On election night, this woman jumped on stage and declared Bevin the winner. (He wasn't)

Darcy Costello | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Woman rushes stage at Matt Bevin's election night party The woman's microphone was quickly muted, and she was escorted off the stage.

Before Gov. Matt Bevin appeared on stage Tuesday night to announce he was refusing to concede in the gubernatorial election, an unidentified woman took the stage to deliver some different news.

Holding a phone to her ear, the woman rushed to the podium and declared that Bevin had won the election.

"Hey, we just got word Matt Bevin has won, and we're just going to pray," she said, giving a whoop of excitement.

After her (false) announcement, the crowd exploded in cheers and she bounced up and down in excitement with them, wearing a red Wonder Woman shirt under her suit jacket.

Then, confusion. Because the results showed that Bevin was actually losing to Attorney General Andy Beshear.

Two men in suits rushed to her, as her microphone sound went out. The woman appeared to continue trying to speak into the microphone, angling it away from the men, but no sound could be heard.

Within minutes, the men had escorted her off the stage.

Moments later, another woman came on stage to apologize and clarify that the organizers were still awaiting final results.

Catch up: Twitter weighs in on Beshear's (maybe) win over Bevin in Kentucky governor's race

Wait, what?

Who was that woman?

The Courier Journal reached out to spokespeople for the Republican Party of Kentucky and the Bevin campaign without success. It's not clear if the woman was an invited guest, if she was allowed on stage and if either group knew her identity.

Someone just went on stage and said Gov. Bevin won, but she was escorted off the stage immediately after??? pic.twitter.com/ZBFpCGqgT9 — Darcy Costello (@dctello) November 6, 2019

Here's the video we got right after she made the "announcement." The mic was quickly cut. pic.twitter.com/oFq7V5bo2W — Garrett Wymer (@GarrettWKYT) November 6, 2019

A strange moment at Gov. Matt Bevin's campaign event, as a woman crashes the stage. She apparently yelled into the microphone that Gov. Bevin had won. However, as things currently stand, AP and other media have called the race for challenger Andy Beshear. pic.twitter.com/Yduqm2yzdU — Eyewitness News (@WEHTWTVWlocal) November 6, 2019

Bevin appeared on the same stage later that night, where he told supporters he would not be conceding to opponent Andy Beshear, the state's attorney general and his bitter political rival.

"This is a close, close race," Bevin said. "We are not conceding this race by any stretch."

Beshear's slim lead is roughly 5,100 votes. He declared victory on Tuesday night, saying in his speech that he expected Bevin would "honor the election that was held tonight."

Bevin, meanwhile, alluded to "irregularities" — without providing specifics or explaining if they would change the vote totals — and said he wanted to election process to be followed.

More: Everything you need to know about what went down on Kentucky's election night

Shortly after Bevin left the stage, state Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said it’s possible a contested gubernatorial election could wind up coming to the state legislature for a resolution. He said that was based on his staff’s research, and that the process will involve recanvassing and recounting the election results.

Under state law, Bevin has 30 days to formally contest the outcome once it is certified by the State Board of Elections. Candidates typically ask for a recanvass of voting machines and a recount first.

The last contested governor's race was the 1899 election of Democrat William Goebel.

Please check back for updates to this developing story.

Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/darcyc.