Bevin looks to overcome battles to win another term

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky’s Republican governor has feuded with teachers and insulted judges. He recently stunned GOP lawmakers by vetoing a pension bill, provoking a spat with the state Senate’s top leader.

Just weeks away from a primary election testing his standing with fellow Republicans, Gov. Matt Bevin intends to call lawmakers back for a special session on pensions.

He also has run the risk of firing up Democratic voters heading into the general election.

Still, Bevin will be difficult to unseat. He leads a state moving decidedly toward the GOP. And he has a political soul mate in the White House who carried Kentucky by a landslide in 2016 and has called Bevin “a great governor.”

A defeat for the incumbent would send shock waves through Republican circles heading into 2020.