--- title: KY Gov. Isn't Conceding After Election. What Happens Now? description: Andy Beshear declared a stunning victory in Kentucky's governor race but incumbent Matt Bevin hasn't conceded. Here's what could happen next canonical: https://time.com/5719595/kentucky-governor-race-matt-bevin-recount/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-11-06T17:46:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T07:42:25.928Z article:section: Politics og:title: Democrat Andy Beshear Declares Victory in Tight Kentucky Gov. Race, But Incumbent Matt Bevin Isn't Conceding og:description: Here's what could happen nexy og:url: https://time.com/5719595/kentucky-governor-race-matt-bevin-recount/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1409a363515850dd/698a056522fb85a626e2a192/beshear-bevin-kentucky-governor-race.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5656 og:image:height: 3182 og:image:alt: Democratic Candidate Andy Beshear Projected Winner Of Close Race For Kentucky Governor og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Democrat Andy Beshear Declares Victory in Tight Kentucky Gov. Race, But Incumbent Matt Bevin Isn't Conceding twitter:description: Here's what could happen nexy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1409a363515850dd/698a056522fb85a626e2a192/beshear-bevin-kentucky-governor-race.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Democrat Andy Beshear Has Declared Victory in Tight Kentucky Governor Race, But Incumbent Matt Bevin Isn't Conceding. Here's What Could Happen Next > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=3bbd7d9d-5df5-4422-a68e-42a4fb9fd1fb&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Nov 6, 2019 5:46 PM UTC  Apparent Gov.-elect Andy Beshear celebrates with supporters after voting results showed him holding a slim lead over Republican Gov. Matt Bevin on Nov. 5, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. Apparent Gov.-elect Andy Beshear celebrates with supporters after voting results showed him holding a slim lead over Republican Gov. Matt Bevin on Nov. 5, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. John Sommers II—Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Nov 6, 2019 5:46 PM UTC Kentucky’s Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear declared a stunning victory in the state’s governor race on Tuesday night. But incumbent Republican [Gov. Matt Bevin](https://time.com/5240577/matt-bevin-kentucky-teacher-protest/) has not conceded, telling supporters there were unspecified “irregularities” in the voting process and suggesting there could be a recount. Beshear declared a narrow win over Bevin, leading by a margin of 5,150 votes with all precincts reporting. But as of Wednesday morning, the _Associated Press_ said the race was still [too close to call](https://time.com/5719499/democrats-virginia-kentucky-elections/). “Tonight, voters in Kentucky sent a message loud and clear for everyone to hear. It’s a message that says our elections don’t have to be about right versus left. They are still about right versus wrong,” Beshear said in his victory speech. “Our values, and how we treat each other, \[are\] still more important than our party. That what unites us as Kentuckians is still stronger than any national divisions.” Bevin, meanwhile, told his supporters the race wasn’t over. “This is a close, close race,” he said. “We want the process to be followed, and there is a process. We know for a fact that there have been more than a few irregularities.” Bevin did not immediately provide any evidence of voting fraud, and Republicans [swept other state offices](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/05/us/elections/results-kentucky-general-elections.html) that were on the ballot. Under Kentucky law, the [process](https://lawreader.com/?p=19062#K195) Bevin referenced begins with recanvassing, a procedure during which county election officials check each voting machine to confirm the ballots were counted and reported correctly. A candidate can request a recanvass within a week of the election — by Nov. 12. In certain Kentucky elections, if a candidate is unsatisfied with that result and wants to seek a formal recount, they must file a petition to the Franklin Circuit Court within 10 days of the election and pay for the cost of a recount, which would be conducted by a state judge. The judge’s decision could then be appealed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals or the Kentucky Supreme Court. But analysis from a law professor at the University of Kentucky suggests that [the recount statute](https://www.uky.edu/electionlaw/analysis/post-election-procedure) does not apply to gubernatorial elections. Instead, an [election contest for governor or lieutenant governor ](https://lawreader.com/?p=19062#K195)is heard by a randomly selected committee of 11 state lawmakers, and then decided on by a joint session of the state legislature. A gubernatorial candidate must provide written notice contesting the election “within thirty days after the final action of the State Board of Elections,” [according to state law](https://lawreader.com/?p=19062#K195). It’s not yet clear how far Bevin plans to proceed with his objection to the election results. But under Kentucky’s constitution, the new governor is scheduled to be sworn in on Dec. 10. Bevin, who was elected in 2015, was among the country’s most unpopular governors, in part because he lashed out at [public school teachers who walked out last year](https://time.com/5222483/kentucky-teachers-pension-strike-matt-bevin/) over a controversial pension bill. Bevin had closely aligned his campaign with President Donald Trump, and his apparent loss comes as a blow to the President, who hosted a rally for Bevin in Lexington, Ky., on the night before the election. “If you lose, it sends a really bad message,” Trump told supporters at the rally Monday. “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.” In [a statement released Tuesday night](https://twitter.com/elizlanders/status/1192062069627146240?s=12), Trump’s 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale said that, “The President just about dragged Gov. Matt Bevin across the finish line, helping him run stronger than expected in what turned into a very close race.” Though some have argued Bevin’s unpopularity rendered his loss an outlier (Republican Tate Reeves won [the Governor’s race](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/05/us/elections/results-mississippi-governor-general-election.html) in Mississippi; a run-off will take place in Louisiana between incumbent Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards and his GOP challenger Eddie Rispone), both Beshear’s narrow victory, in a state Trump won by 30 points in 2016, and the [Democratic takeover of Virginia’s state legislature](https://time.com/5719513/democrats-flip-virginia-state-legislature/), have signaled potential trouble for Trump’s [path to reelection in 2020.](https://time.com/5669093/trump-election-campaign-democratic-states-2020/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5719595/kentucky-governor-race-matt-bevin-recount/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5719595/kentucky-governor-race-matt-bevin-recount/"},"headline":"Democrat Andy Beshear Has Declared Victory in Tight Kentucky Governor Race, But Incumbent Matt Bevin Isn't Conceding. 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