Like a craft bourbon, Kentucky's Democrats seem to have distilled to just a few urban centers, Louisville and Lexington, while their support everywhere else in the state seems to have evaporated. Nowhere was that more acutely on display than in last week's governor's race, in which Democratic nominee Jack Conway got clobbered in rural counties and Republican Matt Bevin won a surprisingly large victory. Democrats never had much hope for 2016 gains in Kentucky, but after their demoralizing defeat, the prospect of adding a second seat outside of Louisville's 3rd CD looks even more remote. Kentucky's 5-1 GOP advantage is stable. Instead, all the action looks to be in the 1st CD GOP primary, where GOP Rep. Ed Whitfield is retiring after 22 years and the contest to replace him is already shaping up to be an ugly affair. KY-01: OPEN (Whitfield) (R) – West: Paducah Solid Republican. Western Kentucky has become solidly Republican, and now that 11-term Rep. Ed Whitfield has called it quits and the gubernatorial race is over, the GOP primary to replace him is heating up.
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