Politics is still mostly local, if you suck, regardless of party, you’re out.
Bevin was great! The problem is that he proved what I’ve been saying for decades: The reason we, as a civilization, are screwed is because even if a politician DOES rise through the ranks and makes the tough decisions necessary to control our runaway government spending will get handily booted out by the voters because they don’t want the pain.
My theory was proven with Bevin. He was turning things around mightily, but it pissed off government employees, especially teachers. That cooked his goose.