Matt Bevin

Matthew Griswold Bevin (/ˈbɛvɪn/; born January 9, 1967) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 62nd governor of Kentucky from 2015 to 2019, losing re-election in 2019 to Democrat Andy Beshear. He is currently the CEO of Neuronetrix Solutions, LLC.

Born in Denver, Colorado, and raised in Shelburne, New Hampshire, Bevin earned a bachelor's degree at Washington and Lee University in 1989. He served four years in the U.S. Army and attained the rank of captain. Bevin moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1999 while working in the financial management industry. He later took over leadership of the Connecticut-based family business, Bevin Brothers Manufacturing Company, one of the last remaining American bell foundries. He launched a primary challenge against Kentucky's senior U.S. senator, Mitch McConnell, in 2014, but lost by almost 25 percentage points.

Bevin announced he would seek the governorship in 2015 and won the four-way Republican primary by 83 votes. He defeated the state's attorney general, Democratic nominee Jack Conway, in the general election. During his tenure as governor, Bevin enacted right-to-work legislation, laws restricting abortion, and a law allowing the carrying concealed handguns without permits. He also attempted to reverse Kentucky's Medicaid expansion. As governor, Bevin made headlines for his criticism of school teachers and for teacher demonstrations against his efforts to cut pensions in public education. Bevin lost his re-election campaign to Kentucky attorney general Andy Beshear in a close race. After requesting a recount, Bevin conceded the election on November 14, 2019. Bevin was widely criticized for pardoning hundreds of criminals in his last days in office, including several people convicted of serious violent crimes and a convicted child rapist whose relatives donated $4,000 to Bevin's campaign from a fundraiser to free him. On December 23, 2019, it was reported that the FBI had questioned state representative Chris Harris about Bevin's pardons and on January 2, 2020, Attorney General Daniel Cameron asked the FBI to investigate the pardons.