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Tim Siggia's Election Forecast: 2003 - Part 2
By Tim Siggia
May 05, 2003
You will remember from my last posting that Kentucky, home of Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning, is another of the five states holding off-year elections. Here's the situation as it currently stands:
The governor's race finds incumbent Democrat governor Paul Patton, who cannot seek re-election due to term limits, currently embattled in a sex scandal, and four major Republican hopefuls wait in the wings: U. S. Representative Ernie Fletcher, running with Hunter Bates, Sen. McConnell's chief of staff as lieutenant governor; former teacher and county executive Rebecca Jackson, with business owner Robbie Rudolph; State Representative Steve Nunn, son of former governor Louie Nunn, running with State Representative Bob Heleringer; and State Senator Virgil Moore running with Don Bell, a retired Secret Service agent. As of April 29, here's how Survey USA rates the candidates: Fletcher 49%, Jackson 23%, Nunn 17% and Moore 3%. This shows Fletcher gaining by 13% and Nunn losing by 5% from a similar poll at the end of January, with Jackson and Moore remaining unchanged. So the momentum is with Fletcher, who, barring the unforeseen, will most likely clinch the candidacy. Senator McConnell is giving implied support to Fletcher, though he has not as yet made an official endorsement.
In the race for Secretary of State, Trey Grayson, a Harvard graduate in his twenties, stands as the only Republican, with the Democrats have three hopefuls facing one another in the upcoming primary. Incumbent state treasurer Jonathan Miller, a Democrat, will be challenged by Republican county commissioner Adam Koenig. Running for state auditor is Black Republican Osi Onyekwuluje -- don't ask me how that's pronounced; I had a tough enough time copying the spelling. Finally, for secretary of agriculture, we have one candidate who at least has the right name for the job: Richie Farmer, a former college basketball player, who will be matched against former gubernatorial candidate Buck Beasley in the Republican primary. Democrats currently have eight hopefuls vying for their nomination.
Well, that leaves only one more state, Louisiana, to be considered. It's the home state of C. James Carville -- but hopefully, we can forgive them for that. See you next time with the prospects for Cajunville.
Continue to part 1
Continue to part 3
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