Its out of the ordinary only in that Trump broke the Democratic base there (Eastern Kentucky coal country) and parts of rural Western Kentucky. We forget that Andy Beshear was already elected statewide. He won the AG election in 2015 and his Dad won the 2011 gubernatorial election. Kentucky has a history with Democrats but Trump's appeal in rural America had a huge impact on rural communities that voted for Democrats (ex. eastern Kentucky, western NC, West Virginia, etc..). Beshear managed to regain some of those votes which when combined with the suburban and urban turnout numbers, put him over the top. Mississippi saw something similar. Jim Hood did what he needed among rural voters (although he really underperformed in North Mississippi which was one of the last ancestral Democratic areas of the state) but he simply didn't have the urban/suburban turnout or the African American turnout needed to actually win. But to say that Democrats can't win in Kentucky isn't really a fair statement. They've had recent success. With that said, the big accomplishment was winning back parts of Eastern Kentucky. That should give Democrats some hope that rural Democratic constituencies may not be lost forever (even if they'll never produce the types of numbers they did even 10 years ago). That's of note as my state also has rural Democrats (many of whom voted for Obama twice) that voted for Trump and everyone shares the fear that they will be lost forever.
I appreciate your post and insight. I was not aware of all of the specifics. I have family there that are very Trump supportive and have been anti-Dem forever. I knew someone else who did business there and was involved with politics long ago. But outside of the dirty tactics from Mitch McConnel, I never got much information. Thanks for the post and information. I will cede to your grasp on the situation in KY more than my previous generalization.
I should add one thing. I dont think I emphasized how bad Trump was for rural Democrats. Democrats had a 100+ year hold on the state house in Kentucky that Trump completely destroyed and I'm not sure Dems will ever get that back. It is likely that Dems will always struggle in Kentucky but they are relevant there in the same way that Dems are still relevant in West Virginia. But like Kentucky, Trump shattered the WV Dems but voters there still have a history with the Democratic Party. Unlike the Deep South which more or less quit electing Democrats statewide in the 90s, the coal states have been electing them until very recently.
Another warning sign for Dems... https://www.politico.com/states/new...all-places-bucks-the-democratic-trend-1226411 TRENTON — Democrats won an upset gubernatorial victory in Kentucky on Tuesday, took full control of the Virginia Statehouse for the first time in more than 20 years and ran an unusually competitive race for governor in Mississippi. But an unlikely state — deep blue New Jersey — bucked those positive trends for the party. Under the leadership of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, an unabashed liberal who canvassed the state and appeared in $2 million worth of ads during the closing days of the campaign promoting his agenda, New Jersey Democrats lost at least three legislative seats despite massively outspending Republicans. For a party that has seen its numbers and influence in Trenton shrink in recent years, the gains were the first in a decade and the first time Republicans have picked up more than one seat in an Assembly election since they won a massive anti-tax landslide in 1991. It was also the first time they gained a seat in the state Senate since 2007.
It is also worth noting that the Republican who ran the gubernatorial race was running ads using impeachment as a reason to vote for the Republican. He still lost. Impeachment didn't scare away enough voters to help him win in KY.
