Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear won a second term on Tuesday night, defeating Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron in the state governor race.
Throughout the campaign, Beshear touted his record on his work during the COVID-19 pandemic and devastating flooding and tornadoes that ripped through the state in recent years.
“Tonight, Kentucky made a choice, a choice not to move to the right or to the left but to move forward for every single family. A choice to reject ‘team R’ or ‘team D’ and to state clearly that we are one team Kentucky,” he said at his victory celebration.
“It was a victory that sent a loud clear message. A message that candidates should run for something and not against someone, that a candidate should show vision and not sow division, and a clear statement that anger politics should end right here and right now,” Beshear added.
The victory came as a major upset as Kentucky is mainly deep red. In 2020, former President Donald Trump won there by a 26% margin over now-President Joe Biden.
Beshear’s win comes after he defeated then-incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin by 5,000 votes, with Beshear earning 49% of the votes and Bevin earning 48.8%.