Polls close in Kentucky, Mississippi to follow, in elections testing Trump's political power

WASHINGTON — The governor's race is too close to call in Kentucky, NBC News projects, one of three states with off-year elections Tuesday that will test both President Donald Trump's ability to motivate Republican voters in the midst of the impeachment inquiry and Democrats' chances of capitalizing on his unpopularity ahead of next year's presidential election.

Trump injected himself into two governors' races in the South, holding a rally in Tupelo, Mississippi, for Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves last Friday and then traveling to Lexington, Kentucky, on Monday to boost Gov. Matt Bevin's re-election campaign.

Polls closed in Kentucky at 7:00 p.m. ET, while polls closed in Mississippi at 8:00 p.m ET.

In Kentucky, the candidates were neck and neck, with 69 pecent of precincts reporting. Bevin was leading with 49.1 percent of the vote, or 439,004 votes, to Democrat Andy Beshear's 48.9 percent, or 437,536 votes.

Both Reeves and Bevin have aligned themselves closely with Trump and argued that their Democratic opponents are too liberal. But polling shows both races surprisingly competitive, and Democrats think they have a shot at winning one or both races thanks to suburban voters' distaste of the president.