Gov. Matt Bevin says that he looks forward to returning to the private sector once his term as governor ends on December 10.
Bevin, a Republican, lost his race for reelection by about 5,000 votes to Democratic rival Andy Beshear. A recanvass of the election results only produced one additional vote for a write-in candidate.
When asked what he will do next during an interview on Fox and Friends on Saturday, Bevin said “we’ll see.”
“I find myself now back to exactly where I’ve been,” Bevin said. “The private sector is a wonderful place, it really is. It served me well for years and I look forward to returning.”
Bevin is the president of Bevin Bells, a bell company based in East Hampton, Connecticut, but he made his fortune as an investment manager. He founded the company Integrity Asset Management, which managed public pension funds, and sold the company in 2011.
During his term, many speculated that Bevin was trying to get a job in President Donald Trump’s administration. But following Bevin’s loss to Beshear, Trump has distanced himself from Bevin in a series of public statements from him and his surrogates.
Shortly after the election, Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale said that the president “just about dragged Gov. Matt Bevin across the finish line, helping him run stronger than expected in what turned into a very close race at the end.”
Trump held an election eve rally in Lexington to try and provide a last-minute boost to Bevin’s reelection effort.
During the interview on Fox and Friends, Bevin called Trump’s rally “wonderful,” but said it was difficult to win reelection in what he called a “heavily blue state.”
“In fairness to the president, I think it’s a little too much to expect him to single-handedly in one night make a difference in the race in an entire state,” Bevin said.
Kentucky’s electorate is made of 49 percent Democrats and 42 percent Republicans, but registrations and elections have trended in favor of Republicans in recent years.
Of his final weeks in office, Bevin said he has “a lot of paperwork to get through.”
“So I’ll be doing that in my remaining days as governor,” Bevin said.
