Matt Bevin claims "significant irregularities" as grounds for recanvass request
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin — the governor with the lowest approval ratings in the country — isn't giving up. After refusing to concede to his Democratic opponent, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, Bevin's campaign requested a formal recanvass, with Bevin claiming there were a number of "significant irregularities" in the vote count process.
In what his campaign had billed as a press conference, Bevin declined to take any questions from the press, insisting everything he had to say is everything he knows. Bevin said he expects the recanvass -- which is not the same as a recount -- to take place Nov. 14.
"What we know is that there really are a number of significant irregularities, the specifics of which we're in the process of getting affidavits, and other information that will help us to get a better understanding of what did or did not happen," Bevin said in his statement late Wednesday afternoon. "Those will be forthcoming in the days ahead."
With 100% of precincts reporting, Beshear had a lead of 5,333 votes out of more than 1.4 million counted Tuesday night, or a margin of nearly 0.4 percentage points, according to The Associated Press. Bevin's claim of voting irregularities is seemingly undercut, however, by the fact that every other statewide Republican running in Kentucky won Tuesday. Bevin has struggled with low approval ratings in the deep-red state.
"We know there have been thousands of absentee ballots that were illegally counted, that is known," Bevin told reporters Wednesday. "And this again is something that's being looked into. We know that there are reports of people having been turned away, incorrectly turned away from various voting booths around the state. Again, things that need to be corroborated and looked into. These are some of the things that we're in the process of determining. We know that in Jefferson County, there were a number of machines that did not work properly. So ballots were taken and just put in open boxes and people were told they'd be scanned in later. They may have been. They may not have been. We truly don't know."
As of Wednesday morning, Beshear said he still hadn't spoken with Bevin.
President Trump attached his name to the race, traveling to Kentucky on Monday to campaign for Bevin. Bevin, a former businessman, tried to model his style of campaigning off Mr. Trump's style. At his rally in the state on Monday, Mr. Trump said that if Bevin lost, "they're going to say, 'Trump suffered the greatest defeat in the history of the world.' ... You can't let that happen to me!"
Tuesday night was a setback for Republicans in Virginia, too, where Democrats flipped both state legislative chambers. Despite Bevin's loss, Kentucky voters still elected Republicans for attorney general and treasurer.
Mr. Trump's campaign echoed Bevin's sentiment: "A final outcome remains to be seen."