Republican Sen. Rand Paul has won reelection to his seat, defeating Democratic challenger Jim Gray, the mayor of Lexington.
Paul won all but seven of Kentucky’s 120 counties.
In his victory speech, Paul quoted the rock group Pink Floyd and said government needs to get out of the way of individuals’ creativity.
“The goal should be to set you free,” he said. “To leave you alone. To have a government so small you can barely see it.”
Paul is at the end of his first term in the Senate. He was part of a crowded field of candidates seeking the Republican nomination for president but suspended his campaign at the beginning of this year.
Paul rarely mentioned Gray’s name during the campaign, instead attacking Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Paul defeated Gray by 14 points. Gray won Fayette, Jefferson and a handful of other counties in the central part of the state.
In his concession speech, Gray said Democrats still have something to look forward to in Kentucky.
“We have earned the right to celebrate the good works of this campaign,” he said, adding that “our season is coming.”
Paul rode a Republican wave in Kentucky that also swept the presidential race and many state House elections in the state.
