Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2011

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Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2011
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  Steve Beshear by Gage Skidmore.jpg David L. Williams.jpg Gatewood Gailbraith 2011.jpg
Nominee Steve Beshear David L. Williams Gatewood Galbraith
Party Democratic Republican Independent
Running mate Jerry Abramson Richie Farmer Dea Riley
Popular vote464,245 294,034 74,860
Percentage55.7% 35.3% 9.0%

Kentucky Governor Election Results by County, 2011.svg

County Results
Beshear:
     40-50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Williams:
     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Governor before election

Steve Beshear
Democratic

Elected Governor

Steve Beshear
Democratic

The Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2011 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.

Governor of Kentucky head of state and of government of the U.S. commonwealth of Kentucky

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Fifty-seven men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once before becoming ineligible for four years. Throughout the state's history, four men have served two non-consecutive terms as governor, and two others have served two consecutive terms. Kentucky is one of only five U.S. states that hold gubernatorial elections in odd-numbered years. The current governor is Matt Bevin, who was first elected in 2015.

Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky position

The office of Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky was created under the state's second constitution, which was ratified in 1799. The inaugural officeholder was Alexander Scott Bullitt, who took office in 1800 following his election to serve under James Garrard in 1799. The lieutenant governor serves as governor of Kentucky under circumstances similar to the Vice President of the United States assuming the powers of the presidency. The current Lieutenant Governor is Republican Jenean Hampton.

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.

Contents

Background

On July 19, 2009, Beshear announced his intention to run for re-election. However, in that announcement, he stated that then-Louisville mayor Jerry Abramson would be his running mate in 2011 [1] because current Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo had chosen to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010. [2] Kentucky state law requires that gubernatorial candidates file to run with running mates, otherwise they cannot legally raise money. Beshear wanted to fundraise and this would have required Mongiardo also saying that he was running in 2011, which he couldn't do. [3] Beshear and Abramson did not face any opposition for the Democratic nomination.

Louisville, Kentucky City in Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 29th most-populous city in the United States. It is one of two cities in Kentucky designated as first-class, the other being Lexington, the state's second-largest city. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, located in the northern region of the state, on the border with Indiana.

Jerry Abramson Kentucky politician

Jerry Edwin Abramson is an American Democratic politician who was the 55th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky. On November 6, 2014, Governor Steve Beshear announced that Abramson would step down from his position as Lieutenant Governor to accept the job of Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Obama White House. He was replaced by former State Auditor Crit Luallen.

Daniel Mongiardo Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky

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.

Among Republicans, Kentucky State Senate President David Williams from Burkesville announced his official candidacy along with running mate Richie Farmer, the term-limited State Agriculture Commissioner and former Kentucky Wildcats basketball player. [4] Louisville businessman Phil Moffett also announced his ticket with State Representative Mike Harmon from Danville as his running mate. [5] Moffett was seen as the Tea Party favorite. [6] However, Williams also advocated for similar positions as Moffett, such as the repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution [7] and promoting tax reforms similar to what Moffett proposed.

David L. Williams (politician) American politician

David Lewis Williams is an American attorney, Republican politician, and judge from the U.S. state of Kentucky. From 1987 to 2012, Williams represented Senate District 16, a position he secured upon the retirement of fellow Republican Doug Moseley. When Republicans gained control of the state senate in 2000, Williams was chosen as President of the Senate, and held that post continuously until his resignation in November 2012. In September 2010, he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor in the 2011 gubernatorial election. On May 17, 2011, Williams secured the Republican nomination over Tea Party movement-backed Phil Moffet. However, he lost the general election by twenty points to incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Beshear. In November 2012, Williams resigned his Senate seat to accept a circuit court judgeship.

Burkesville, Kentucky City in Kentucky, United States

Burkesville is a home rule-class city in Cumberland County, Kentucky, in the United States. Nestled among the rolling foothills of Appalachia and bordered by the Cumberland River to the south and east, it is the seat of its county. The population was 1,521 at the 2010 census.

Richard Dwight "Richie" Farmer is an American former collegiate basketball player and Republican Party politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He served as the Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner from 2004 to 2012 and was the running mate of David L. Williams in the 2011 gubernatorial election. After leaving office, Farmer was investigated for violating state campaign finance laws and misappropriating state resources and was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison along with a concurrent 12 months in state prison.

Attorney Gatewood Galbraith of Lexington filed to run his fourth gubernatorial campaign as an independent on July 4, 2009, choosing marketing consultant Dea Riley as his running mate.

Gatewood Galbraith American politician

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.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Steve Beshear American attorney and politician

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.

Attorney General of Kentucky attorney general for the U.S. state of Kentucky

The Attorney General of Kentucky is an office created by the Kentucky Constitution.. Under Kentucky law, he serves several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor, the state's chief law enforcement officer, and the state's chief law officer. As the chief prosecutor, the Attorney General is the Chairman of the Kentucky Prosecutors Advisory Council, which supervises the prosecutors of Kentucky. As chief law officer, he writes opinions to advise government officials and agencies concerning the law.. The Attorney General holds an ex officio seat on various Kentucky state boards and agencies.

Results

Democrat Primary Results
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Steve Beshear (Incumbent)446,048100.00%
Total votes446,048100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

  • Bobbie Holsclaw, Jefferson County Clerk
    • Running mate: Bill Vermillion, retired U.S. Navy master chief
  • Phil Moffett, Louisville businessman [8] [9] and Tea Party activist [6]
    • Running mate: Mike Harmon, State Representative
  • David L. Williams, State Senate president and former State Representative [10]

Polling

Poll Source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size		 Margin of
error		 Bobbie
Holsclaw		 Phil
Moffett		 David
Williams		 Undecided
Survey USA May 4–10, 2011 500 ± 4.5% 12% 21%47% 21%
Survey USA April 8–13, 2011 507 ± 4.4% 12% 14%49% 25%

Results

Republican Primary Results [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican David Williams68,52848.0%
Republican Phil Moffett 53,966 38.0%
Republican Bobbie Holsclaw 19,614 14.0%
Total votes142,108100.0%

Independents

Declared

General election

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size		 Margin of
error		 Steve
Beshear (D)		 David
Williams (R)		 Gatewood
Galbraith (I)		 Undecided
Survey USA October 28-November 1, 2011 576 ± 4.2%54% 29% 9% 8%
Braun Research October 17–19, 2011 802 ± 3.5%54% 26% 8% 12%
Survey USA September 22–27, 2011 569 ± 4.2%57% 26% 8% 9%
Braun Research August 29–31, 2011 803 ± 3.5%54% 25% 7% 14%
Public Policy Polling [ dead link ] August 25–28, 2011 600 ± 4.0%55% 28% 10% 8%
Survey USA July 22–27, 2011 512 ± 4.4%52% 28% 9% 11%
Braun Research June 6–8, 2011 802 ± 3.5%51% 30% 6% 14%
Survey USA April 8–13, 2011 1,589 ± 2.5%51% 39% — 10%
Braun Research February 28 – March 1, 2011 804 ± 3.5%48% 38% — 14%
Public Policy Polling October 28–30, 2010 1,021 ± 3.1%44% 35% — 21%
Mason-Dixon October 18–19, 2010 625 ± 4.0%45% 30% 5% 20%
Public Policy Polling September 11–12, 2010 959 ± 3.2%44% 39% — 17%
Braun Research August 30 – September 1, 2010 802 ± 3.5%44% 38% — 18%
Braun Research July 19–21, 2010 803 ± 3.4%48% 30% — 20%

Results

[12]
Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2011
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Democratic Steve Beshear (Incumbent)464,245 55.72% -2.99%
Republican David L. Williams 294,034 35.29% -6.00%
Independent Gatewood Galbraith 74,860 8.99% +8.99%
Majority 170,211 +20.43% +3.02%
Total votes 833,139
Democratic hold Swing
Turnout 28.6% [13] -9%

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Gerth, Joseph (2009-07-19). "Abramson to be Beshear's running mate in 2011". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  2. ↑ Ronnie Ellis (2009-03-27). "Beshear endorses Mongiardo for Senate". News-tribune.net. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
  3. ↑ http://www.kentucky.com/2012/11/30/2426987_mongiardo-considers-running-for.html
  4. ↑ Alford, Roger (2009-10-28). "Farmer mulls run for governor". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  5. ↑ Arnold, Joe (2010-07-29). "Phil Moffett announces candidacy for governor | WHAS11.com Louisville". Whas11.com. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
  6. 1 2 AP Dec 30th, Political hired guns look to Ky. governor's race
  7. ↑ Jack Brammer, Lexington Herald Leader, November 19, 2010 "Williams pushes repeal of 17th amendment"
  8. ↑ "Louisville businessman Phil Moffett running for governor : Bluegrass Politics". Bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com. 2010-07-29. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
  9. ↑ "Republican Phil Moffett announces gubernatorial campaign, hopes for Tea Party support". Apex MediaWire. 2009-07-29. Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  10. ↑ Brammer, Jack (2010-09-02). "David Williams and Richie Farmer form slate to seek state's top offices". Lexington Herald-Leader. Archived from the original on September 3, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  11. ↑ "KY – Election Results" . Retrieved 2012-08-18.
  12. ↑ "KY – Election Results" . Retrieved 2012-08-18.
  13. ↑ http://elect.ky.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/Election%20Statistics/turnout/2011-2019/2011/TRNSUMMARYGEX11.txt
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