Republican Gov. Matt Bevin on Thursday conceded the Kentucky governor's race, saying he would not contest election results showing Democrat Andy Beshear winning the contest by more than 5,000 votes.

Beshear, the state attorney general and the son of former two-time Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, had already declared victory and will be sworn in next month.

Bevin last week refused to concede the Nov. 5 race, instead asking for a statewide recheck of vote totals. He initially cited "a number of irregularities" in the votes but did not provide details to back up his claims.

That recheck did not significantly alter the vote totals, officials announced Thursday, and Bevin conceded shortly after.

"We're going to have a change in the governorship based on the vote of the people," Bevin said in a short speech.

Beshear acknowledged Bevin's statement Thursday afternoon on Twitter.

"It's official – thank you Kentucky," Beshear tweeted, adding that Bevin and his team "have already begun a smooth transition."

Bevin is one of the most unpopular governors in the country and his defeat was an outlier among last week's statewide elections: Republicans won races for attorney general, secretary of state and state treasurer.