GOP loses Kentucky election in upset

Be still my beating heart! The Republicans just lost one of the most hard-fought elections in recent Kentucky history by 10 percentage points! This after I thought for certain that the entry of an independent into the race had dashed any hopes of keeping this seat safe from the GOP.

The final result in the special election for Kentucky House in the 56th District is:

James Kay (D) - 44%
Lyen Crews (R) - 34%
John-Mark Hack (I) - 21%

(Figures do not add to 100% because of rounding.)

Now, I wasn't endorsing Kay or Hack. The important thing is that Lyen Crews lost. I had joked that Lyen Crews should change his name to Cry 'n' Lose - but one thing we won't be calling him any time soon is Laugh 'n' Win.

Let's look at the stats here: The GOP lost this election by a wider margin than in any other contested election for this seat in years. Moreover, Crews got only 34%! Thirty-four!!! There's places in Kentucky where I'd expect the GOP to get only 34% (if that). But a middle-class, mostly suburban district like the 56th is not one of them.

If you're a Republican, seeing your party win only 34% in a suburban Kentucky district is not where you want to be. Joe Fischer has to be quaking right about now.

This is especially amusing because the GOP kept boasting about how this election was going to be a bellwether for whether they'd seize control of the Kentucky House next year. Well, today's election has made that task all the harder.

No way in hell did I expect the GOP to lose today by 10%!