In his first state-wide interview since being elected Kentucky’s next Governor, Republican Matt Bevin said he was confident that week before the voters went to the polls that he had won the race.
Despite being behind Democrat Jack Conway in most polls by five percent, Bevin told KET’s Bill Goodman during a Sunday broadcast of ‘One to One’ that he and his team were getting much different numbers. “The one thing that pollsters don’t have is the finger on the pulse. They’re reliant on who answers the phone and whether or not those folks who answer are shooting straight with them and will do what they say at the ballot box and that’s always a crap shoot. What I had done that no one else in this state had been doing is for the last two years I’ve been traveling around this state more than 95,000 miles and in the course of doing so have very finger very much on the pulse” Bevin said he was hearing that a bulk of votes did not want a ‘career politician’ in office and that’s what he banked his campaign on.
Bevin also touched on state employee and teacher retirement systems saying there isn’t “an undiscovered magic pot of money or dedicated revenue source” to pay for it and across the board “belt-tightening” will be needed. He also promised to push for charter schools and vocational training opportunities. As for Kynect and the state’s Medicaid program, Bevin told Goodman he’s empathetic with the plight of families who lack good health insurance but he declined to reveal any specific plans for either.
The governor-elect has selected his core transition team and promises to represent all Kentuckians regardless of their party affiliation; however Bevin’s job application website for non-merit state jobs within his administration calls for applications to share his “conservative values.” Bevin officially takes office on December 8th.