Kentucky rejects GOP governor
Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher, a Republican whose lone term was dogged by a hiring scandal, lost badly Tuesday despite an election-eve effort to woo conservative voters by displaying the Ten Commandments in the state Capitol.
In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour, practically the only politician to benefit from Hurricane Katrina, easily defeated a Democratic challenger to win a second term.
Democratic challenger Steve Beshear, an attorney who served a term as lieutenant governor in the 1980s, cruised to an 18 percentage-point victory in Kentucky. Fletcher’s term was marred by an indictment on charges he rewarded political friends with state jobs, and by a grant of pardons to administration officials.
Beshear made religion a centerpiece of his campaign, citing his religious upbringing and running television ads showing him in front of a church in western Kentucky.
Fletcher on Monday sought last-minute support by ordering that the Ten Commandments be displayed alongside other historical documents in the state Capitol, after a federal judge ruled an injunction in a separate case did not apply to the display.
Fletcher, the state’s first GOP governor in more than 30 years, was indicted on misdemeanor charges later dismissed in a negotiated deal after a judge said he could not be tried in office. But the grand jury later said Fletcher had approved a “widespread and coordinated plan” to skirt state hiring laws.
In Mississippi, Barbour defeated John Arthur Eaves Jr. by almost 20 percentage points. Barbour campaigned on his successful management of the hurricane recovery.
Katrina did in other Gulf Coast candidates. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, for instance, came under such criticism for her response to Katrina that she did not seek another term.
Barbour, a Republican, was a Washington lobbyist before winning the governorship four years ago. He is credited with using his Capitol Hill connections to help his home state collect billions of federal dollars for Katrina recovery.
The Kentucky and Mississippi gubernatorial races were the biggest stakes in an off-year. Elsewhere, voters were deciding ballot issues and mayoral posts in several cities.
Party control of state legislatures in Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia also was at stake. Democrats won four GOP state Senate seats to capture their first majority in Virginia in 12 years and hoped to take control in Mississippi. Republicans had a shot to win the New Jersey Senate.
Both parties hope state and local races will give momentum to the 2008 presidential and congressional campaigns.
The Republicans’ loss of the governor’s office in Kentucky is offset by another change of power in Louisiana last month. Republican Bobby Jindal, an Oxford-educated congressman of Indian descent, will succeed Blanco.