Attorney General Andy Beshear has won the Democratic nomination for governor in Kentucky, setting up a showdown with his political nemesis -- Republican incumbent Matt Bevin.

In Tuesday's primary election, Beshear defeated two other prominent Democrats -- former state auditor Adam Edelen and longtime state Rep. Rocky Adkins.

Beshear will try to restore the governorship for Democrats and carry on a family tradition. His father, Steve Beshear, was a popular governor whose two terms preceded Bevin's tenure.

Even during the primary campaign, Beshear aimed most of his criticism at Bevin. The two have waged a series of legal battles in recent years as Beshear challenged some of Bevin's executive actions and sued him on pension and education issues. </s> May 21 (UPI) -- Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Attorney General Andy Beshear are set to face off in the state's gubernatorial election in November after winning their primaries Tuesday.

Both candidates emerged from tight races on Tuesday night as Bevin won the Republican primary with 52.4 percent of the vote, edging out state Rep. Robert Goferth who won 39 percent, while Beshear earned 37 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary to defeat Rocky Adkins and Adam Edelen, who each received nearly 30 percent of the vote.

Bevin, who clashed with Beshear over a lawsuit the attorney general filed over a pension measure that sparked statewide teacher protests, framed the general election as a battle of opposing ideas.

"It's going to be a remarkably stark contrast between the two tickets -- conservative vs. liberal, black and white, night and day," said Bevin.

In addition to introducing the pension plan and opposing the teacher's strike, Bevin received pushback for attempting to introduce rules for the state's Medicaid program requiring "able-bodied" adults to work, go to school or volunteer to receive benefits, which were blocked by a federal judge.

During his campaign, Beshear touted victories blocking Bevin's pension reform plan and cuts to the state's colleges and universities.

Beshear, whose father preceded Bevin as the state's governor, noted Bevin struggled to earn a decisive win in the Republican primary, despite receiving backing from President Donald Trump.

"Tonight we not only won this primary, we did something we're going to do in November, we got more raw votes than Matt Bevin," he said. </s> Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin will face Democratic state Attorney General Andy Beshear in a closely watched general election this November after both men won competitive primaries Tuesday.

Beshear, the son of former Gov. Steve Beshear, prevailed over two main challengers for the Democratic nomination: state House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins and former state Auditor Adam Edelen. When The Associated Press called the race, Andy Beshear had 38 percent of the vote, Adkins was at 32 percent and Edelen had 28 percent.

Adkins, a conservative Democrat who opposes abortion rights, ran up big margins in rural counties in Eastern Kentucky, his political base. But he had little support in the Democratic-leaning cities of Louisville and Lexington, and Beshear ran stronger in rural counties in Western Kentucky, too.

Beshear was the front-runner for much of the primary, but he found himself battling off attacks from a pro-Edelen super PAC about his tenure as attorney general and had to watch both his left and right flanks on topics like contraception.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Bevin defeated state Rep. Robert Goforth in a closer-than-expected primary race, winning with 52 percent of the vote. Bevin was weakest in the eastern part of the state, parts of which Goforth, who finished with 39 percent of the vote, represents in the state House.

Tuesday’s primaries preview what is likely to be a competitive race in the fall. Despite Kentucky’s Republican lean, public polling shows Bevin with low approval ratings that could hamper his reelection bid.

Noam Lee, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, said the GOP primary results proved that Bevin was “damaged and deeply unpopular."

Meanwhile, Republican Governors Association spokeswoman Amelia Chassé Alcivar called Beshear “a liberal politician and insider who thinks he’s entitled to the state’s highest office just because of his last name.”

The Kentucky governor’s race is one of three gubernatorial elections in 2019. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards is facing a challenging reelection campaign in Louisiana, while both parties will hold primaries in Mississippi in August to set up a race for that state’s open governorship. </s> Kentucky Democrats on Tuesday nominated the state’s attorney general, Andy Beshear, to run against embattled Gov. Matt Bevin, who fended off a surprisingly strong challenge in a Republican primary that illustrated his general election vulnerability.

Mr. Bevin captured only about 52 percent of the vote and lost a wide swath of counties in eastern Kentucky to Robert Goforth, a little-known state lawmaker.

In Mr. Beshear, the governor will be facing the son of the man he succeeded, in a race that will test whether Kentucky’s turn toward the G.O.P., and President Trump’s appeal in the state, is enough to offset the incumbent’s deep unpopularity. The general election is Nov. 5.

[Here’s our results page for the Kentucky governor primary.]

Mr. Beshear survived a scare of his own in Tuesday’s primary. He won with about 38 percent of the ballots after splitting voters with another mainstream Democrat, the former state auditor Adam Edelen, and a conservative Democrat, State Representative Rocky Adkins. </s> LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Attorney General Andy Beshear won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination with 38% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary election.

Beshear was trailed by House Minority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins, who won 32% of the vote, and former state Auditor Adam Edelen, who took 28% of the vote, in the primary, according to unofficial results. Beshear held a 23,468-vote lead over Adkins in the unofficial results.

Beshear’s victory sets up a head-to-head contest with Gov. Matt Bevin in the Nov. 5 general election. The two have been at loggerheads since winning their offices in 2015.

Beshear has made his court battles with the Republican governor a key talking point in his campaign. But Bevin hasn’t been shy about tossing his own jabs at the first-term attorney general, notably for hiring a man as his top lieutenant who was later convicted of accepting bribes during his work in the administration of former Gov. Steve Beshear, Andy Beshear’s father and Bevin’s predecessor in the office.

In his acceptance speech, Beshear pivoted to his Republican rival and offered sharp criticism of Bevin's four years in office.

"He has bullied our teachers, our first responders and our social workers," Beshear said. "He's called them names, and he has shut them out of the Capitol that is their house, but we are not going to let him distract us. We are not going to let him pull us away from the issues that matter most to people."

Beshear will need to contend with Bevin's support from President Donald Trump, who carried Kentucky by nearly 30 points in 2016.

Vice President Mike Pence has campaigned for Bevin twice during the primary, which the Republican won with 52 percent of the vote, and Trump recorded robocalls on the governor's behalf a day before GOP voters hit the polls.

A statement released by Bevin's campaign referenced Trump, saying the pair "has grown the economy resulting in over 50,000 jobs leading to the lowest unemployment in Kentucky history."

"Andy Beshear brags about voting for Hillary Clinton and will oppose the President at every opportunity," Bevin campaign manager Davis Paine said in a statement. "While Governor Bevin is moving our state forward, Andy Beshear is a failed Frankfort career politician who will bring Kentucky back to the failed liberal policies of yesterday."

Both Adkins and Edelen said they would work to unify Democrats around their party's nominee.

Beshear said that's something he aimed to do as the Democratic standard-bearer in the Nov. 5 election.

"These next five months and the next four years are about you," Beshear said. "And I'm going to fight for you every day." </s> Voters have decided on a Democratic candidate for Kentucky’s governor race.

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear defeated his opponents in the primary election with 135,500 votes.

The other candidates on the ballot were State House Minority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins, Former State Auditor Adam Edelen, and state worker Geoff Young.

In a gubernatorial debate this month, Beshear said he'd propose funding higher education "in a way you haven't seen" in a decade. He said he'd demand that public universities lower tuition as part of increased state support.

Beshear has had a tumultuous relationship with Republican Governor Matt Bevin. The attorney general against Bevin and the state Labor Cabinet concerning the teacher sickouts.

When he filed to run for governor, Beshear released his 2017 tax returns, urging his opponents to do the same ahead of the primary. Bevin was elected in 2015 without releasing his tax returns. He has filed a financial disclosure with the state showing his interests in various businesses.

Click here to read more about Beshear’s platform on his campaign website. </s> LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Andy Beshear rode his record as attorney general and his family name to win the closely watched Democratic primary for Kentucky governor

 Tuesday, which sets up what could be a deeply personal contest against Republican incumbent Matt Bevin this fall.

The Associated Press called the race for Beshear at 8:40 p.m. Tuesday with him leading the race with 38% of the vote with about 90% of precincts reporting.

House Minority Rocky Adkins of Sandy Hook came in second by cleaning up in the eastern half of the state. He trailed Beshear with 33% of the vote.

Former State Auditor Adam Edelen, who ran a fiercely progressive campaign by Kentucky standards, was unable to catch fire in the liberal strongholds of Louisville or Lexington, where he came in second to Beshear.

"Tonight we not only won this primary, we did something we're going to do in November – we got more raw votes than Matt Bevin," Beshear told supporters in Louisville.

Beshear, 41, son of former Gov. Steve Beshear, was able to stiff-arm a surge from Edelen, a former chief of staff in his dad's administration, who along with a super PAC unleashed some stinging attacks in the primary's final weeks.

During his victory speech, Beshear noted how Bevin barely received 50% of the vote in the GOP primary. He knocked the governor for name calling and bullying others, saying this race shouldn't be defined by attacks or national partisanship.

"I will tell you what I see: This race is not about what's going on in Washington, D.C.," Beshear said. "It's not about right versus left. Folks, it's about right versus wrong."

Edelen, 44, who received 27% of the vote, said the chance just to run for governor and to talk to people he cared about was a lifetime dream. He indicated he would wholeheartedly support Beshear in the general election.

"Despite our differences, they are still just family differences," Edelen said during his concession speech in Louisville. "And when you compare them to that which separates us from Matt Bevin, we are easily brought back together by that which bonds us – a commitment to building the future of Kentucky."

Adkins, 59, told supporters in Morehead that they ran a competitive contest, and that he will continue to travel the state in support of Beshear.

"I will tell you this: Being an old athlete, you learn how to win and you learn how to win with respect and dignity," he said. "But in defeat you learn how to turn it into something positive. I'll be traveling Kentucky trying my best to help Andy Beshear over these next months to help him win in November."

Beshear had been the presumed front-runner since he entered the race last summer. He had huge name recognition and ran a disciplined campaign that stuck to a script about his record in court defending key Democratic constituencies in court.

Beshear, unlike his opponents, was able to use those legal victories as an indication that he could beat Bevin in the fall.

On the campaign trail, Beshear noted one of his first major acts as attorney general was blocking Bevin's $18 million in cuts to Kentucky's colleges and universities. He also touted how in 2018 he blocked the governor and the GOP-controlled legislature's pension reform package when it was inserted into a sewer bill at the last minute.

Beshear would regularly describe Bevin as a bully who was beneath the office he occupied, and that the state owes it to teachers to keep its pension promise.

The best way to salvage the woefully underfunded retirement system is with more money, he said. Beshear, like his father in 2007, believes expanded gaming such as casino gambling and sports betting is the best answer.

The idea has repeatedly died in the General Assembly, but Beshear believes putting 100% of that revenue toward pensions will persuade state lawmakers to hop on board. He also wants Kentucky to legalize cannabis for medical use, which would be taxed under his plan, to rake in about $50 million annually.

Republicans seem eager to take on Beshear as the Democratic nominee, however.

Chief among their criticisms will be the attorney general hiring Democrat Tim Longmeyer, who was later indicted for bribery, as his deputy attorney general. Other GOP operatives will smear Beshear's victory as a warning to their voters that Democratic cronyism is returning to Frankfort. "By choosing Andy Beshear as their nominee, Kentucky Democrats have embraced a liberal politician and insider who thinks he’s entitled to the state’s highest office just because of his last name," said Amelia Alcivar, spokeswoman for the Republican Association of Kentucky. "From supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016, despite her campaign promise to put Kentucky coal workers out of business, to his plans to grow the size of government, to his influence peddling pedigree, Andy Beshear is completely out-of-touch with the people of Kentucky and, if elected, would only take the state backwards. Kentucky voters will reject Andy Beshear and his far-left, big government agenda at the ballot box this November." Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at pbailey@courierjournal.com. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Andy Beshear wins Democratic primary for Kentucky governor, to face incumbent Matt Bevin </s> Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear has won the Democratic Party nomination for governor.

Beshear defeated House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins and former State Auditor Adam Edelen to win the race.

The attorney general was able to win on the backs of voters in urban areas like Louisville and Lexington. Rocky Adkins won much of Kentucky's rural counties, while Adam Edelen won a couple of counties in the Louisville metropolitan area.

Beshear will go on to face political rival Gov. Matt Bevin in the general election. </s> KENTUCKY, USA — Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear has won the Democratic nomination for Kentucky governor.

He faced Adam Edelen, the former state auditor, and Rocky Adkins, the state House minority floor leader.

Beshear is the son of former Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, and he has served as Kentucky’s Attorney General since 2016.

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Matt Bevin wins the Republican nomination and Andy Beshear wins the Democratic nomination primaries ahead of the November 5 gubernatorial election.