On Nov. 4, Kentuckians will vote for their next governor. Attorney General Andy Beshear—who beat out state Rep. Rocky Adkins and former state auditor Adam Edelen in the May 21 Democratic primary—is challenging the Republican incumbent, Matt Bevin. Phenomenal efforts are underway by progressive groups statewide to ensure Beshear wins, and in a red state such as Kentucky, that requires activating as many Little Blue Pockets as possible.
Despite Mitch McConnell’s success and Kentucky’s recent presidential election track record, this red state has not always been a sure thing for the GOP when it comes to downticket elections. Kentucky and the Democratic Party have a long history together. For 95 years, Democrats controlled the state House, and usually the governorship. Republicans officially took control of the state legislature in 2017, electing a GOP speaker of the House. This turnover in Kentucky cemented Republican control over every state legislature in the South. A bipartisan tug of war continues within the state, however—and Democrats just reclaimed a state House seat in 2018 in a district Trump won by 72%!
But why stop there?
These days, Kentucky’s two largest cities, Louisville and Lexington, are progressive strongholds. The rest of the state remains either pretty red or deeply red, as evidenced by 2018 Democratic pickups of seats in the larger cities coming alongside losses in the rural areas.
Progressive groups are working hard to reinstall Democrats at the helm, even in those red areas—and they’re ready to elect a Democratic governor. The Republican, Matt Bevin, is seeking re-election in a state where, interestingly enough, ever since the state’s prohibition of consecutive gubernatorial terms was repealed in 1992, no Republican incumbent governor has ever actually been re-elected. So it would seem that the odds are ever in our favor.
But let’s take a brief moment to look at the Bluegrass State’s incumbent governor. What can be said about Matt Bevin, a guy whose policies boldly discriminate against women, people of color, and the working class? He’s a man who oversaw the enactment of FOUR shameful abortion restrictions. He’s a man whose repeated attacks on Medicaid have twice been struck down by federal courts.
When Kentucky teachers, who do not have the right to strike under state law, staged a sick-out to protest restructuring of the state's teacher pension system in 2018, Bevin blamed them for the sexual abuse of children, drug abuse by children, and even the shooting of a child.
Bevin also supports a project with ties to Russia. Kentucky, under Bevin’s leadership, is receiving a $200 million Russian investment in a $1.7 billion aluminum plant. This entire transaction was made possible by the Senate majority leader from Kentucky, Moscow Mitch himself, who facilitated the lifting of sanctions on Russia’s largest aluminum producer back in January. The sanctions had been imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department, even while the company’s owner, Oleg Deripaska, was being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for his potential involvement in Russian efforts to swing the 2016 presidential election. Deripaska also happens to be a known ally of Vladimir Putin, by the way.
With all of that in mind, one might ask, how will Kentucky voters get this monster out of there? The answer can be found in the work of those determined to grow the state’s Little Blue Pockets.
Forward Kentucky is a one-stop information hub for all things elections in the Bluegrass State. It provides candidate scorecards, various fundraisers and actions, candidate calendars, and up-to-date news covering progressive efforts in Kentucky. Providing Kentuckians access to news and information is essential to voting processes—after all, knowledge is power, especially at the polls!
Next, Working America is covering the state with trained canvassers seeking face-to-face conversations with over 30,000 Kentucky working-class voters. Working America has amassed 114,000 members across the state, and will connect with these members this election through digital communication, with a mission seeking “to mobilize them to fight for good jobs and a fair economy.”
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, a 38-year-old organization with deep roots in Appalachia, has set its sights on grassroots efforts to build a genuine participatory democracy across the state. Ahead of the 2019 election, KFTC is registering hundreds of voters and identifying thousands of supporters. It is also working vigorously to guarantee voting rights for ALL Kentuckians, including the 312,000 Kentuckians with felony convictions—that’s one in 11 people of voting age.
KFTC is also encouraging those disenfranchised people with felony convictions to help phone bank and campaign. Previously, it has brought together as many as 30 people at a time—all with felonies in their past—to make voter mobilization calls, most recently for this year’s May primary. The callers are sure to make one key point: I am not able to vote on Tuesday, but you can. Clear, poignant, strong, and effective.
We’ll keep an eye on and continue to support progressive efforts ahead of another key race in 2020, in which five democratic candidates, Jimmy Ausbrooks, Mike Broihier, Steven Cox, Amy McGrath, and Bennie Smith, will vie to bring down the man who is at the center of destroying the integrity of the Senate, #MoscowMitch.
With these little pockets of blue pushing for progressive electeds, it’s impossible not to see a bright future for Kentucky. These groups are keeping citizens informed, prepared, and active, while centering their needs in their work. This is truly progress in motion, moving at a rocket-speed toward November.
Ready to support the progressive fight in Kentucky? Click here!
[Nothing in this article denotes endorsement of any individual candidate.]
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Little Blue Pockets is a new series highlighting local progressive efforts to transform historically red areas, leading up to 2020—and beyond. Find out more here and find our newest content here.