Election 2019: Red-state governor races put both parties on edge

Three nail-biting gubernatorial contests in deeply red states have both Democrats and Republicans on edge in the two weeks before Election Day, in races that will test President Trump’s ability to move votes a year before his reelection bid.

Two incumbents, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D), are on the ballot next month. In the third state, Mississippi, Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is facing off against Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood.

And in all three contests, polls show a tied race. The latest Mason-Dixon poll in Kentucky showed Bevin and his rival, Attorney General Andy Beshear (D), knotted at 46 percent apiece. A We Ask America survey in Louisiana found Edwards and businessman Eddie Rispone (R) locked at 47 percent each. An internal survey conducted for Hood’s campaign shows him leading Reeves 45 percent to 42 percent, well within the statistical margin of error. And a Mason-Dixon poll released Wednesday morning shows Reeves leading Hood by a similarly slim 46 percent to 43 percent margin, also within the margin of error.

On the face of it, the close races might reflect a strong political climate for Democrats in three deep-red states that President Trump easily carried in 2016. Democrats say they are confident that the closely fought contests bode well for them next year, even if they do not achieve a clean sweep.

“Under normal circumstances you’d expect that these states would all be Republican strongholds,” said Colm O’Comartun, a former head of the Democratic Governors Association. “In those three states, winning 1 out of 3 would be a good night for Democrats.”



https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/467020-red-state-governor-races-put-both-parties-on-edge