Are Kentucky Republicans the most incompetent state party now?

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

Yes at this point. There is absolutely no reason for them to have not won the Governorship in a blowout in 2023, yet instead they lose by over 5 points.

[Alben Barkley]

They still have a supermajority in the legislature and won everything downballot.

They can't possibly be the worst while Florida Dems exist.

Beshear is just kind of the Democratic equivalent of Phil Scott/Charlie Baker/Larry Hogan, a popular figurehead immune to state partisanship.

[Roll Roons]

Beating a popular incumbent governor is extremely difficult even if they are in a state that doesn’t favor their party. Would anyone say the Democratic parties in MA/MD/VT are incompetent?

[MargieCat]

No.

It's very hard to defeat an incumbent.

I think it's safe to say they will get the governorship back in 2027.

[Duke of York]

No they hold every other statewide office and a supermajority in both chambers.

[MT Treasurer]

Beshear mostly won because of a massive turnout advantage. A competent state party certainly would have (a) predicted that given other off-year elections during Trump/Biden and (b) done its best to mitigate the damage, but the KY GOP evidently did not:

DDHQ estimates that 79% of Biden voters in 2020 turned out to vote, while only 53% of Trump voters voted in the 2023 Kentucky Governor election.

https://decisiondeskhq.com/how-democrat-andy-beshear-won-re-election-in-deep-red-kentucky/

[Progressive Pessimist]

Not at all. Beshear was simply popular and competent enough to defy the state's partisanship.

[jvmh2009]

Of course not. The Florida Democrat party exists.

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

Beshear mostly won because of a massive turnout advantage. A competent state party certainly would have (a) predicted that given other off-year elections during Trump/Biden and (b) done its best to mitigate the damage, but the KY GOP evidently did not:

DDHQ estimates that 79% of Biden voters in 2020 turned out to vote, while only 53% of Trump voters voted in the 2023 Kentucky Governor election.

https://decisiondeskhq.com/how-democrat-andy-beshear-won-re-election-in-deep-red-kentucky/

That turnout data is unbelievable given where the row offices ended up and what happened in 2022.

[Tekken_Guy]

No. Beshear is just a really unpopular governor.

KY GOP is not top tier but it really can’t be compared to Florida Dems, NY Dems, MI GOP, CO GOP, etc.

[Ferguson97]

They're not even the most incompetent GOP state party.

[Arizona Iced Tea]

No, the only GOP party that you could call incompetent in this election was Pennsylvania.

[Xing]

Not anymore than the Louisiana Republicans were in 2019.

[Frodo]

Why would you say that?  I think they are sitting pretty right now with full control over everything else in the state apart from the governor's mansion which I predict will fall into their lap starting in 2027 (and stay there this time) with Gov. Andrew Beshear being term-limited out of office.

[Rjjr77]

Yes at this point. There is absolutely no reason for them to have not won the Governorship in a blowout in 2023, yet instead they lose by over 5 points.

Ohio Democrats. Worst in the world

[Progressive Pessimist]

Yes at this point. There is absolutely no reason for them to have not won the Governorship in a blowout in 2023, yet instead they lose by over 5 points.

Ohio Democrats. Worst in the world

Not as bad as Florida Democrats.

[DaleCooper]

Beshear mostly won because of a massive turnout advantage. A competent state party certainly would have (a) predicted that given other off-year elections during Trump/Biden and (b) done its best to mitigate the damage, but the KY GOP evidently did not:

DDHQ estimates that 79% of Biden voters in 2020 turned out to vote, while only 53% of Trump voters voted in the 2023 Kentucky Governor election.

https://decisiondeskhq.com/how-democrat-andy-beshear-won-re-election-in-deep-red-kentucky/

Good point, but this does raise another problem for the people claiming that 2024 will be an easy Trump win. If 80% of Biden voters are coming out to vote in 2023, how in the hell can you bet on Biden having a turnout problem in a proper presidential election? Regardless of what polls say about Biden, Democrats have had an enthusiasm advantage since 2020 and I am not convinced that Trump being on the ballot will completely erase that next year.

[wbrocks67]

Beshear mostly won because of a massive turnout advantage. A competent state party certainly would have (a) predicted that given other off-year elections during Trump/Biden and (b) done its best to mitigate the damage, but the KY GOP evidently did not:

DDHQ estimates that 79% of Biden voters in 2020 turned out to vote, while only 53% of Trump voters voted in the 2023 Kentucky Governor election.

https://decisiondeskhq.com/how-democrat-andy-beshear-won-re-election-in-deep-red-kentucky/

That turnout data is unbelievable given where the row offices ended up and what happened in 2022.

Even if that was the case, that means that GOP still had a turnout edge in the end.

53% of Trump voters would be 703k. 79% of Biden voters would be 610k. That's still nearly a 100k edge, so Beshear clearly won on persuasion as well.

[The Economy is Getting Worse]

Beshear mostly won because of a massive turnout advantage. A competent state party certainly would have (a) predicted that given other off-year elections during Trump/Biden and (b) done its best to mitigate the damage, but the KY GOP evidently did not:

DDHQ estimates that 79% of Biden voters in 2020 turned out to vote, while only 53% of Trump voters voted in the 2023 Kentucky Governor election.

https://decisiondeskhq.com/how-democrat-andy-beshear-won-re-election-in-deep-red-kentucky/

Good point, but this does raise another problem for the people claiming that 2024 will be an easy Trump win. If 80% of Biden voters are coming out to vote in 2023, how in the hell can you bet on Biden having a turnout problem in a proper presidential election? Regardless of what polls say about Biden, Democrats have had an enthusiasm advantage since 2020 and I am not convinced that Trump being on the ballot will completely erase that next year.

It varies by state. Ie Biden might have no turnout problems with white voters but more turnout problems with minority voters. Also, 80% is still not much more than midterm turnout.

Also, polling generally shows Biden doing well with the electorate that turns out in midterms, but a lot of Biden-Trump vote switchers among the drop-off electorate. We'll see if this actually happens.

[The Economy is Getting Worse]

And no, New York Democrats probably hold the distinction right now, but it could easily change by next year. Arizona Republicans and Florida Democrats sucked last year, but they could both be changing with a new chair.

[TDAS04]

Not if you count state Democratic parties.