Why is Republican Gov. Matt Bevin the focus of the Democratic primary for governor?

If there is one remaining hope for a Kentucky Democratic Party that has watched its iron grip on the state wither in recent years, it goes by the name Matt Bevin.

In an off-year election, when turnout is consistently low and it’s harder to inject national politics into a state race, Democrats have hope they can unseat the enormously unpopular Republican governor in a state that has otherwise grown increasingly conservative.

“This is an opportunity the Democrats must seize,” said Senate Minority Floor Leader Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville. “You never want to lose, but you really don’t want to lose this year.”

The Democrats running for governor have adjusted accordingly, making their electability a major theme of the campaign. Attorney General Andy Beshear has created an identity as the anti-Bevin, casting himself as a “fighter” who can take down the governor. House Minority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins says he’s the only candidate who can beat Bevin in the rural areas of the state. Former State Auditor Adam Edelen has a canned joke he uses about Bevin (“I am not running for governor to beat Matt Bevin, though make no mistake that’s a heck of a fringe benefit”) before launching into economic development goals that stand in significant contrast to Bevin’s.

Even perennial candidate Geoff Young, who is running a limited campaign, has talked about the campaign in terms of who can beat Matt Bevin.

“Rocky Adkins can defeat Matt Bevin, I can beat Matt Bevin, the two crooks cannot,” Young said at a Lexington candidate forum, referring to Edelen and Beshear, who he is currently suing.

Marisa McNee, a spokeswoman with the Kentucky Democratic Party, said voters’ opinions about who has the best chance to beat Bevin will help determine the primary.

“I think it’s a part of it,” McNee said. “I think there are a lot of conversations about electability.”

Bevin has gained notoriety for some of the insulting things he’s said about teachers and his political opponents. His most recent gaffe came in Louisville, where he suggested a 7-year-old had been shot because Jefferson County teachers had called in sick to protest in Frankfort.

Democrats hope the comments have angered people to the point of voting against Bevin.

“We know that odd-year elections have historically low turnout,” McGarvey said. “And the people who turn out are the people who are mad.”

To capitalize on a potential anti-Bevin vote, all three major Democratic candidates have staked out a position for why they’re best positioned to defeat the governor.

For Beshear, his speeches are riddled with references to his various lawsuits against the governor. Beshear has been Bevin’s chief rival in Frankfort for the past three years, and he says the fact that he’s taken Bevin to court so many times is proof that he’ll be able to take him down in a general election.

“We need a fighter that can get results,” Beshear said in his opening statement at a debate on WDRB-TV in Louisville. “Folks, we desperately have to beat Matt Bevin.”

Adkin’s path relies on conservative rural Democrats, a staple of the old Democratic Party in Kentucky. While many of those voters have gravitated toward the Republican Party in recent elections, Adkins has made a pitch that his moderate approach, and Bluegrass music abilities, will win them back.

“From conservative to liberal, at the end of the day I think people want somebody first of all that has been there and done it, somebody that has seasoned experience and proven leadership,” Adkins told the Herald-Leader in Pikeville.

Edelen, on the other hand, has said the best way to beat Bevin is to not focus the race on beating Bevin. Since 2015, he’s talked about making sure Democrats have an agenda that is bigger than serving as the opposition party. For his campaign, that means talking about pushing renewable energy and passing comprehensive tax reform.

“Have you had enough of mediocre talking point politicians who are incapable of delivering anything other than what you’ve always gotten?” Edelen asked at the Louisville Rotary Club candidate forum.

Republicans are banking on the fact that none of the positioning will matter. The Republican Governor’s Association, the Republican Party of Kentucky and Bevin have all tried to tie the candidates with national Democrats who are unpopular in Kentucky. In a video before the first Democratic gubernatorial debate, Bevin said the candidates would fit better in New York or California.

“No surprise that three proud Hillary Clinton voters are all working hard to show off their liberal credentials,” Bevin’s campaign manager, Davis Paine, said when asked about the Democrats’ frequent invocations of Bevin. “Governor Bevin has partnered with President Trump to create over 50,000 jobs while his opponents are determined to bring back the failed liberal policies of the past.”

This story was originally published May 6, 2019 at 3:23 PM.