Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) dismissed incumbent Republican Gov. Matt Bevin’s apparent loss in Kentucky as an individual loss and not an indication of a larger shift in Kentucky politics.
Paul said Bevin’s apparent loss to Democrat Andy Beshear was “mostly particularly about one race.”
“And I think the teachers were very unhappy. He tried to fix the pension but got cross waves with the teachers. And I think the teachers’ anger came out,” Paul said, adding that he thought Bevin was “trying to do the right thing” on teacher’s pensions.
He also touted Kentucky Republicans’ wins in five of the other six state-wide races.
“We did lose the Governor’s race, we were disappointed in it. But the interesting thing is, is we beat a lot of other candidates that no one expected us to. So actually, in many ways, there was sort of a red wave in Kentucky,” Paul said. {mosads}
President Trump similarly brushed off Bevin’s loss last week, noting the five other GOP wins.
GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel also dismissed the gubernatorial loss, and said Trump helped lift the ticket to give Republicans their other wins in the election.