The 2011 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2011, to elect the

governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-el ...

and the

lieutenant governor of Kentucky The lieutenant governor of Kentucky was created under the state's second constitution, which was ratified in 1799. The inaugural officeholder was Alexander Scott Bullitt, who took office in 1800 following his election to serve under James Garrard ...

. Incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th atto ...

won re-election, defeating

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

challenger David L. Williams, then the president of the state senate, and

Gatewood Galbraith Louis Gatewood Galbraith (January 23, 1947 – January 4, 2012) was an American author and Attorneys in the United States, attorney from the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. He was a five-time political candidate for governor of Kentucky. Early l ...

, an independent candidate. Statewide turnout in this election was 28%.

Background

On July 19, 2009, Beshear announced his intention to run for re-election. However, in that announcement, he stated that then-

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

mayor

Jerry Abramson Jerry Edwin Abramson (born September 12, 1946) is an American Democratic politician who was the 55th lieutenant governor of Kentucky. On November 6, 2014, Governor Steve Beshear announced that Abramson would step down from his position as lieute ...

would be his running mate in 2011 instead of current Lt. Governor

Daniel Mongiardo Frank Daniel Mongiardo (born July 4, 1960) is an American physician and politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Mongiardo is a Democrat and was the 54th lieutenant governor of Kentucky from 2007 until 2011. He was a member of the Kentucky St ...

, who chose to run for the U.S. Senate in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. Kentucky state law requires that gubernatorial candidates file to run with running mates, otherwise they cannot legally raise money. Beshear wanted to fundraise and this would have required Mongiardo also saying that he was running in 2011, which he couldn't do. Beshear and Abramson did not face any opposition for the Democratic nomination. Among Republicans, Kentucky State Senate President David Williams from Burkesville announced his official candidacy along with running mate

Richie Farmer Richard Dwight Farmer (born August 25, 1969) is an American former collegiate basketball player and Republican Party politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He served as the Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner from 2004 to 2012 and was the ...

, the term-limited State Agriculture Commissioner and former

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

basketball player. Louisville businessman Phil Moffett also announced his ticket with State Representative Mike Harmon from Danville as his running mate. Moffett was seen as the Tea Party favorite. However, Williams also advocated for similar positions as Moffett, such as the repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment to the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

and promoting tax reforms similar to what Moffett proposed. Attorney

of Lexington filed to run his fourth gubernatorial campaign as an independent on July 4, 2009, choosing marketing consultant Dea Riley as his running mate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

, incumbent

, 2007-2016; former Lt. Governor of Kentucky, 1983-1987; former

Attorney General of Kentucky The Attorney General of Kentucky is an office created by the Kentucky Constitution. (Ky.Const. § 91). Under Kentucky law, they serve several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor (KRS 15.700), the state's chief law enforcement officer (K ...

, 1979-1983; and former

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

, 1974-1979. **Running mate:

Louisville Mayor The history of Louisville, Kentucky, United States, as a city is considered to have started on February 13, 1828, the date of the first city charter. From the time of its first organization as a village, on February 7, 1781, until its incorporati ...

, 1986-1999 and 2003-2011.

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

*Bobbie Holsclaw, Jefferson County Clerk, 1998-2010, 2014–present **Running mate: Bill Vermillion, retired U.S. Navy master chief *Phil Moffett, Louisville businessman and Tea Party activist **Running mate:

Mike Harmon Michael Joseph Harmon (born January 24, 1958) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro for Mike Harmon Racing. In the past, he drove in ...

, state representative, 2003-2016 * David L. Williams, state senate president, 2000-2012; state senator 1987-2012; and nominee for U.S. Senate in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

**Running mate:

, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner, 2004-2012

Polling

Results

2011 Kentucky Republican Primary County map

Independents

Declared

, attorney, industrial hemp advocate and perennial candidate **Running mate: Dea Riley, political consultant

General election

Predictions

Polling

;With Moffett ;With Holsclaw

Results

References

External links

;Candidates
Steve Beshear for GovernorDavid Williams for GovernorGatewood Galbraith for Governor
;Information
Kentucky State Board of ElectionsKentucky gubernatorial election, 2011
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Kentucky Governor Candidates
at

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Campaign contributions for 2011 Kentucky Governor
from ''Follow the Money''

from OurCampaigns.com

from ''

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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kentucky Gubernatorial Election, 2011

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2011 United States gubernatorial elections November 2011 events in the United States

Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Polling

Results

Independents

Declared

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links