(WHAS11)-Some believe polls that suggest it'll be a nail-bite,. others just can't trust Kentucky political polls. But what do analysts predict campaigns need to do to get their guy elected Governor of the Commonwealth with just 5 days until voters cast their ballots?
It's going to be a busy next few days. Andy Beshear will be crisscrossing the state with most of the Democratic ticket. Vice President Mike Pence will make several stops tomorrow with Governor Matt Bevin, then President Trump is scheduled for an election-eve rally at Rupp Arena.
So we met with the strategists we'll be analyzing results with on Election Night for insight into what each side has to accomplish.
"If the election is about Matt Bevin, Matt Bevin loses”, said Democratic strategist, Matt Erwin.
Republican strategist, Julia Crigler said this about Andy Beshear, "I think he has to make a case besides I'm not Matt Bevin.”
We wanted to know, where are the votes both sides can still win? Mrs. Crigler’s answer is one part Northern Kentucky, one part Western Kentucky and a double-dose of Eastern Kentucky.
“I think, ultimately, Matt Bevin's final closing argument is jobs, the economy, both of which Eastern Kentucky has benefited from as well as the pro-life issue which at the end of the day I think conservative republicans given a binary choice will come home for Matt Bevin."
Matt Erwin is thinking closer to home. Not necessarily the Democrat stronghold of Jefferson County as a whole, but specifically Senate District 36 which is held by Republican Julie Raque Adams.
“In 2018 we saw this sort of a Republican coalition that had been there forever collapse, flip two State House seats, widely support Mayor Fischer's reelection. If those people continue to support Democrats. It will be a game-changer for the Beshear Campaign if, in fact, that happens.”
Matt Erwin thinks that voter mobilization will be key if Andy Beshear is going to win. And while both of our strategists disagree on whether the planned visits by the President and VP will have a large impact, they agree that to seal the deal, Governor Bevin needs to keep national issues in the conversation until election day.
"I think the nationalization of this race absolutely plays to Matt Bevin's favor, without question", said Crigler.
"He needs to shift the conversation to what's going on nationally and try to convince people that he is part of a broader movement and is not, in fact, the person he has been for the past four years”, Erwin explained.
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