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Beshear: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Fletcher: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Kentucky |
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The 2007 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2007. In this election, incumbent Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher ran for reelection to a second term, but was soundly defeated by Democratic challenger Steve Beshear. A primary election to determine the Republican and Democratic nominees for governor was held on May 22, 2007, in which Fletcher and Beshear won their respective primaries. [1] Steve Beshear's son Andy was elected Kentucky's State Attorney General in 2015 [2] and Kentucky's Governor in 2019 and 2023.
Fletcher came under increasing criticism from both parties after his involvement in a state employee hiring controversy, in which he was accused of illegally hiring merit system (civil service) employees for their political affiliations and loyalties. An investigation by Greg Stumbo, the Attorney General of Kentucky, and a special grand jury led to the indictment of 13 Fletcher administration officials. Fletcher issued a blanket pardon for anyone in his administration (other than himself) who was or may have been involved in the scandal. Fletcher himself was later indicted by a grand jury for three misdemeanors: conspiracy, official misconduct and political discrimination. All were related to the merit-system investigation. On August 24, 2006, Fletcher reached a deal with Stumbo that led to the dismissal of the charges in exchange for Fletcher's acknowledgment that "the evidence strongly indicates wrongdoing by his administration with regard to personnel actions within the merit system. Further, the governor hereby states that these actions were inappropriate and that he regrets their occurrence and accepts responsibility for them as head of the executive branch of state government." (See Ernie Fletcher: Merit system investigation) Fletcher's approval rating as of May 11, 2007 was at 38%, [3] putting him among the lowest governors in the nation.
Former U.S. Rep. Anne Northup, who had lost reelection in 2006, and Paducah businessman Billy Harper challenged Fletcher in the Republican primary. Both had supported and worked for Fletcher's 2003 campaign. Despite his troubles, Fletcher was able to fend off the primary challenge, winning just over a majority of the vote (see below).
On the Democratic side, an increasingly competitive primary campaign developed. Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford spent over five million dollars, most of it being his own money, in the campaign, and picked Stumbo as his running mate for lieutenant governor. On May 7, Kentucky State Treasurer Jonathan Miller withdrew from the race and endorsed former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear. Lunsford, Beshear, state House Speaker Jody Richards, and former Lt. Gov. Steve Henry consistently polled significantly ahead of the other candidates. Given the crowded field, many believed a runoff election was likely between the top two finishers — which polls suggested would be Beshear and Lunsford — if no candidate was able to obtain at least 40% of the vote. Beshear, however, was able to avoid a runoff with 41% (see below).
Source | Date | Steve Beshear | Gatewood Galbraith | Steve Henry | Otis Hensley | Bruce Lunsford | Jody Richards | Jonathan Miller |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Survey USA | May 18–20, 2007 | 32% | 7% | 17% | 1% | 23% | 12% | N/A |
Penn, Schoen and Berland | May 16–17, 2007 | 26% | N/A | 13% | N/A | 22% | 12% | N/A |
GarinHartYang Research Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine | May 14–15, 2007 | 35% | N/A | 13% | N/A | 23% | 12% | N/A |
Survey USA | May 12–14, 2007 | 32% | 5% | 18% | 1% | 23% | 12% | N/A |
Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll | May 10–14, 2007 | 27% | 4% | 13% | 1% | 21% | 7% | N/A |
Survey USA | April 28–30, 2007 | 23% | 6% | 18% | 1% | 29% | 9% | 7% |
Mellman Group | April 19–22, 2007 | 15% | N/A | 24% | N/A | 16% | 9% | 20% |
Survey USA | March 31 – April 2, 2007 | 15% | 8% | 20% | 1% | 20% | 12% | 8% |
Survey USA | March 3–5, 2007 | 15% | 6% | 26% | 2% | 7% | 13% | 8% |
GarinHartYang Research | February 20–22, 2007 | 21% | N/A | 21% | N/A | 8% | 16% | 8% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Steve Beshear | 142,838 | 41.02% | |
Democratic | Bruce Lunsford | 74,578 | 21.42% | |
Democratic | Steve Henry | 60,893 | 17.49% | |
Democratic | Jody Richards | 45,433 | 13.05% | |
Democratic | Gatewood Galbraith | 20,704 | 5.95% | |
Democratic | Otis Hensley | 3,792 | 1.09% | |
Total votes | 348,238 | 100.00% |
Source | Date | Ernie Fletcher | Billy Harper | Anne Northup |
---|---|---|---|---|
Survey USA | May 18–20, 2007 | 44% | 17% | 34% |
Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll | May 10–15, 2007 | 41% | 10% | 26% |
Survey USA | May 12–14, 2007 | 44% | 14% | 34% |
Survey USA | April 28–30, 2007 | 46% | 14% | 34% |
Survey USA | March 31 – April 2, 2007 | 40% | 16% | 31% |
Survey USA | March 3–5, 2007 | 33% | 13% | 31% |
Public Opinion Strategies [5] | January 28–29, 2007 | 39% | 10% | 39% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Ernie Fletcher (incumbent) | 101,328 | 50.08% | |
Republican | Anne Northup | 73,919 | 36.53% | |
Republican | Billy Harper | 27,092 | 13.39% | |
Total votes | 202,339 | 100.00% |
Source | Date | Steve Beshear (D) | Ernie Fletcher (R) |
---|---|---|---|
Survey USA | November 2–4, 2007 | 59% | 39% |
Rasmussen Reports | November 1, 2007 | 54% | 39% |
Survey USA | October 27–29, 2007 | 60% | 36% |
Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll | October 26–29, 2007 | 56% | 33% |
Research 2000 | October 22–24, 2007 | 55% | 40% |
Survey USA | October 19–21, 2007 | 58% | 38% |
Survey USA | October 8–9, 2007 | 56% | 40% |
Insider Advantage | September 24–25, 2007 | 45% | 35% |
Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll | September 13–18, 2007 | 55% | 35% |
Preston-Osborne | September 13–17, 2007 | 51% | 36% |
Research 2000 | September 10–13, 2007 | 56% | 39% |
Survey USA | September 8–10, 2007 | 58% | 39% |
Survey USA | August 4–6, 2007 | 58% | 37% |
Preston-Osborne | July 25 – August 2, 2007 | 49% | 31% |
Survey USA | July 14–16, 2007 | 59% | 36% |
Insider Advantage | July 8–9, 2007 | 41% | 38% |
Rasmussen Reports | May 24–25, 2007 | 51% | 35% |
Survey USA | May 23–24, 2007 | 62% | 34% |
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
Sabato's Crystal Ball [6] | Likely D (flip) | November 1, 2007 |
Fletcher conceded to Beshear at 9:00 PM on November 6.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Steve Beshear | 619,552 | 58.71% | +13.74% | |
Republican | Ernie Fletcher (incumbent) | 435,773 | 41.29% | -13.74% | |
Total votes | 1,055,325 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
Democratic gain from Republican |
Anne Meagher Northup is an American Republican politician and educator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1997 to 2007, she represented the Louisville-centered 3rd congressional district of Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives, where she served on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. She lost reelection to Democrat John Yarmuth in the 2006 election. She then ran for Governor of Kentucky, losing by 15 points to embattled governor Ernie Fletcher in the Republican primary election for the 2007 Kentucky gubernatorial election. Prior to her election to the United States House of Representatives, Northup had served in the Kentucky House of Representatives. Northup ran again for her old congressional seat in the 2008 election, losing again to Yarmuth.
Ernest Lee Fletcher is an American physician and politician who was the 60th governor of Kentucky from 2003 to 2007. He previously served three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives before resigning after being elected governor. A member of the Republican Party, Fletcher was a family practice physician and a Baptist lay minister and is the second physician to be elected Governor of Kentucky; the first was Luke P. Blackburn in 1879. He was also the first Republican governor of Kentucky since Louie Nunn left office in 1971.
Frank Daniel Mongiardo is an American physician and politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Mongiardo is a Democrat and was the 54th lieutenant governor of Kentucky from 2007 until 2011. He was a member of the Kentucky State Senate from 2001 to 2007. He also ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004, narrowly losing in the general election to Jim Bunning and again in 2010, losing in the primary election to Jack Conway.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in October and November 2007 in three states. The final results were a net change of zero among the parties. Republicans picked up the open seat in Louisiana and reelected incumbent Haley Barbour in Mississippi, while Democrats defeated Republican incumbent Ernie Fletcher in Kentucky.
John William Conway is an American lawyer and politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, Conway served as the 49th attorney general of Kentucky from January 7, 2008, to January 4, 2016. Prior to his election as attorney general, he was the nominee for Kentucky's 3rd congressional district in the 2002 elections, narrowly losing to Republican incumbent Anne Northup.
Gregory D. Stumbo is an American lawyer and former speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Kentucky attorney general from 2004 to 2008. He was the Democratic candidate for the 2019 election for Attorney General.
Louis Gatewood Galbraith was an American author and attorney from the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. He was a five-time political candidate for governor of Kentucky.
Stephen B. Pence is an American attorney who was the 53rd lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 2003 to 2007. He took office with fellow Republican Ernie Fletcher in December 2003.
Steve Henry is an American politician and orthopedic surgeon who was the 52nd Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky from 1995 through 2003. He twice ran unsuccessfully in statewide elections, finishing third in Democratic primaries for the United States Senate in 1998 and for Governor of Kentucky in 2007.
William Bruce Lunsford is an American attorney, businessman, and politician from Kentucky. He has served various roles in the Kentucky Democratic Party, including party treasurer, Deputy Development Secretary, and Head of Commerce. Lunsford was the Democratic nominee for Kentucky's United States Senate seat in 2008, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Mitch McConnell.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 4, 2008. Minority Leader and incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell won re-election to a fifth term. Although Barack Obama lost Kentucky by a 16.22% margin to John McCain in the concurrent presidential election, McConnell more narrowly kept his seat with a 5.94% margin against businessman Bruce Lunsford. This was a greatly reduced margin from when he won re-election in 2002 with a 29.4% margin.
The 2007 Kentucky elections for the statewide offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, auditor of public accounts, commissioner of agriculture, secretary of state, and state treasurer were held on November 6, 2007. All incumbents were reelected with the exception of incumbent governor Ernie Fletcher, who was defeated in his reelection bid for governor by former Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear. In addition, Democrats held the open Attorney General and State Treasurer posts.
The 2003 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held to elect the Governor of Kentucky on November 4, 2003. Republican candidate Ernie Fletcher defeated Democrat Ben Chandler and became the first Republican governor of Kentucky in 32 years.
Steven Lynn Beshear is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th attorney general from 1980 to 1983 and was the 49th lieutenant governor from 1983 to 1987.
The 2011 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2011, to elect the governor of Kentucky and the lieutenant governor of Kentucky. Incumbent Democrat Steve Beshear won re-election, defeating Republican challenger David L. Williams, then the president of the state senate, and Gatewood Galbraith, an independent candidate. Statewide turnout in this election was 28%.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Kentucky took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Kentucky, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2015 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 2015. Incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Beshear was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits. Primary elections were held on May 19, 2015.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Kentucky on November 3, 2015. All of Kentucky's executive officers were up for election. Primary elections were held on May 19, 2015.
The 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. The Democratic nominee, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, defeated Republican incumbent Matt Bevin by just over 5,000 votes, or 0.37%, making this the closest gubernatorial election in Kentucky since 1899 by total votes, and the closest since 1915 by percentage. It was also the closest race of the 2019 gubernatorial election cycle.
The 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2023, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. Incumbent Democratic governor Andy Beshear won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Had Cameron won, he would have become Kentucky's first African-American governor.