Political ‘grudge match’ set after primary election

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In Kentucky political circles, Beshear vs. Bevin has become shorthand for the bitter feud between the state’s governor and attorney general over legal issues with sweeping implications for the future.

The drama between Republican Gov. Matt Bevin and Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear has been spiced by subplots — some involving Beshear’s family. Now all Kentucky voters will get a chance to take sides at the ballot box on a rivalry that has clearly gotten personal.

As their parties’ nominees after Tuesday’s primary election for governor, they’ll face off in November in a grudge match that will have national political experts watching for vulnerabilities among Republican incumbents closely aligned with President Trump.

Beshear outlasted two prominent rivals — Rocky Adkins and Adam Edelen — to win the Democratic nomination. Bevin fended off a strong challenge from state Rep. Robert Goforth, who garnered nearly 40% of the Republican vote.

The main event could become the most vitriolic campaign Kentuckians have seen in years.

“The whole background of the relationship means it’s going to be a grudge match,” longtime Kentucky political commentator Al Cross said. “There is no precedent, at least in modern Kentucky political history, for a governor’s race with this kind of personal rancor.”

Democratic strategist Mark Riddle predicted it will turn into a “political brawl.”

Bevin’s quarrels with Beshear haven’t been limited to the attorney general. Andy Beshear’s father, Steve, was a popular two-term governor who preceded Bevin in office and has been the target of the Republican governor’s attacks. Even Beshear’s mother hasn’t been immune from Bevin’s executive actions.

Early in his term, Bevin removed Andy Beshear’s mother, former first lady Jane Beshear, from the Kentucky Horse Park Commission while overhauling the commission.

As governor, Steve Beshear expanded Kentucky’s Medicaid program to include coverage for able-bodied adults, increasing the rolls by more than 400,000 people.

Bevin says the expansion is too expensive to continue.