Steve Beshear
Incumbent Governor Steve Beshear is seeking re-election after electoral success in his first campaign for governor in 2007, which he won by a 17.41 percent margin.
Beshear, 67, grew up in Dawson Springs, KY and attended the University of Kentucky both for his undergraduate and his law degrees. He served as the president of his class while attending UK, and graduated with honors from the UK College of Law.
Beshear is a practicing attorney who has supplemented his years in politics with practicing law in Lexington, but his political career began soon after his graduation from law school in 1969.
He served as a state representative in 1973 – 1979.He was then Kentucky’s attorney general from 1980-1983. He served as lieutenant governor from 1983-1987, before returning to the private sector to practice law in Lexington.
He stepped back into the political arena for the first time in 1996, to challenge the incumbent Republican Senator Mitch McConnell. Though he breezed through the primary, McConnell ultimately defeated him, by the widest margin of his political career.
After returning to his law practice in 2006, Beshear announced that he would enter the 2007 gubernatorial race. He ran with former state Senator Daniel Mongiardo and was elected to serve beginning on December 11, 2007. His current term will last through December 13, 2011.
According to Beshear’s website, one of his biggest concerns as governor has been creating and retaining jobs for Kentuckians. He says that he plans to continue to further these goals as well as work on “increasing opportunities for businesses across the state.”
Beshear has also stressed fiscal responsibility as a focus of his campaign as well as providing support for the people of Kentucky through the tough economic times they are currently facing.
Beshear will not be running with Mongiardo again this term, but instead will be running with Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson.
For more information on Beshear’s candidacy, click here.
David Williams
Williams, 58, is from Burkesville, KY and attended the University of Kentucky for his undergraduate degree, and then the University of Louisville’s College of Law, graduating in 1977.
Immediately after graduation, Williams sought the county judge position in Cumberland County, but was unsuccessful in his first political attempt. He was more successful in 1984 when he won the seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives, serving as the youngest member of the House at 31.
He served in the House until 1986 when he was elected to the state Senate for the first of seven elected terms. He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1992 and for commonwealth attorney in 1993. However, in 2000 his luck changed as he was elected President of the Senate after the resignation of Larry Saunders. He is still serving as President of the Senate, after being re-elected in 2010.
During his time as President of the Senate, Williams has served as a strong force against increased taxes, especially on small businesses, according to his website.“The record is clear:” his website reads. “David Williams cuts taxes and stops debt from making it in the state budget.”
Throughout his campaign, Williams has emphasized the necessity of tax reform as a solution to various problems plaguing the state of Kentucky and has highlighted the importance of government transparency.
David Williams has chosen state agriculture commissioner and former UK basketball alumnus Richie Farmer, as his running mate for lieutenant governor.
For more information on Williams’s candidacy, click here.
Gatewood Galbraith
Gatewood Galbraith is running in this year’s governor race as an Independent candidate. His running mate is political consultant, Dea Riley.
Galbraith, 64, is from Carlisle, KY and attended the University of Kentucky for his undergraduate as well as his law studies. He graduated from the University of Kentucky’s College of Law in 1977.
Since his graduation from law school, Galbraith has been a practicing attorney, mainly working on criminal law and personal injury civil cases.
Aside from his legal career, Galbraith has an extensive election history, having competed in six state and two national elections. In 1983, he unsuccessfully sought the Agricultural Commission nomination of the Democratic Party. He later unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 1991 and 1995. In 1999, he ran for the governor’s office as a Reform Candidate but received only 15 percent of the vote.
Galbraith turned his attention to the national arena, running for Congress in 2000 and 2002, and after losing both races, ran as an Independent for attorney general of Kentucky in 2003. He attempted the governor’s race again in 2007 under the Democratic Party, but was edged out in the primary.
Galbraith’s run for the governor’s seat this year will represent his fifth attempt, but his first as an Independent candidate.
Galbraith believes that it is the politics in government that is halting economic development and job creation. “No solution will be passed as long as the parties act like two bull elk with their horns locked together who cannot disengage,” according to his website.
Galbraith has also made an active appeal to younger Kentucky voters in proposing extensive educational reform including vouchers for high school graduates for furthering education, as well as providing laptops to all 8th grade students in Kentucky to promote education through technology.
For more information on Gatewood Galbraith’s candidacy, click here.
Thus far, the Braun Research Poll shows Beshear with 54 percent of the public’s vote, Williams with 25.6 percent and Galbraith with 8.4 percent, 12 percent remains undecided.
