Fewer than one-third of Kentucky voters will pick next governor: report

Kentucky officials are projecting that just under a third of eligible voters will cast ballots in Tuesday’s gubernatorial election, when Gov. Matt Bevin (R) will face his Democratic challenger, state Attorney General Andy Beshear.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said last week that her office is forecasting 31 percent of registered voters will participate in this year’s general election, slightly up from the governor’s race four years ago, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

{mosads}Grimes urged more registered voters to turn out for the election.

“It’s simply not OK that only a small portion of Kentuckians will possibly elect our next constitutional officers,” she said in a statement, according to the Herald Leader. “Our democracy depends on people showing up to the polls to make their voices heard. I challenge all registered voters to get up, get out and get loud and exercise their right to vote on Tuesday.”

Three statewide polls recognized by RealClearPolitics show a tight race between Bevin and Beshear, whose father served as governor from 2007 to 2015.

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Beshear has been touting his campaign’s voter turnout efforts. At a campaign stop in Louisville last week, he said his supporters had canvassed nearly 1 million voters ahead of Tuesday’s election.

“All across Kentucky we see people ready to get out and not only vote but to volunteer,” he reportedly said. “We have had over 1,000 separate volunteers helping to knock on more than 900,000 doors and in the last days of the campaign we are going to have 3,000. That shows the type of energy we got and why we are going to win.”