Ky. Gov Elect Matt Bevin’s Victory Speech [Full Speech]

Republican Matt Bevin Wins Kentucky Governor’s Race (The Wall Street Journal) 

Republican Matt Bevin won a bitterly fought race for Kentucky governor Tuesday, handing the GOP a coveted seat that extends its hold on the South and imperiling the state’s closely watched implementation of the federal health law.

The race between Mr. Bevin, a 48-year-old businessman, and Democrat Jack Conway, the 46-year-old state attorney general, was the most high-profile of three gubernatorial contests this year. The candidates were vying to succeed Gov. Steve Beshear, a popular Democrat who was barred by law from running for a third term.

Mr. Bevin’s victory marks only the second time since the 1970s that the GOP has won the governorship in Kentucky, a state that has become increasingly Republican in federal elections but where Democrats have remained a force at the state level. His win also suggests that arguments against the health law, also known as Obamacare, remain a potent line of attack, analysts say.