By Ronnie Ellis
FRANKFORT — There will be no runoff for the Democratic nomination for governor – Steve Beshear, riding the momentum of an endorsement by Jonathan Miller who dropped out of the race and endorsed Beshear, captured more than 41 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s primary.
He will face incumbent Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who survived a challenge from Anne Northup and Billy Harper and captured more than 50 percent of his party’s vote.
Beshear and his running mate Daniel Mongiardo rolled up big margins in Jefferson County and central Kentucky and held their own in eastern and western Kentucky.
Miller was present at Beshear’s victory speech, sharing the stage with the nominee who he boosted beyond the 40 percent of the vote. Also on the podium was former Gov. Brereton Jones who helped broker Miller’s withdrawal and endorsement of Beshear.
“We celebrate more than a victory tonight,” Miller said. “We celebrate a mandate. It’s a mandate that Kentucky deserves a governor who is honest, who is ethical, and who will clean out the mess in Frankfort.” He was echoing the 2003 campaign theme of Fletcher who then became embroiled in a hiring scandal as governor.
Bruce Lunsford who was running second with 21.5 percent conceded about 9:30 p.m.
Beshear said Lunsford called him to say regardless of whether Beshear ended the night with more than 40 percent, there would be no runoff. That would appear to indicate a more united Democratic Party perhaps than the Republican Party which bears the wounds of a tough – and for Republicans unusual – primary.
“It is time we put Kentucky and Kentuckians first again in this state,” Beshear said. He promised to increase health care coverage and create thousands of new jobs “all across this state.”
“Folks, we won a great victory tonight, but this is just the first step,” Beshear said. “Tomorrow morning, we’re going to start again. What is needed in Frankfort is an end to this partisan bickering. What is needed in Frankfort is leadership that can bring us together instead of separating us.”
He promised to call on Democrats and Republicans alike to “start again” and return integrity and honor to state government.
“In November, we will take state government back for the people of this state,” he concluded.
After Lunsford, Steve Henry got 17 percent, Jody Richards got 13 percent, Gatewood Galbraith managed just over 6 percent while Otis Hensley got 1 percent.
Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook, the Democratic Floor Leader in the state House, predicted a united Democratic Party behind Beshear for the fall campaign.
Former Democratic Party Chairman Danny Briscoe, a political consultant who was not involved in the governor’s primary race, said Beshear picked up momentum after Miller’s endorsement and endorsements by several newspapers. But most of all, Briscoe said, he benefited from loyal party activists who joined his bandwagon late in the campaign.
“It was a low turnout, but the activist, yellow-dog Democratic base turned out, and they went for Beshear,” Briscoe said.
Barren County Sheriff Chris Eaton, who supported Richards, agreed.
“The momentum went Beshear’s way the last two to three weeks of the campaign,” Eaton said. “And the party-line Democrats went with him, and I think Mongiardo is still pretty popular” after his near upset of Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning three years ago.
Beshear ran promising to advocate for a constitutional amendment to allow “limited, expanded gaming” to pay for his proposals to boost Kentucky’s education and health care systems and pay for job development. That could be a key target by Fletcher who no doubt will try also to label Beshear a liberal while Fletcher touts family values and his background as a lay minister.
Beshear showed strength in nearly every area of the state, picking up more votes perhaps than expected in eastern Kentucky with the help of Mongiardo of Hazard. He doubled the vote total of his nearest rival in Jefferson County, winning 45.3 percent of the vote in the state’s most populous county. He also rolled up a big margin in Fayette County where he has practiced law for many years. Beshear got 54 percent of the vote in that county.
