Kentucky Dems blame loss on national issues

It's often much too tempting to take national clues from a state legislative special election, but one state Senate race in Kentucky on Tuesday had many of the billings of a congressional race, and it didn't turn out well for Democrats.

The post-mortem from some Democrats after state Rep. Jimmy Higdon's (R) win over former state Rep. Jodie Haydon (D) says a lot.

“The Republican Party was successful in their efforts to nationalize the race,” Gov. Steve Beshear (D) told the McCreary County Record.

“The Republican strategy was to nationalize the election, and it worked in this race,” state Democratic Party Chairman Charlie Moore told the Louisville Courier-Journal.

It's interesting that this seems to be the talking point from state Democrats. It suggests the party will increasingly try to insulate its local races from what's happening in Washington.

Notably, the GOP focused the race on the Democrats' healthcare proposal and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Spending on the race was the biggest in state history, and wound up rivaling some second-tier congressional campaigns. Democrats sharply outraised and outspent Republicans in the race.

Republicans have been quick to claim some national momentum from the race, which produced an editorial from the Wall Street Journal on Thursday casting it as a blow to the healthcare bill.

Only time will tell, but the issue has polled poorly among the general electorate, and with many top races in conservative districts in the South, local candidates will be watching.