Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, is projected to win reelection to a second term in office Tuesday, defeating Republican challenger Daniel Cameron, the state’s attorney general, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.
Beshear, 45, led the Trump-backed Cameron, 37, for most the campaign, but late polling showed the candidates in a dead heat.
Beshear is broadly popular with voters, with a 60% approval rating, despite governing as a Democrat in a socially conservative state where voters overwhelmingly backed former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.
KY voters have historically preferred a Democrat as governor, so much so that no Republican has ever won two terms and only a couple even made it across the finish line. I think the prevailing wisdom is a naive notion of balance of power, but most voters don’t seem to realize the state legislature can override executive veto with a simple majority.