Kentucky governor Matt Bevin had very low approval ratings over issues such as Medicare expansion, pensions, and education.

[1][2][3] When teachers walked out to protest education funding, Bevin blamed them for child molestation and called them "selfish thugs".

[5] In Louisiana, Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards was popular in the deep red state, as he had worked across the aisle with a number of issues such as abortion.

However, a formidable campaign by Democrat Jim Hood made the race closer than initially expected.

Hood made bringing Medicaid expansion to Mississippi the central issue of his campaign, which resonated with voters in the state as many people wanted improvements to health care.

Matt Bevin Republican Andy Beshear Democratic The Democratic nominee, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, defeated Republican incumbent Matt Bevin by a margin of just over 5,000 votes, or 0.37%, making this the closest gubernatorial election in Kentucky since 1899 by votes, and the closest ever by percentage.

[14] Bevin conceded on November 14,[15] after a recanvass took place that day[16][15][17] that did not materially change the vote count.

The result was a major swing from 2016, when Donald Trump won the state by 30 points and Republicans gained a supermajority in both chambers of the Kentucky General Assembly.

[25] Hood flipped the counties of Chickasaw, Lafayette, Madison, Panola, and Warren, which had all voted for Republican Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election.