Doubling the hurt, Democrats gained control of both chambers of the legislature in Virginia for the first time in 25 years, turning a formerly red state solid blue, according to projections by US media, including the New York Times.
"We have called it for Attorney General Beshear to be the Kentucky governor-elect," Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said on CNN.
The US president tweeted that Bevin "picked up at least 15 points in last days, but perhaps not enough (Fake News will blame Trump!)."
Beshear, whose father was the last Democratic governor in the state, claimed victory, but Bevin did not throw in the towel.
"This is a close, close race. We are not conceding this race by any stretch," the governor said. Should Bevin's loss be certified, it would be a shock defeat for a conservative in a southern state that Trump won by 30 percentage points in 2016.