Joseph Ax -
Voters in Kentucky and Mississippi headed to polls on Tuesday to choose their next governors in two close races, while Democrats in Virginia look to flip the handful of legislative seats they need to take full control of that state’s government.
The election results will be closely scrutinised for clues to how next year’s presidential contest will unfold. While none of the four states voting on Tuesday — New Jersey also has legislative elections — is likely to be up for grabs in November 2020, the outcomes could offer an early measuring stick for the Democratic candidates eager to deny Republican President Donald Trump a second four-year term.
In Kentucky and Mississippi, where Trump won easily in 2016 and remains relatively popular, the Republican candidates have nationalised the races as much as possible by tying themselves to the president.
The same is true in Republican-leaning Louisiana, where early voting has started ahead of the November 16 gubernatorial election pitting incumbent Democrat John Bel Edwards against Republican challenger Eddie Rispone, a staunch Trump backer.
Trump held a rally in Lexington, Kentucky, on Monday evening to support Republican Governor Matt Bevin, who is trying to overcome anemic approval ratings to defeat Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear.
Trump’s speech to thousands of supporters was an explicit attempt to make the Kentucky governor’s election a referendum on his presidency as he tries to survive an impeachment probe in the Democratic-led US House of Representatives.
Kentuckians need to re-elect Bevin, said Trump, or else pundits will say: “Trump suffered the greatest defeat in the history of the world.... You can’t let that happen to me.” The visit followed a speech Trump delivered in Mississippi last Friday, where the Republican lieutenant governor, Tate Reeves, is running against Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood.
Polls show both Beshear and Hood have a chance to score an upset despite their states’ Republican leanings.
Bevin is perhaps the country’s least popular governor, according to opinion polls, after damaging battles with labour unions and teachers. But he has taken a narrow lead over Beshear in
recent weeks after staunchly defending Trump against the impeachment inquiry.
In Mississippi, where Governor Phil Bryant, a Republican, is barred by term limits from running again, Reeves holds a small edge in polls over Hood, a moderate Democrat who opposes abortion and favours gun rights. — Reuters
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