Kentucky governor's race headlines off-year state elections


              FILE - In a Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015 file photo, Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin, left, talks to people following the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce's Red, White and Blue Picnic on the lawn of the Daviess County Courthouse, in Owensboro, Ky. Kentucky is among several states in which voters will cast ballots Tuesday Nov. 3 in off-year elections that will be watched for any signs of the nation's shifting political attitudes ahead of next year's presidential election. (Jenny Sevcik/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT
FILE - In a Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015 file photo, Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin, left, talks to people following the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce's Red, White and Blue Picnic on the lawn of the Daviess County Courthouse, in Owensboro, Ky. Kentucky is among several states in which voters will cast ballots Tuesday Nov. 3 in off-year elections that will be watched for any signs of the nation's shifting political attitudes ahead of next year's presidential election. (Jenny Sevcik/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A county clerk from Kentucky jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and secretly recorded videos that reignited the debate over abortion dominated national politics this summer.

But in Kentucky, home to Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis and the most competitive governor's race in the country, Republican Matt Bevin and Democrat Jack Conway have scarcely mentioned those issues in TV ads and debates in the final weeks of the campaign. Instead, the focus has stayed on issues of everyday concern to voters, such as health care and education.

Kentucky is among several states in which voters will cast ballots Tuesday in off-year elections that will be watched for any signs of the nation's shifting political attitudes ahead of next year's presidential election. Other races garnering attention include rival school-funding initiatives in Mississippi, an attempt to restrict Airbnb operations in San Francisco and mayoral races in Salt Lake City, Houston and Philadelphia.

This year, three states are choosing their next governor. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, a Republican, appears on track for re-election, while Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, is prohibited from running for a third term. A runoff in Louisiana between Democrat John Bel Edwards and Republican David Vitter is scheduled for Nov. 21.

Kentucky has drawn interest not only for having an open gubernatorial seat but for being one of only a few states in the country where political power is divided. Democrats control statewide offices and the state House, while Republicans dominate the state Senate and the congressional delegation. The governor's race has turned into a referendum on President Barack Obama's signature health care law, and the results could affect the health insurance of more than half a million people.

Beshear used an executive order to expand the state's Medicaid program to cover an additional 400,000 Kentucky residents and create a health exchange, where more than 100,000 people have purchased discounted health plans with the help of federal subsidies. In the race to replace him, Republican Matt Bevin, a Louisville businessman, has promised to scale back the expansion and eliminate the exchange, saying taxpayers can't afford it. Democrat Jack Conway, a two-term state attorney general, has called Bevin's plan "callous" and said he would keep both programs.

A third candidate, independent Drew Curtis, has said he would keep the Medicaid expansion as well.

Bevin and Curtis have said they would sign a bill legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, while Conway has warned that such a law would inflame the problem of drug addiction in Kentucky, where prescription pain pills and heroin have led to an increase in overdose deaths. Conway also has focused on expanding the state's public preschool programs, but Bevin has balked at spending money on programs he says are ineffective.

Frankfort resident Bill May said he is opposed to gay marriage but does not think it's a political issue, adding he won't be voting for Conway because the Democrat is "too close to Obama." Lizz Taylor, who owns an independent bookstore in Frankfort, expressed relief that the marriage license controversy had dissipated.

"I'm glad that happened and that we're back to focusing on what's important for Kentucky," said Taylor, who supports Conway.

In Mississippi, Gov. Bryant has outraised and outspent Democratic challenger Robert Gray, a long-haul trucker and political newcomer, by a wide margin. Much of the attention has shifted to two statewide education initiatives.

Initiative 42, a citizen-sponsored constitutional amendment, would allow residents to sue the state to seek additional money for schools. Critics say it would take budget decisions away from Mississippi lawmakers and give the courts too much power. The Legislature has put forward its own ballot measure, Initiative 42-A, that would prohibit "judicial enforcement" of school funding.

In Washington state, a proposal backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen would add state penalties for anyone who imports certain animal products for commercial purposes, such as elephant ivory or rhino horns. It also would expand the number of animals prohibited for trade.

Colorado voters will decide what to do with $66 million in tax revenue generated from the sale of recreational marijuana. An existing state law requires excess tax revenue to be returned to taxpayers. A statewide initiative on Tuesday's ballot asks voters to make an exception with the marijuana revenue and direct it instead toward public education and drug-prevention programs.

Voters in San Francisco will decide a citizen-backed initiative to restrict the operations of Airbnb, the room-rental site, and a $310 million bond package for affordable housing. Also on the ballot is San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who was in the middle of a national firestorm last summer after his jail released a Mexican national who was in the country illegally despite a federal immigration request to detain him. The man is charged with killing a young woman after he was released.

While few states are holding legislative elections, two former Michigan lawmakers are running for their old seats in Tuesday's special primary. They are running just months after revelations that they had an extramarital affair forced their removal from office. And in the swing state of Virginia, Democrats are trying to reverse the GOP's narrow majority in the Senate. Gov. Terry McAuliffe is a Democrat, but the House is controlled by the GOP by a wide margin.

Houston, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City are among the handful of larger cities choosing mayors. The Salt Lake City race features two-term incumbent Ralph Becker, one of Obama's appointees on a climate change task force, and former state lawmaker Jackie Biskupski. If Biskupski wins, she will be the city's first openly gay mayor.

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Cassidy reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Janie Har in San Francisco; Rachel La Corte in Olympia, Washington; Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi; Michelle L. Price in Salt Lake City; and Kristen Wyatt in Denver contributed to this report.

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