Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin is a presidential phone-buddy and White House regular who’s become one of President Donald Trump’s loudest surrogates.
He’s also one of the most unpopular governors in the country, facing a treacherous reelection in November. And the White House, fearing that an embarrassing loss in a deep-red state would stoke doubts about the president’s own ability to win another term, is preparing to go all-in to save him.
Vice President Mike Pence, who recently flew to Lexington to raise money for the governor, is scheduled to headline a gala dinner hosted by Bevin on Friday evening. On Saturday, Bevin will air his first TV ad during the Kentucky Derby — expected to be a Trump-themed spot packed with footage of the president.
The White House is in further discussions with Bevin’s team, which has drawn up a list of requests that includes multiple Trump campaign stops in the state. During a backstage chat with Bevin at last week’s National Rifle Association convention in Indianapolis, Pence pledged to the governor that he would have all the help he wanted, according to a person familiar with the conversation.
The Trump team has watched with growing concern as Bevin’s approval ratings have plummeted to the low 30s. With the presidential campaign kicking into gear, the Kentucky governor’s race is likely to be the most closely-watched contest in the run-up to 2020, and Trump aides acknowledge alarm bells will go off if one of the president’s closest allies loses in a state that Trump won by nearly 30 percentage points.
