The Kentucky governor's race remained too close to call late Tuesday, with Democratic challenger Andy Beshear threatening to oust Republican Gov. Matt Bevin a day after President Donald Trump went to the state to hold a rally for the embattled incumbent.
In Virginia, Democrats tapped into rising suburban support to flip control of the state Senate and state House, and gain control of state government in a presidential battleground state.
Democratic gains in Virginia occurred in suburbs that already had trended in the party's direction in recent years. In Kentucky, Beshear gained considerable ground on Bevin in suburban counties that had helped propel the Republican to office four years ago. Other statewide GOP candidates in Kentucky won by comfortable margins.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Beshear had a lead of over 5,000 votes out of more than 1.4 million counted, or a margin of 0.4 percentage point.
There is no mandatory recount law in Kentucky. Bevin may request that counties recanvass their results, which is not a recount, but rather a check of the vote count to ensure that the results were added correctly.
Bevin would need to seek and win a court's approval for a recount, the process for which would be dictated by a court.
Beshear declared victory Tuesday night, but Bevin had not conceded.
Some voters tied their decisions to the national atmosphere, particularly the president.
In Kentucky, 73-year-old Michael Jennings voted straight Democratic. A Vietnam veteran, retired state worker and former journalist, Jennings described the president as unfit for office and a threat to American democracy. "If Kentucky can send a small flare up that we're making the necessary turn, that's a hopeful sign that would have reverberations far beyond our state," he said.
However, Richard Simmons, 63, a butcher from Glen Allen, Va., was just as staunchly in the GOP camp, saying he voted for GayDonna Vandergriff in a state House race. Her Republican affiliation, he said, "means everything to me, especially now."
Simmons said he's a staunch Trump supporter and thinks the impeachment investigation is unfounded. "It's one diversion after another to keep Trump from doing anything," he said. "He's helped the economy, like, big-time. And I trust the guy."
Bevin's first term as Kentucky governor has been marked by pitched battles against state lawmakers -- including Republicans -- and teachers. Beshear, meanwhile, is well known as state attorney general and the son of Steve Beshear, who won two terms as governor from 2007-16 even as the state trended more solidly Republican in federal elections.
In Mississippi, Republicans are keeping their hold on the governorship, despite facing the best-funded Democrat to run for the position in more than a decade.
Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves defeated Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood and two candidates who ran low-budget campaigns. Reeves will succeed Gov. Phil Bryant, who is limited by state law to two terms.
Legislative seats were also on the ballot in New Jersey, a Democratic stronghold.
Elsewhere, voters in the West were deciding several ballot measures Tuesday, including one that would make Tucson, Ariz., a sanctuary city.
It would put new restrictions on when and where a person can be asked about his immigration status and require officers to first tell people that they have a right not to answer questions about whether they're in the country legally. Tucson's entire City Council, all Democrats, is opposed to the move, citing concerns about the potential for losing millions of dollars in state and federal funding.
Information for this article was contributed by Emily Wagster Pettus and staff members of The Associated Press.
A Section on 11/06/2019