Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2007

Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2007

← 2003 November 6, 2007 2011 →

Nominee Steve Beshear Ernie Fletcher Party Democratic Republican Running mate Daniel Mongiardo Robbie Rudolph Popular vote 619,552 435,773 Percentage 58.7% 41.3%

Results by county Beshear:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Fletcher:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Ernie Fletcher Republican Elected Governor Steve Beshear Democratic

Elections in Kentucky
Federal government Presidential elections 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 Presidential primaries .mw-parser-output .nobold{font-weight:normal} Democratic 2008 2016 Republican 2008 2012 United States Senate elections 1984 1990 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 House of Representatives elections 1792 1793 1795 1797 1799 1801 1803 1804 1806 1808 1810 1810 (5th sp) 1812 1813 (8th sp) 1814 1814 (8th sp) 1815 (2nd sp) 1816 1816 (1st sp) 1818 1820 1821 (8th sp) 1822 1824 1825 (3rd sp) 1826 (5th sp) 1826 (12th sp) 1827 1827 (11th sp) 1828 (2nd sp) 1829 1831 1833 1835 1837 1839 1841 1843 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1894 (9th sp) 1894 (10th sp) 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1928 1930 1934 1935 (4th sp) 1936 1940 1944 1946 1948 1948 (2nd sp) 1948 (9th sp) 1951 (6th sp) 1952 1952 (2nd sp) 1954 1956 1958 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1980 1994 1994 (2nd sp) 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2004 (6th sp) 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2016 (1st sp) 2018
State government Gubernatorial elections 1899 1971 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 State elections 2007 2011 2015
Ballot measures 2004 Amendment 1
Louisville Mayoral elections 2010 2014
Government
v t e

The Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2007 was held on November 6, 2007. In this election, incumbent Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher lost to Democratic challenger Steve Beshear, who therefore began serving as Governor of Kentucky in December 2007 for a term through December 2011. A primary election to determine the Republican and Democratic nominees for governor was held on May 22, 2007 in which Ernie Fletcher (Republican) and Steve Beshear (Democrat) won their respective primaries.^[1] Beshear's running mate, Daniel Mongiardo, was elected as Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky for that same time period.

Contents

• 
  1 Background
  


• 
  2 Democratic primary
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 Candidates
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 Polling
    
  
  
  • 
    2.3 Results
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 Republican primary
  
  
  
  • 
    3.1 Candidates
    
  
  
  • 
    3.2 Polling
    
  
  
  • 
    3.3 Results
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  4 General election
  
  
  
  • 
    4.1 Polling
    
  
  
  • 
    4.2 Results
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  5 See also
  


• 
  6 References
  


• 
  7 External links
  

Background

Fletcher came under increasing criticism from both parties after his involvement in a state employee hiring controversy, in which Fletcher was accused of illegally hiring civil service employees for their political affiliations and loyalties. An investigation by 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 the Attorney General's office 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%,^[2] putting him among the lowest governors in the nation.

Anne Northup, who was defeated for re-election to the House of Representatives 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 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. On May 7, Kentucky State Treasurer Jonathan Miller withdrew from the race and endorsed Steve Beshear. Lunsford, Beshear, State House Speaker Jody Richards, and former Lt. Governor 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 40.9% (see below).

Democratic primary

Candidates

• 
  Steve Beshear – former Lt. Governor of Kentucky, 1983–1987; former Attorney General of Kentucky, 1979–1983; former State Representative, 1974–1979.

• 
  Running mate: State Senator Daniel Mongiardo, 2001–2007.

• 
  Gatewood Galbraith – Attorney, Legalization of Marijuana and Industrial Hemp Advocate

• 
  Running mate: Mark Wireman

• 
  Steve Henry – former Lt. Governor of Kentucky, 1995–2003

• 
  Running Mate: Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator Renee True
  

• 
  Otis Hensley – Private contractor from Wallins Creek, Kentucky who received 3% of the vote in the Democratic primary in 2003.

• 
  Running mate: Richard Robbins

• 
  Bruce Lunsford – prominent Louisville businessman; unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Kentucky in 2003.

• 
  Running mate: Greg Stumbo, Attorney General of Kentucky 2003–2007; former State Representative, 1985–2003.

• 
  Jody Richards – State Representative, 1975–present (Speaker of the House, 1996–2007); received 47% of the vote in the Democratic primary for Governor of Kentucky in 2003.

• 
  Running mate: John Y. Brown III, Kentucky Secretary of State 1995–2003.

Polling

Source	Date	Beshear (D)	Galbraith (D)	Henry (D)	Hensley (D)	Lunsford (D)	Richards (D)
Survey USA	May 18–20, 2007	32%	7%	17%	1%	23%	12%
Penn, Schoen and Berland	May 16–17, 2007	26%	N/A	13%	N/A	22%	12%
GarinHartYang Research	May 14–15, 2007	35%	N/A	13%	N/A	23%	12%
Survey USA	May 12–14, 2007	32%	5%	18%	1%	23%	12%
Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll	May 10–14, 2007	27%	4%	13%	1%	21%	7%	Miller (D)
Survey USA	Apr 28-30, 2007	23%	6%	18%	1%	29%	9%	7%
Mellman Group	Apr 19-22, 2007	15%	N/A	24%	N/A	16%	9%	20%
Survey USA	Mar 31 – Apr 2, 2007	15%	8%	20%	1%	20%	12%	8%
Survey USA	Mar 3-5, 2007	15%	6%	26%	2%	7%	13%	8%
GarinHartYang Research	Feb 20-22, 2007	21%	N/A	21%	N/A	8%	16%	8%

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

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

Republican primary

Candidates

• 
  Ernie Fletcher – Incumbent Governor of Kentucky, 2003–present; former U.S. Representative for Kentucky's 6th congressional district, 1999–2003; former State Representative, 1995–1997

• 
  Running mate: Robbie Rudolph, State Secretary of Executive Cabinet, 2006–2007; State Secretary of Finance, 2003–2006.

• Billy Harper – Businessman

• 
  Running mate: Dick Wilson.

• 
  Anne Northup – former U.S. Representative for Kentucky's 3rd congressional district, 1997–2007; former State Representative, 1987–1997.

• 
  Running mate: Jeff Hoover, State Representative 1997–present.

Polling

Source	Date	Fletcher (R)	Harper (R)	Northup (R)
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	Mar 31 – Apr 2, 2007	40%	16%	31%
Survey USA	Mar 3-5, 2007	33%	13%	31%
Public Opinion Strategies[4]	Jan 28-29, 2007	39%	10%	39%

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

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

General election

Polling

Source	Date	Beshear (D)	Fletcher (R)
Survey USA	Nov 2-4, 2007	59%	39%
Rasmussen Reports	Nov 1, 2007	54%	39%
Survey USA	Oct 27-29, 2007	60%	36%
Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll	Oct 26-29, 2007	56%	33%
Research 2000	Oct 22-24, 2007	55%	40%
Survey USA	Oct 19-21, 2007	58%	38%
Survey USA	Oct 8-9, 2007	56%	40%
Insider Advantage	Sep 24-25, 2007	45%	35%
Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll	Sep 13-18, 2007	55%	35%
Preston-Osborne	Sep 13-17, 2007	51%	36%
Research 2000	Sep 10-13, 2007	56%	39%
Survey USA	Sep 8-10, 2007	58%	39%
Survey USA	Aug 4-6, 2007	58%	37%
Preston-Osborne	Jul 25 – Aug 2, 2007	49%	31%
Survey USA	Jul 14-16, 2007	59%	36%
Insider Advantage	Jul 8-9, 2007	41%	38%
Rasmussen Reports	May 24–25, 2007	51%	35%
Survey USA	May 23–24, 2007	62%	34%

Results

Electoral support for candidates, by county^[5]

Fletcher conceded to Beshear at 9:00 PM on November 6.

Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2007

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Steven Lynn Beshear/Frank Daniel Mongiardo	619,553	58.71%	+13.74%
	Republican	Ernest Lee Fletcher/Robbie Rudolph (Incumbent)	435,772	41.29%	-13.74%
Majority			183,781	17.41%	+7.34%
Total votes			1,055,325
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing
Turnout				37.8%[6]	-2.4%

See also

• United States elections, 2007


• United States gubernatorial elections, 2007


• State of Kentucky


• Governors of Kentucky


• 
  BluegrassReport.org—Kentucky politics blog run during Gov. Fletcher's administration

References

1. 
   ^ LEX18 - Lexington, KY - News, Weather, Sports - Fletcher, Beshear To Face Off In Nov Archived May 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
   


2. 
   ^ "SurveyUSA News Poll #12133". Surveyusa.com. Retrieved 2012-08-18..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


3. 
   ^ ^ab "Kentucky State Board of Elections Welcome to the State Board of Elections". Elect.ky.gov. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
   


4. 
   ^ Steitzer, Stephenie (2007-02-02). "Northup: Survey shows her tied with Fletcher". The Kentucky Post. Covington, Kentucky. p. A2.
   


5. 
   ^ electionresults.ky.gov - View Election Results
   


6. 
   ^ http://elect.ky.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/Election%20Statistics/turnout/2006-2010/07gen.pdf
   

External links

Candidates

• 
  Steve Beshear for Governor (Archive)


• 
  Ernie Fletcher for Governor (Archive)

Information

• Kentucky Secretary of State Filing Report


• Louisville Courier-Journal recap of Democratic primary


• Louisville Courier-Journal recap of Republican primary


• Unofficial Election results (live returns)

v t e (2006 ←)   2007 United States elections   (→ 2008)
U.S. House	California 37th Georgia 10th Massachusetts 5th Ohio 5th Virginia 1st
Governors	Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi
Mayoral	Baltimore, MD Charlotte, NC Chicago, IL Dallas, TX Indianapolis, IN Jacksonville, FL Knoxville, TN Memphis, TN Nashville, TN Philadelphia, PA Phoenix, AZ Pittsburgh, PA Raleigh, NC San Francisco, CA
City	Houston, TX
State	Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi Virginia
Territories	Northern Mariana Islands

This page is only for reference, If you need detailed information, please check here