Conway had led in every statewide poll taken over the last five months, according to media reports in Kentucky.
Bevin wasn’t the only Republican to win in Kentucky, either. Ed Henry of FOX News tweeted this last night:
This snippet from the New York Times is rather telling:
In beating his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Jack Conway, Mr. Bevin surprised many in his own party, who believed that the climate in Kentucky was ripe for a Republican but feared that Mr. Bevin, a charismatic conservative with a go-it-alone style, was too far out of the mainstream and too inexperienced to win.
This official campaign ad from Bevin will tell you more about the man and his family. Matt and his wife have nine children, four of whom were adopted from Ethiopia.
Bevin’s running mate is also worthy of note. Jenean Hampton, who is also a Republican and veteran, will be the state’s first African American Lieutenant Governor.
It looks like news of the Tea Party’s death may have been premature.
Featured image via YouTube.
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