WASHINGTON, D.C.—It was Donald Trump who publicly tied Kentucky’s state election to himself. At an election-eve rally in Lexington on Monday, he appeared beside Matt Bevin, the Republican incumbent governor. “You’re sending a message to the rest of the country,” he said. A moment later, gesturing to the media, he said, “If you lose they’re going to say Trump suffered the greatest defeat in the history of the world. This was the greatest. You can’t let that happen to me.”They let that happen to him.Not that it was even the worst thing that happened to him on Tuesday. There was arguably tougher news for Trump from another election state, and much worse out of his impeachment battle, but his plea to Kentucky made what happened there stand out.When the results came in, it appeared — pending a likely recount — that Democratic candidate Andy Beshear had won the governor’s office by a few thousand votes in the heart of Trump country, a southern state the president won by 30 points in 2016. Bevin — who would not concede the razor-thin race even though the Democrats declared victory — had tried to tie his campaign to the mutual support between himself and Trump, and campaigned against the federal impeachment efforts. It appears that wasn’t enough.It’s debatable how much national significance can be read into the result. Beshear’s health care policies, fights with teachers and personal prickliness had made him deeply unpopular in some quarters, and Republicans won all the other major offices in the state. Trump is expected to win Kentucky in the 2020 election, but Tuesday’s results may say something about the size of his coattails, and the limits of what he can or cannot deliver for his allies.The same day, also in the south, Virginia completed its gradual transformation into a southern Democratic stronghold. A state that was once reliably Republican red — and ...
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