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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The 83-vote margin holds in the Republican race for Kentucky governor. A second look at voting machine totals and absentee ballots Thursday revealed no change in the results of the May 19 primary. Matt Bevin finished ahead of state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer by 83 votes. The Comer campaign says he is in Florida, and will issue a statement on his next steps Friday afternoon. WDRB caught up with Bevin as he arrived at his campaign headquarters moments after the results of the recanvass were announced. He says the result was not unexpected, but he won't...

When a statewide race unofficially comes down to 83 votes, pinpointing the exact cause of the second-place finisher’s electoral shortcomings is an exercise in futility. That’s especially true in the case of Agriculture Commissioner James Comer. Republican analysts pointed to Comer’s light political activity in Jefferson County, the “Fort Sumter” speech he gave in the backyard of U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers in late 2013 and allegations, which he has categorically denied, of abusing a college girlfriend and escorting her to an abortion clinic as factors in his unofficial narrow defeat at the hands of Louisville investment manager Matt Bevin. Virtually...

... “Who was the best communicator, who was the most dynamic, who was the best on camera, and who was best during debates? It was Matt Bevin,” said Republican consultant Ted Jackson, who backed Comer in the GOP primary. ... Scott Jennings, who directed pro-McConnell groups last year, said super PACs never “laid a glove” on the unofficial nominee in this year’s primary compared to last year, when Bevin “got hit much harder.” “I actually don’t think he was hit that hard in the primary,” Jennings said. “My view is Comer and Heiner hit each other pretty hard, but I...

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky's volatile Republican primary for governor ended in a virtual tie Tuesday night as less than 100 votes separated Matt Bevin and James Comer. Republicans Hal Heiner and Will T. Scott conceded early, and it appeared Bevin was headed to an improbable victory following his lopsided loss to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in last year's primary. But Comer surged ahead by a narrow margin following returns from the western part of the state, including large margins in Warren County, where Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul lives. By the end of the night, Bevin led Comer by 83...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin’s speech sure sounded like an acceptance speech, in spite of the slim margin of victory and the recanvass that will follow. He thanked his supporters, staff, wife and nine children as well as his running mate. He was proud to point out that he and Jenean Hampton grew up poor and said their rise to this election is what Kentucky is all about. Hear his full speech here:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jamie Comer is holding out hope for a recanvass of votes to go his way. But he said Tuesday night that he called opponent Matt Bevin and promised to walk door to door with him to help him beat Jack Conway in the fall, if it came down to that. Hear his speech below:

[Ky.]Republican gubernatorial candidate Hal Heiner took the stage at about 8:45 election night to thank his staff, volunteers and family for their support. He said although the race didn’t end the way that he and his running mate KC Crosbie wanted it to end, they are still proud of their journey and would not trade the experience for anything. He said he called Matt Bevin to congratulate him on his victory and told him he needs Bevin to beat Jack Conway in the general election in November. You can hear the full concession speech here:

[Kentucky] - Just seven days from the May 19 primary, state Republicans are split in their support among gubernatorial contenders. Merely 3 percentage points separates the top candidate from third place in the race, according to the latest Bluegrass Poll conducted by SurveyUSA for the Lexington Herald-Leader, Louisville Courier Journal, WKYT-TV and WHAS-TV. Louisville investment manager Matt Bevin leads the field with 27 percent, Agriculture Commissioner James Comer has 26 percent and former Louisville Metro Councilman Hal Heiner has 25 percent in the poll. Former state Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott is polling at 8 percent. The poll, conducted...

LEXINGTON — A bitter Band-Aid was ripped off at the onset, but Kentucky’s gubernatorial candidates touched on a bevy of subjects during their final debate on KET’s “Kentucky Tonight” on Monday. Bill Goodman, who moderated the debate, started the statewide broadcast by asking Agriculture Commissioner James Comer about allegations of abuse levied by a college girlfriend last week and former Louisville Metro Councilman Hal Heiner whether his campaign had any involvement in Marilyn Thomas’ decision to air the accusations that date back to 1991. Comer said he has been truthful in his denials of Thomas’ allegations of physical and mental...

The poll of 501 Republican primary voters finds James Comer leading the pack with 28 percent, Hal Heiner with 27 percent, and Matt Bevin at 25 percent. The survey has a margin or error of +/- of 4.4 percent, placing the top three candidates neck and neck.

An already tense GOP gubernatorial primary grew testier Wednesday as the four candidates vying for their party’s nomination debated issues – both personal and statewide – on Kentucky Sports Radio. Allegations of abuse levied by a college girlfriend against Agriculture Commissioner James Comer overshadowed the latter half of the hourlong forum. In a one-on-one segment with KSR host Matt Jones, Comer again denied accusations of mental and physical abuse and that he drove his ex to an abortion clinic in 1991 while a student at Western Kentucky University. He blamed fellow Republican gubernatorial hopeful Hal Heiner’s campaign for pushing the...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Hal Heiner has issued an apology after reports surfaced that the husband of his running mate had communicated with a blogger who promotes material against James Comer, one of Heiner’s GOP opponents in the May 19 primary. The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Sam Youngman reported the story on Wednesday. The newspaper obtained emails that showed Scott Crosbie, husband of Heiner’s lieutenant governor pick KC Crosbie, speaking in the fall with Lexington attorney Michael Adams, who operates a website dedicated solely to Comer. KC Crosbie was copied on some emails, according to the Herald-Leader. Comer, Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner, denied the...

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s decision to expand Medicaid eligibility has put the state on an unsustainable path when the federal government ratchets down its share of the bill beginning in 2017, Republican gubernatorial candidates James Comer and Hal Heiner say. Beshear’s executive order, made possible through the Affordable Care Act, has added more than 425,000 recipients to Kentucky’s Medicaid rolls, and Washington, D.C., has paid 100 percent of the costs for the newly eligible. Beshear based his decision in part on the projected $15.6 billion economic impact once the program is fully implemented in fiscal year 2021. .... “When Gov....