Voter backlash against the Democrat impeachment inquiry of President Trump and strong support for the president in Kentucky appear to be key factors helping Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in his re-election battle against Democrat challenger Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear.





-- Breitbart, October 16, 2019





THE TAKE





“It ain’t over until it’s over,” goes the cliché. Kentucky Democrat AG Andy Beshear may still beat incumbent governor Matt Bevin. The election is November 5. Until recently, though, many political handicappers considered Bevin a dead man walking. He was ranked by a collection of “high profile” polling firms as the least popular governor in the U.S.





As cited by the Louisville Courier Journal, a poll issued by Mason Dixon Strategy & Poll shows that Beshear and Bevin are tied. The survey was of registered and likely voters. An anti-impeachment backlash seems to be working in Bevin’s favor.





This from the Courier Journal report, October 16, 2019:





Bevin has made a concerted push to bring the possible impeachment of Trump into the campaign news cycles, and the Mason-Dixon poll shows evidence that most agree with the governor's stance against such a move by Congress.





Only 29% of respondents say they favor the impeachment of Trump and his removal from office, while 65% oppose such actions. Even in Louisville and its surrounding counties, 50% of respondents oppose the president's impeachment and removal, while 78% Eastern Kentucky respondents oppose Trump's removal.





With 3.5 weeks remaining until Election Day, it’s anyone’s game in the Blue Grass State. That Bevin has made a comeback and might pull off an upset is telling. Disgust with the Democrats’ impeachment ploy might cost their party an important gubernatorial seat. 2021 begins critical redistricting of state legislative and U.S. House seats. Bevin retaining the governor’s mansion would be a serious setback to Democrats' fortunes.





But Kentucky isn’t the only sign that Democrats are on track for an electoral shellacking next year.





Again, from Breitbart, October 17, 2019:





The RNC’s fundraising haul in September is the highest amount [$27.3 million] for an “off-cycle month” ever raised by the GOP and Democrat National Committee (DNC), notes the news outlet. The RNC, which had $59.2 million in cash on hand last month, has nearly tripled the DNC fundraising in the current cycle, the political committee said. [Italics added]





More from the Breitbart article:





The report follows a joint announcement by President Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign and the RNC in which they said a whopping combined $125.7 million was raised in the third quarter of 2019.





Keep in mind that much of what Democrat presidential contestants are raising now is being spent to try to secure their party’s nomination. Whichever Democrat wins the nod will start at a financial disadvantage against Trump. The president enjoys the luxury of an uncontested nomination. His General Election campaign treasury will overflow with cash.





This lastly from Democrat political consultant Michael Starr Hopkins, who wrote for The Hill, October 16, 2019:

This is what scares me. The weakness of Dukakis and Kerry was not rooted in their policy proposals. It was rooted in their inability to connect with voters who had different life experiences. Whether it was a person of color or a blue-collar voter, both Dukakis and Kerry failed to connect. The current field cannot afford to make the same mistake.





More from Hopkins:





A lack of enthusiasm or support around one candidate risks dividing the party and depressing turnout, which is what happened to Clinton in 2016. A left versus center battle will exacerbate the factions that never truly coalesced around Clinton, leading to tepid support from the type of voters who were the foundation for Barack Obama.





Democrats risk an internal split and depressed voter turnout because that’s what a lackluster, out-of-touch nominee does. Democrat “centrists” are mere degrees right of their hard-left compatriots. They’re more practical and less ideologically rigid. With Joe Biden fading fast, the likelihood of an avowed socialist or socialist sympathizer atop the ticket grows. That looks increasingly like Elizabeth Warren.





With Warren heading the ticket, will Democrat “centrists” sit home come Election Day 2020? Don’t bet against it.

What do you think? Weigh in!