 Beshear was dealt the first political setback of his term in the special election to fill the state Senate seat of his lieutenant governor, Daniel Mongiardo. Despite a 2-to-1 voter registration advantage in the district for Democratic candidates and the fact that both Beshear and Mongiardo campaigned heavily for Democratic nominee Scott Alexander, Republican Brandon Smith captured the open seat by 401 votes. The loss by Alexander was the most expensive in state legislative history and gave Republicans a 22 – 15 advantage over Democratic members in the state senate; the chamber also included one Independent.
