GOP Scores Rare Win in Kentucky

One of the bigger races on Tuesday night's ballot has gone Republicans' way: Matt Bevin will be Kentucky's next governor, reports the AP. Bevin defeated Democratic State Attorney General Jack Conway, who had been leading in the polls, and will become only the second Republican governor in four decades. The victory earned the verb "shocks" in the headline at Kentucky.com, which notes that Bevin "never led until the end, and that's when it counted."

Bevin is a businessman who unsuccessfully challenged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from the right in a Republican primary last year, notes Politico. In this race, he capitalized on the unpopularity of President Obama in the state, notes Kentucky.com, and he made a point to make his defense of county clerk Kim Davis, who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage certificates to gay couples, a prominent issue. (Click for some other key contests still to be decided.)