A top spokesman for President Trump’s reelection campaign on Wednesday said Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, who finished behind his Democratic opponent on Tuesday, was an “outlier” and that nobody should be “depressed” after Democratic gains elsewhere.
“You have to look at Governor Bevin as an outlier,” Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Mr. Trump’s reelection campaign, told radio host Hugh Hewitt. “I mean, he was down 15, 17 points in polls very recently. And I think the president nearly dragged him across the finish line.”
“But you can only go so far when you have a governor who was that unpopular due to things that he had done, nothing to do with the national scene,” he said.
Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear claimed victory on Tuesday over Mr. Bevin, though Mr. Bevin did not concede. Mr. Beshear held a 49.2% to 48.8% lead over Mr. Bevin with 100% of precincts reporting.
Mr. Trump rallied in Kentucky for Mr. Bevin on Monday and predicted that analysts would cast a loss for the Republican as a major defeat for the president.
The president delivered a similar message on Tuesday night, tweeting: “#ElectionNight Won 5 out of 6 elections in Kentucky, including 5 great candidates that I spoke for and introduced last night. @MattBevin picked up at least 15 points in last days, but perhaps not enough (Fake News will blame Trump!). Winning in Mississippi Governor race!”
Democrats also won enough statehouse races in Virginia on Tuesday to take control of the state House and Senate, but Mr. Lotter was already looking ahead.
“I don’t think that anybody should be depressed this morning,” Mr. Lotter said, saying the Trump campaign is eyeing potential pick-ups in states like New Hampshire and Minnesota next year.
“We’re not going to leave any state unturned, and I think there’s a lot of opportunity for pickup out there,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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