Tuesday was election day in America. While these off-off-year elections feature fewer candidates on the ballots and fewer voters at the polls, these elections still have consequences. One of the most consequential races was the Kentucky gubernatorial election, one of only three gubernatorial elections this year.
Despite polls predicting a close race, Republican nominee Matt Bevin won the Kentucky governorship by a comfortable margin. We’ve written about Bevin before. During the campaign, he advocated closing Kentucky’s defined benefit pensions and moving teachers, firefighters, nurses, and other public employees into risky 401(k)-style systems. We warned him not to follow the example of neighboring West Virginia, which closed its pension plan for teachers with disastrous consequences.
It’s unclear what stance Bevin will take as governor. During the general election campaign, he seemed to move away from his hardline stance on converting to a defined contribution, 401(k)-style system. Let’s hope that as governor he will support retirement security for Kentucky’s working families by protecting public pensions in the Bluegrass State.