Linda Belcher, a Democrat first elected in 2008, won the special election for Kentucky’s 49th District with 68.45 percent of the vote. Matt Bevin (R), making Kentucky a right-to-work state and banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. A special election followed, with Johnson’s widow, Rebecca, winning the Republican nomination to replace him. “I’m the other half of that person.”In the end, Belcher easily defeated Johnson, marking the 37th Democratic victory in a Republican-held state legislative seat since the start of 2017. One week earlier, Democrats won an upset victory in Sarasota, Fla.; one week before that, the party flipped control of a legislative seat in Missouri.

Source: Washington Post February 21, 2018 01:24 UTC