When the Southern Governors Association has its next meeting, the Democrats could have their caucus in a phone booth. Thirteen of the sixteen states in the association now have Republican governors.
Earl Ray Tomblin of West Virginia, Terry McAuliffe of Virginia and Jay Nixon of Missouri are the remaining three Democrat state governors in the association following Tuesday’s election.
Kentucky voters gave Republican Matt Bevin an easy nine point win (53%-44%) over Democrat Jack Conway. Bevin becomes just the second Republican governor elected in the Bluegrass state in 40 years.
Bevin was carried by conservative voters upset over Obamacare and gay marriage. He was initially rejected by the Republican establishment, but the Republican Governor’s Association came with $2.5 million in campaign spending in the final two weeks.
McAuliffe was not up for re-election, but he spent a lot of time and political capital trying to flip the legislature, with no success. Republicans held both chambers of the General Assembly.
“The outcome was a blunt rebuke to McAuliffe (D), who had barnstormed the state with 24 events over the past four days and who portrayed the elections as a make-or-break moment for his progressive agenda,” The Washington Post reported.
The outcome in the Commonwealth may also foreshadow challenges for Hillary Clinton, who will be counting on McAuliffe, a long-time political ally, for help in that swing state.
In Mississippi, Republican Governor Phil Bryant was re-elected easily over a little-known Democratic opponent. The fact that Mississippi Democrats nominated a truck driver who, according to one report, was too busy to vote for himself in the Primary, reflects just how far the Democratic Party has fallen in the south.
“The realignment that began a half century ago is nearly complete,” reported the Post.
I have documented here before West Virginia’s transition from blue to red, starting with the state’s support of George W. Bush and continuing through 2014 when Republicans gained control over both chambers of the state legislature for the first time in 70 years.
West Virginia Democrats still enjoy a nearly two-to-one registration advantage over Republicans, but a leftward tilt of the national Democratic Party has made it difficult for conservative and moderate Democrats in the Mountain State to vote the party line.
It’s always risky to predict future elections based on the past. Every election, every race, has its own set of unique dynamics. However, electorally West Virginia is being assimilated into the South and Tuesday’s election outcomes demonstrate the South is becoming an even deeper shade of red.