More than a week after initial results showed him losing to Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear by more than 5,000 votes, Gov. Matt Bevin has conceded the election.
Bevin’s concession means that Beshear will become the 64th governor of Kentucky on Dec. 10th, Inauguration Day.
Bevin made the announcement during a press conference in the state Capitol in Frankfort while a recanvass of the election was being conducted across the state.
Initial returns from that recanvass showed little change from the unofficial results initially reported by the State Board of Elections.
Bevin had made unsubstantiated claims that there were “irregularities” in the election, but never provided any evidence to back them up.
On Wednesday he encouraged his supporters to attend a press conference in Frankfort held by a group that made erroneous claims of voter fraud in last week’s elections.
(This story first ran on Kentucky Public Radio.)
Ryland Barton is the Managing Editor for Collaboratives for Kentucky Public Radio, a group of public radio stations including WKMS, WFPL in Louisville, WEKU in Richmond and WKYU in Bowling Green. A native of Lexington, Ryland most recently served as the Capitol Reporter for Kentucky Public Radio. He has covered politics and state government for NPR member stations KWBU in Waco and KUT in Austin.
