Steve Beshear was not the favorite pick of the democrats in 2007, but among the field he was seen as the least "undesirable" a long time democratic source in Frankfort told me. "Anybody could have won against the republicans that year," he said,"and Beshear was our safe harbor."
But Beshear took a huge risk in the race that he probably didn't need to take. He put all of his eggs in the "gambling" basket.
As many Frankfort insiders will tell you, in the first year of Beshear's term the kind of people seen coming and going from his first floor office made it pretty clear that casino types were putting on the full court press.
Over time Beshear has gambled on reforming the makeup of government hoping to eliminate votes in opposition to his casino plans. With very few exceptions when Beshear injected himself into the election process his side came up losers.
The gambling interests are not going away. But the man on whom they placed their bets has not paid off. Odds are they are going to move to a different dealer next time around, and don't be surprised if that ends up being a republican.
They already have enough democrat votes that by adding a few republicans they could get what they wanted. That won't happen in Kentucky unless we have a republican governor. Who that might be is pure speculation right now, but one thing is a pretty safe bet. Beshear is a one-termer.
No, Beshear is a 2-termer unless a Republican is willing to step up to the plate soon.
Posted by: Noah Meeks | December 09, 2009 at 11:06 PM