‘It was his to lose, and he lost it.’ Ky. lieutenant governor says she didn’t vote for Bevin
Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton says she did not vote for Gov. Matt Bevin for governor in the election earlier this month.
Hampton said in an interview with Louisville’s WDRB that she voted for Libertarian John Hicks in the governor’s race.
“I did not vote for him. I didn’t,” Hampton told WDRB’s Lawrence Smith. “It was his to lose, and he lost it. I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t. He lost my vote. I’m really sad to say that.”
Bevin lost the election to Democrat Andy Beshear, Kentucky’s attorney general.
The strained relationship between Bevin and the lieutenant governor was on public display for much of this year.
In January, when Bevin filed for re-election, he chose state Sen. Ralph Alvarado, rather than Hampton, as his running mate.
Just days later and without Hampton’s consent, Bevin fired Hampton’s chief of staff, Steve Knipper, who was running for secretary of state.
Hampton took to Twitter after her deputy chief of staff, Adrienne Southworth, was abruptly fired in May, saying she was asking for prayer as she battled “dark forces.”
Hampton took Bevin to court to try to have the staffers reinstated, but she was not successful.
Hampton, of Bowling Green, is Kentucky’s first black constitutional officer.
She told WDRB that she was saddened that Bevin would not have another four years in office.
“He really did get a lot of things done in these four years, but how you treat people matters,” Hampton said.
