Matt Bevin (R) soundly defeated Jack Conway (D) in the race for Kentucky governor, the AP reports.

New York Times: “In beating his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Jack Conway, Mr. Bevin surprised many in his own party, who believed that the climate in Kentucky was ripe for a Republican but feared that Mr. Bevin, a charismatic conservative with a go-it-alone style, was too far out of the mainstream and too inexperienced to win.”

Politico: “Bevin, a self-funding businessman who unsuccessfully challenged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a primary last year, overcame a funding disadvantage and Kentucky’s Democratic lean in state races to become only the second Republican to win a gubernatorial election since the early 1970s.”

First Read notes today’s marquee contest: Kentucky’s gubernatorial race between Jack Conway (D) and Matt Bevin (R).

“Back in the summer, we dubbed the race possibly the Last Obama War, because it largely hinges on this question: Whom do Kentucky voters dislike more — President Obama or the Tea Party? (Of course, we could also see this same dynamic play out in the Louisiana gubernatorial race on Nov. 21.) The Conway-Bevin race also has a lot at stake, too — the future of the state’s health-care exchange (Bevin says he will eliminate it), Rand Paul’s Senate seat in 2016 (if Democrats win, we bet you they’ll be emboldened to find a challenger to Paul), and Kim Davis and religious also have been issues in this race.”

Final polling places in Kentucky close at 6:00 pm ET (in the eastern part of the state) and 7:00 pm ET (in the central time zone).

A new Kentucky Bluegrass Poll finds Jack Conway (D) leading Matt Bevin in the race for Kentucky governor by five points, 45% to 40%.

A new Big Red Poll in Kentucky finds Jack Conway (D) leading Matt Bevin (R) in the race for governor by five points, 45% to 40%.

Drew Curtis (I) trails in third place with 7%.

An internal poll from Matt Bevin’s (R) gubernatorial campaign in Kentucky finds him trailing Jack Conway by three points, 44% to 41%.

A new Mason-Dixon poll in Kentucky gives Jack Conway (D) a slim lead over Matt Bevin (R) in the race for governor, 43% to 41%.

A new Survey USA poll in Kentucky finds Jack Conway (D) leading Matt Bevin (R) in the race for governor, 42% to 37%, with Drew Curtis (I) at 7%.

A new SurveyUSA poll in Kentucky finds Jack Conway (D) with a small lead over Matt Bevin (R) in the race for governor, 45% to 42%, with 13% of voters still undecided.

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Kentucky finds Matt Bevin (R) leading Jack Conway (D) in the race for governor, 38% to 35%.

“The race for the Republican gubernatorial election went down to the wire and then some Tuesday night,” the Lexington Herald Leader reports.

“After 214,187 votes were counted, Louisville businessman Matt Bevin held an 83-vote lead over Commissioner of Agriculture James Comer, but Comer said late Tuesday night that he owed it to his supporters to ask for a recanvass.”