GOP takes two governor's races, Ohio rejects legal pot

Republicans took another governor’s mansion tonight when voters in Kentucky elected Matt Bevin as the state’s top official. He is only the second Republican to lead Kentucky in the last four decades.

Bevin campaigned on a promise to scale back the state’s expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. He also voiced support for Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who became the face of the fight for religious liberty when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Bevin’s victory over Democrat and two-term Attorney General Jack Conway is widely seen as a sign of things to come nationally in the 2016 election. Conway embraced President Barack Obama’s health care reform package, which has not been universally accepted as proponents predicted.

In the only other gubernatorial race on the ballot tonight, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant won reelection easily over his Democratic challenger, newcomer Robert Gray.

In another closely watched ballot measure, voters in Ohio rejected a constitutional amendment to make marijuana legal for recreational and medicinal use. In addition to making pot legal, the proposal would have created a monopoly on marijuana production. Although four other states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana in the last few years, conservative Ohio was seen as a barometer for the palatability of legalization efforts across the country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.