What They Are Saying: GOP Gubernatorial Wins In Kentucky & Mississippi

“Kentucky Elects Second Republican Governor in Four Decades” – Associated Press

“Mr. Bevin’s victory marks only the second time since the 1970s that the GOP has won the governorship in Kentucky, 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.” – Wall Street Journal

“The stunning victory heralds a new era in a state where Democrats have held the governor’s mansion for all but four of the last 44 years.” – The New York Times

“Bev­in’s vic­tory upends a dec­ades-long trend in Ken­tucky in which Demo­crats have seen suc­cess at the state level des­pite strug­gling in fed­er­al races.” – National Journal

“Republican Matt Bevin won a big upset in the Kentucky governor’s race. He will now become just the second Republican to govern the Bluegrass State in four decades.” – Washington Post

“Republican businessman Matt Bevin was elected Kentucky’s next governor on Tuesday, marking a setback for Democrats who had controlled the office in every election but one since 1971 and underscoring the party’s decline in the conservative U.S. South.” – Reuters

“Gov. Phil Bryant easily secured his second term Tuesday, turning back a challenger whose win in the August primary was so unexpected, he didn’t even vote for himself.” – Jackson Clarion-Ledger

“The South is becoming even redder, and the realignment that began a half century ago is nearly complete. President Obama is toxic, even in non-federal elections. Mississippi Republican Gov. Phil Bryant easily won reelection, too, and the GOP increased its majority in that state’s House from 67 to 73 (of 122 members). That’s nearly a super majority.” – Washington Post

“Bevin leads GOP wave, routs Conway” – Louisville Courier-Journal

“The Republican win is another big nail in the coffin for big labor unions in the South. Bevin’s top economic priority is making Kentucky a Right To Work state.” – Washington Post

“Republican victories leave Kentucky Democrats reeling” – Associated Press

“Just two years ago, Kentucky Democrats boasted a deep bench of three young stars who aligned to prove the party could still win in the conservative South with a message focused on the economy and jobs instead of abortion and gay marriage. But Kentucky voters have now rejected all three, capped by a disastrous election for Democrats on Tuesday in which they lost four of the five statewide constitutional offices they held coming into the election, including the governor’s office for just the second time since 1971.” – Associated Press

“In Mississippi, which held the country’s only other election for governor on Tuesday, Gov. Phil Bryant was easily elected to another term and renewed the Republican Party’s grip on power there. He defeated a truck driver, Robert Gray, who barely provided token opposition.” – The New York Times

“Conservative businessman Matt Bevin won the Kentucky gubernatorial race on Tuesday night, handing the Republican Party its 32nd governorship in a state that has elected Democrats to that office all but once since the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.” – The Atlantic

“Republican Matt Bevin easily won Kentucky’s governorship on Tuesday as the GOP made major inroads in a state that had stubbornly resisted the party at the state level even as it voted reliably Republican in federal contests in recent years. Bevin will become just the second Republican to inhabit the governor’s mansion in Frankfort in more than four decades.” – Politico

“Gov. Phil Bryant defeated truck driver Robert Gray, the surprise victor of a Democratic primary in which he did not spend money or seriously campaign. His low-budget campaign reflected the sorry state of the Mississippi Democratic Party, observers said.”  – Reuters

“In a major blow to Democrats who have struggled to hold their ground in a once reliable part of the country, Republican businessman Matt Bevin beat Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway in their race for the state’s governor’s mansion.” – Roll Call

“It would be an understatement to call Tuesday a good night for Republicans — it might well have been the end of the Democratic Party in a state where it dominated for so long.” – Lexington Herald-Leader

“Bevin’s decisive win reverberated not just in Frankfort but in Washington, D.C. with establishment party officials nervous that Kentucky could be a bellwether for next year’s presidential election.” – WUKY

“The results were a potentially troubling sign for Democrats ahead of next year’s presidential election and represented a big win for the GOP as it continues to consolidate political power across the South.” – Associated Press