LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Andy Beshear won a second term as Kentucky governor on Tuesday, keeping Democratic control of the executive branch in a state where Republicans hold legislative supermajorities.

Beshear was winning 53% of the vote with more than 90% of precincts reporting statewide, compared with 47% from challenger Daniel Cameron, the state’s attorney general. The results from the Secretary of State are unofficial until certified by the state’s elections board.

The Associated Press called the race for Beshear shortly before 9 p.m. EST.

Beshear told supporters at Old Forester’s Paristown Hall in Louisville that the governor’s race sent a “clear statement that anger politics should end right here and right now.”

He said the results showed that Kentuckians chose to move forward and not to the right or left.

“Folks, this wasn't my win. This was our victory,” he said. “It was a victory that sends a loud, clear message -- a message that candidates should run for something and not against someone.”

Beshear did not mention his opponent by name in his victory speech. Some two miles away, Cameron opened his concession remarks at the downtown Marriott hotel by quipping: “Well, that didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to.”

Cameron, who was vying to become Kentucky's first Black governor, gave a short speech in which he said his campaign was about creating a better future for Kentucky’s future generations. "So let us continue in that effort. Let us continue in that work," he said.

You can watch Cameron's concession speech below:

The Republican lost the race to incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear.

Beshear was holding a commanding lead in Louisville — 72% of all votes with 97% of precincts reporting in Jefferson County at 10 p.m. — and won by the same margin in Fayette County, the state's second largest county. 

He flipped counties he lost to incumbent Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in his narrow victory in 2019, including Letcher, Perry and Breathitt. Beshear eked out a one-vote win Powell County, which he previously lost.

He expanded previous winning margins in certain parts of the state, such as in Madison County outside Lexington and Kenton County in northern Kentucky. 

Beshear was just months into office in early 2020 when he was thrust into managing Kentucky’s response to COVID-19. He became a steady presence on television during daily pandemic briefings punctuated with the phrase, “We will get through this together.”

Beshear and running mate Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman ran on a campaign plank that emphasized his job creation and economic development record, citing the planned electric battery plants in Hardin County as just one example of private investment secured under his administration.

Ford and South Korean partner SK Innovation announced in 2021 they aim to build twin plants at the BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale. The factories would create an estimated 5,000 jobs as part of an overall $5.8 million project.

In his victory speech, Beshear touted a "historic win streak — the two best years of economic development in the history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky" and heralded infrastructure projects like the expansion of the Mountain Parkway in eastern Kentucky and the I-69 bridge connecting Henderson, Ky., with Indiana. 

You can watch Beshear's victory speech below:

The Democratic governor secured his second term as the state's governor over Republican challenger Daniel Cameron.

He also noted his work to get the Brent Spence companion bridge between Covington and Cincinnati built without tolls — a remark that elicited applause even in Louisville, where drivers are saddled with the fees until at least the 2050s. 

During the campaign, Cameron sought to tie Beshear to President Joe Biden and highlighted his record joining lawsuits and other legal actions against the Biden administration. He supported court challenges over laws passed by the GOP-led General Assembly that limited the governor’s emergency powers; the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in the legislature’s favor in 2021.   

The candidates clashed over abortion policies, education and other issues during televised debates last month, including one at Northern Kentucky University carried by WDRB News.

A Beshear campaign ad released in September featured a woman who claimed she was raped by her stepfather attacking Cameron for his reported position of supporting no exceptions for rape or incest under Kentucky law.

That woman, whom Beshear introduced Tuesday night in Louisville by her first name, Hadley, is "a brave young woman who came forward to share her story to speak for so many that couldn't speak for themselves," the governor said. "And because of her courage this Commonwealth is going to be a better place and people are going to reach out for the help they need."

The state currently bans almost all abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the landmark Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing the procedure only when done to save a pregnant woman's life or to prevent a disabling injury.

After the ad was released, Cameron said as governor he would sign a bill allowing abortion in cases involving rape or incest. During the October 16 debate, he attacked Beshear’s record on abortion, including vetoing a ban on abortion at 15 weeks.

Beshear argued that he has “always believed in reasonable restrictions, especially on late-term abortions.”

Beshear and Cameron set a new state record for the amount of money raised in this campaign with a reported $44 million. Beshear outpaced Cameron in contributions, but election finance data shows GOP Super PACs helped to prop up Cameron's haul.

Beshear addressed the infusion of money from five Super PACs, including those backed by both of Kentucky's U.S. senators, Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell, as well as a Republican Governors Association's political committee. 

He said those PAC's ran "ads full of hate and division. And you know what? We beat them all at the same time."

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