♪ ♪ >> Election?

2023 ends and Kentucky voters give Governor Andy Beshear 4 more years.

While the Democratic governor won the Republican swept everything else here from the down ballot winners.

My hope would be that that there's exposure to just the sheer impact from every life.

This is represented here in some way.

Plus, learn about the untold pioneers behind 10 talkies iconic sports.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions.

Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this Wednesday, November, the 8th, the day after election 2023 here in Kentucky.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for welcoming us into your homes tonight.

>> It's 4 more years for Governor Andy Beshear.

The governor won re-election yesterday.

Defeating Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron by about 5 percentage points.

Let's look at the numbers.

There are still some votes left to be counted.

The Associated Press says 98% of the votes have been counted.

Governor Beshear won with about FIFTY-TWO 0.5% of the vote to Cameron's 47.5%.

The margin of about 67,000 votes Beshear won in 2019 by about 5,000.

Over then Governor Republican Matt Bevin, Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman on the same ticket with Governor Beshear was also re-elected.

Andy Beshear is the 3rd Kentucky governor to win a second consecutive term in state history.

It's a feat only 2 other Democratic governors can climb his father, Steve Beshear and Paul Patton.

Our John Leffler has more on what the re-elected governor had to say last night as well as comments from his defeated challenger and from lawmakers in both parties.

>> Re-elected Governor Andy Beshear, thank Kentucky.

Ends of all parties for their vote.

>> I made a choice.

I Joyce not to move to the right or to the left but to move forward for every single family.

Of Jack Harlow over Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

>> One tenant, Governor Jacqueline Coleman spoke to fellow educators in the audience.

>> The state and national teachers.

Unions celebrated the >> I tried to tell him.

When you attack.

>> Teachers helped this year beat Matt Bevin in 2019 by just 5,000 votes.

But his fan base has grown.

He's currently 67,000 votes ahead of this year's Republican candidate Daniel Cameron.

To win the election this year crashed in areas he was sure to get and closed his margin of defeat and plenty of rural red counties.

The share 1, 6, more counties than he did in his first governor's race.

He flipped the Purple counties shown here.

He lost the yellow counties that he had won in 2019.

Kentucky Democrats echoed that Beshear has cross party and rural urban divides.

>> We're going to lift up all regions.

And I think people see that they realize it.

And I think they spoke tonight and he's real.

And I think people see that.

And I think this worked well for plenty of down ballot winds for Republicans.

The sheer will once again have to work with his opposing party.

Some who aren't optimistic.

He'll do >> He took credit for things that he actually checked out the on on his press conferences.

And so now you may want to work with those guys, but well, when it came election time, he wanted to be attached us that I will tell you that I've got the same cell phone number that I've had for the last 5 and look forward to utilizing perhaps more than he has in the past.

>> When Cameron gave his concession speech, he offered levity.

>> Well, that in turn out exactly how I wanted it to and a look to the future.

>> Again, this was about future generations.

And as I called the governor to congratulate him.

His perspective and from all of our perspectives.

But we all want the same thing for our future generations.

We want to better commonwealth.

One in which it can ultimately be a shining city on a hill.

A model, an example for the rest of the nation to follow.

And so as I did with Governor Beshear.

I want all of us to think about.

What these next few decades will look like.

>> For Kentucky Edition and >> thank you.

June Governor Beshear will be inaugurated in Frankfort on December.

12th.

That includes a full slate of activities, including the inaugural parade.

And you can see all of it right here on KET LIVE.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron emphasized the endorsement of former President Donald Trump during the candidacy.

Trump reacted to Cameron's defeat by posting this on social media.

Quote, Daniel Cameron lost because he couldn't alleviate the stench of Mitch McConnell.

I told him early that's a big burden to overcome McConnell and Romney are kryptonite for Republican candidates.

I moved him up.

25 points with the McConnell relationship was too much to bear and of quote.

Governor Beshear, talk to the media today in the state Capitol rotunda offering a few thoughts about his victory yesterday and answering some questions from reporters.

Beshear discussed working with legislators as well as his priorities for the next 4 years.

And Kentucky's highest political office.

He focused mainly on education and the economy.

>> My only goal is to get the right things done.

And this is their chance not to have to worry about it at the next election to come together to support education and the way that we all should.

And remember, for many of these legislators, the school system is the largest employer in the region.

And that means if we're not paying our educators enough, we're just impoverishing our own communities.

I mean, this is our chance to not only pay teachers closer to what they're worth, but to boost the economy and each and every one of these areas.

And in less than our our shortage, looks like it's going to be even worse.

And when you look at social workers, you look at corrections officers Djj officers, state troopers.

Every time we provided a race, more people have come into the profession.

So it's a simple as if you pay people closer to what they're worth.

You get a whole lot more good people willing to do the job.

>> Governor Beshear was the only Democrat to win statewide contests last night.

He talked about why he believes he was able to defeat Republican challenger Daniel Cameron.

>> I believe that we're going to have competitive elections all over Kentucky.

I think people are tired of the gross partisanship and this is going to be a time when everyone can talk about their ideas of how to move the state forward for everyone.

Not just this family or or that family.

I we saw one of the most partisan campaigns at the top of the ticket.

It was rejected people.

Kentucky wanted to governor.

That's going to serve everybody.

>> While Governor Beshear won, as we said, Republicans want all the down ballot races and comfortable fashion.

Let's start with Attorney General Russel Coleman, a former U.S. attorney and FBI agent defeated State Representative Pamela Stephenson.

58 to 42% during Coleman's victory speech last night in Louisville.

His emphasis, as you would expect, was on crime.

>> For the neighborhoods in West Louisville struggling to address violence from rural counties and small towns.

Careful that Washington's radical agenda is attacking our values and our way of life.

For the parents across Kentucky, lay awake even this evening, worrying about their kids that they may fall victim to the poise.

And they were saying.

Flow from over a porous southwest border.

And for the law enforcement leaders who risk their lives every day.

To be out there on dark country, roads and answering calls this evening when we're in our beds safe tonight.

I see you.

I hear you and now represent all of you.

>> Republican Michael Adams won a second term as secretary of state.

He defeated former state Representative Charles Buddy Wheatley with more than 60% of the vote.

Adams ended up being the top vote getter of anyone on the ballot yesterday.

Last night, Adams told the crowd his approach to being secretary of state could serve as a guy to other offices.

>> If we can only take Kentucky from the bottom to the top in election reform.

What can we do the same with education?

With public safety, with quality of life.

The social mobility.

The answer is we absolutely can.

>> Outgoing state Treasurer Allison Ball beat Kim reader, the Democrat to become the next state auditor ball.

One.

61 to 39%.

Republican Ball says her experience as treasurer will serve her well as state auditor.

>> I've had a few things that I've got to be a part of our turned 174 million dollars in unclaimed property while in office.

I pushed to get a high school requirement to teach financial literacy as part of the graduation before you can graduate from school in Kentucky.

That is now the law of the land.

It's something I believe is going have a generational impact for years to come.

And of course, I've been that watchdog and taxpayer dollars.

I'm ready to go protect against waste, fraud, abuse, serve you and do the job the way it supposed to be done.

>> Allison Ball will be replaced as state treasurer by Mark Metcalf, the Garrett County attorney.

He won over Democrat Michael Bowman.

57 to 43%.

We caught up with Metcalf at his victory celebration in Garrett County.

Metcalf said he hopes his victory inspires other rule.

Kentuckians to seek statewide elected office.

>> We can find across the state standing tall, working men and >> The garden or farm.

>> Policeman Cold War.

Just as hard.

State treasurer as I had campaigned songs.

I was tonight.

What kind of there are office additions, leadership process for a gallon will powers.

I'm sure says I didn't.

That would not impossible.

And then voted son of this great County.

>> Metcalf said that he would work with Democratic Governor Andy Beshear over the next 4 years for the best interest of Kentuckians and Kentucky will get a new agriculture commissioner in January after Ryan Coral served 2 terms.

His replacement will be Jonathan Shell who beat Democrat Sierra and low Shell is a former Kentucky House majority floor leader.

He also celebrated his win last night in Garrett County.

In his victory laid out his vision for the commonwealth while taking aim at President Joe Biden.

>> I wake up every single night with these goals in mind.

To my Kentucky a better place to live and raise a family more from Commonwealth.

The worst part got without fear.

When if you will, from those that believe.

Now we're backwards.

To make it in Turkey, a place where regulation is meant to KET us safe.

Not penalize us for making a profit.

To make Kentucky a place where funeral corn beans and wait cattle pigs and chickens and you can move freely and have a chance to provide for your family.

To make it to a place where you know what that that that you're free and we sacrifices made by generations past.

And I was serving today to KET us free.

But to do these things.

And to stop by and say in time.

And it makes you want to and you don't think that's what we have to we live in 2 different countries to that.

>> If you missed any of KU T's 3 our election coverage last night or you want to see more of the candidates speeches.

You can just go to our website.

Call it up online on demand at KET DOT Org.

Slash elections.

So how many Kentuckians voted yesterday or in early voting?

Will voter turnout was a little lower than predicted?

Kentucky secretary of state Michael Adams says turnout was about 38%.

He had predicted 42% and it was 44% 4 years ago in the last gubernatorial election that was considered higher than normal.

♪ ♪ Time now for midweek, check-in of the major political news of the week, which was the governor's race with our good friend Ryland Barton of Kentucky, Public Radio.

Thank you so much is good to see you.

>> Good to see to earn a so let's talk about last Size up for me.

Like what's the main headline from last night?

>> I think the main headline is Governor Andy Beshear built a coalition of urban and rural voters to win his reelection campaign.

That was the question whether that whether he could do that he did that partly by really running of the board and Lexington and but also taking a really large swaths of rural Kentucky.

Most in in the stern, Kentucky, which is kind of historic Democratic stronghold, which is remote of the Republicans much more in recent years, especially in southeastern Kentucky where some of the tragic and deadly flooding took place in 2022, it's an area governor she was.

There are a whole lot and also, as you know, providing aid there and called for 2 people who were stricken by that a disaster.

But you're still dealing with also in Western Kentucky a bit with folks who had gone to the terrible tornadoes in late 2021, which is something we talked a lot about.

What that's really what mark so much of this year's first four-year term in office is all these disasters and and him being this can solar and chief somebody who on statewide broadcast on not really talking about politics, but talking about, you know, what we're doing to try and get through this and how government became kind of help in these instances.

>> But in Western Kentucky, he did lose important county and that's Graves County, this home of Mayfield where the mayor there Kathy own and then in some commercials and been on site with the governor when he was in that area, is that surprising that he lost the Graves County?

Not by much.

>> It's not terribly surprising because Western Kentucky is, you know, arguably like in the Republican stronghold of Kentucky at this point over.

But something point out is that this year actually perform better in Graves County this time around than he did in 2000 in 2019, the number of she was a little bit say 3% And that's really what marks a lot of this.

Sure.

There are still large swaths of the state.

There were one by Daniel Cameron, but a lot of this year still performed better in that.

And this is a statewide race.

This isn't this isn't Electoral College type deal where it all or nothing in particular this year actually just racked up more votes than you know, that David Cameron in the end.

He actually both he and Cameron had a few are a lot fewer votes you know, this year that ended in 2009.

>> Well, that's a that's an interesting point, too, that the governor over perform, shall we say.

But Daniel Cameron from Matt Bevin in 2019 and we all have talked extensively about the candidate that Matt Bevin was 4 years ago.

>> Yeah, I'm Cameron got about 80,000.

You are votes than than that.

And that in 2019.

But again, this year note about 17,000, I think it was a furor votes than he did in 2018 as But, you know, no matter what, it's a it's a game or not a game.

It's a contest who gets the most votes in relatively this year.

Still for really all forms a camera.

And this time.

>> Yeah, it could be interesting to get some granular data on demographics.

Right and early voting and how turned out and who they voted for.

So it's a lot to digest.

That's a common the weeks to come.

Let's talk about the issues that were perhaps on the ballot was Tuesday night, a referendum on abortion Trump.

Anything else do you think?

Is that what really drove Kentucky voters to the polls and scored a victory for Andy Beshear for second term.

>> I think it's it's important to think about these issues when we're talking about elections like this, I'm going to be hearing a lot about it from a national media in the coming months, if not over the coming year, going into the presidential elections really using can take a test case for some of these issues.

I think that's right to think about it.

But it's not everything.

There is some there are some other intangible factors going on here.

She won.

Most notably is that, you know, this year's an incumbent governor with the very thing, this name his father was the governor just 8 years in who's been in politics since the 1970's.

So and also some of these non partisan factors that we talked about.

However, I think it's important to think abortion.

Um and some of these other issues in in the sense of okay, well, this is not an issue that that teens, but it does year's campaign.

In fact, on the offense, which is really remarkable.

something it a Democrat in the South statewide campaign.

As far as I know, it's never done before attacking his Republican opponent for not supporting any exceptions to the state's ban on abortion.

That I think it's something that I'm not sold Democrats and ordered a Democrats across the south and and Kentucky going forward are going to be thinking looking Same deal with Joe Somehow Joe Biden is still very unpopular in Turkey.

Just low approval ratings.

But this year's always have much higher readings.

And the president and somehow he was able to detach himself from that a national issue.

Despite the the efforts of Cameron and other Republicans supporting him.

That is a that's a lesson to be learned in politics a thing because it's something that is learn.

A lot of politics for the last 10 to 15 years that the national has inform so much of the local and this year in this one particular case was able to separate himself from I don't know if anybody else is able to pull off something like that.

But again, I think a lot of folks will be trying to figure out a way to do it.

>> Well, I mean, there is some conversation to about had Ryan corals been the Republican nominee.

What the outcome on Tuesday night been a lot different since, you know, he was consider maybe more moderate.

Sometimes he had been called at sometimes the adult in the room.

But considering how the primary system is set up, that that wasn't meant to be something to just think about and ponder as we go forward.

And he and other Republicans, you know, didn't really come out so much or there was some questionable unity around Daniel Cameron and some of those counties, the last like Taylor County and other counties where a max wise it was a Lieutenant Governor candidate light.

You know, this show up for Daniel Cameron the way perhaps that he would have wanted.

>> Yeah, they're definitely seem to be a lack of enthusiasm here.

Just not a lot of Republicans excited to come for Cameron in this particular case.

And and whether that's excited and like I'm excited for Cameron ordered site in from this year.

That's something we haven't really been in the South yet with our you know, about any turnout returns.

yeah, and maybe that is part of it.

Some of these other candidates not really coming together and forming that unity You know, they certainly were coming out and blasting him or anything.

But it it wasn't enough to to beat the incumbent.

Yeah.

>> We'll have to leave it there.

More to calm as we approach 50 something days.

I think until the legislative session begins on January second to and that's when the fun begins.

When you go from politicking to governing 2 different ball games.

Well, thank you, Roland Martin, always for breaking it down for us.

Take a tear.

>> Thanks, Ben.

♪ ♪ >> Moving on from election coverage to a different kind of sport of horse racing is one of Kentucky's most time honored traditions.

It's one of the things the Commonwealth is most known for.

But many of the industry's African-American pioneers are largely unknown.

The Cayman Library, 6 to remedy that with its exhibit, the heart of the turf saddle up this.

We take a look into the untold story of Kentucky's iconic sports and this week's look at arts and culture.

Top story.

>> Start a turf racing spot.

Pioneers covers just over 200 years of history.

Roughly 100 lives are featured from his statement today.

The exhibit comprises hundreds of from Cayman Library collections loaned our Roark from our collections as well.

And biographical vignettes.

roughly 75 of those lives.

We were never going to be able to capture the thousands upon thousands of that have played a part in this industry.

But what we wanted to do is to highlight the depth and the breadth of the roles.

So you're going to see fair years.

You're going to see Jackie should going to see Grooms.

You see exercise riders.

You're going to see some top owners and breeders.

Sometimes you'll see a handful of folks.

They had multiple roles, basically did everything that is that you could do in this industry.

Even she were says.

So.

We wanted a representative sample of that work.

And and we were able to highlight roughly 100 lives we see, of course, the superstar black jockey athletes that a lot of folks will have that kind of name recognition, Isaac Murphy and then we will have other folks that the folks won't maybe recalls her name.

So we're trying to tell their stories as well.

The closer we get to 1900, the more we start to see that Jim Crow era and everything that it brought illegally culturally we start to see more and more signs that those opportunities for those highest paying positions.

Those headline making positions for the most part.

The further we get be on the turn of the century.

So the early 19, 100's, we start to see a shift away from that in a shift toward backside work.

So work on farms, work on the backside of tracks.

And that really was for the most part, the norm in terms of opportunities in this industry into we get closer to the civil rights movement.

And we also highlight lives it to and which started after the civil rights movement bringing us to today.

My hope would be that.

That there's exposure to just the sheer impact from every life that is represented here in some way, whether it's a biographical vignette, a photograph and to know that this is a small sampling.

It's illustrative, but it's small.

Nonetheless.

So for every story you see here, there are thousands of others that aren't featured here in this format.

But the primary goal of this exhibit was to start conversations.

With the intent to continue conversations with the intent to listen.

Action.

What a great project exhibit will run at the Cayman Library until December 8 and the traveling exhibit at the Lexington Central Library will run until December.

3rd.

>> Plans are being made for it to travel to Montana.

Chicago Saratoga Springs and more.

Well, that'll do it for us tonight, but we hope you'll join us again tomorrow as we continue our coverage of Tuesday's election, including a special Thursday edition of Inside Kentucky Politics.

Also, the USDA is giving back to the farmers they discriminated against in the past.

>> Keepers.

>> Have the power of >> making or breaking a farm with the yes or no.

>> Find out how Kentucky farmers who've been denied loans unfairly can receive financial assistance.

That story and much more tomorrow on Kentucky EDITION, which we hope you'll see you at 6.30, stern Five-thirty Central.

We inform connect and inspire.

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Thank you so much for watching.

Take good care and what you see you right back here again tomorrow night.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪