First GOP Pickup: Barr Beats Chandler in Ky. Rematch
Rep. Ben Chandler, one of the last remaining white Democrats in the South, lost his bid for reelection to GOP attorney Andy Barr in Kentucky's 6th District. This Republican pickup is the first congressional seat to change hands in this election.
Chandler defeated Barr in 2010 by just 647 votes, but this year Republicans successfully tied the Democrat to President Obama , who is exceedingly unpopular in the area. Republicans also credited Barr's campaign for drawing Chandler into a losing battle over coal this fall.
One of the major issues for Chandler, like any Democrat in a red-leaning district, had to do with Obama's Affordable Care Act. And while Chandler tried to distance himself with some components of the law, Barr made issue of the fact that the Democrat voted with his colleagues not to repeal it.
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