The state of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

elected an

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

on Tuesday, November 8, 2011.

Primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

for this election was held on Tuesday, May 17, 2011. In the general election, incumbent Jack Conway defeated his challenger, Todd P'Pool.

Background

Current Attorney General Jack Conway, of

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. ...

, a

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 ...

, is running for a second term. There was speculation that Conway would not seek a second term; he had won the Democratic nomination for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

in the 2010 election (defeating

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

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 ...

in the primary) but went on to be defeated by

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 ...

Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American physician and politician serving as the junior U.S. senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he is a son of former three-time presidential candidate and 12 ...

in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. Several Democrats expressed interest in running if Conway decided to opt against a bid, including

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 ...

John C. Tilley of

Hopkinsville Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 31,577. History Early years The area of present-day Hopkinsville was initially claimed in 1796 b ...

, Louisville lawyer and former state Democratic Party Chairman Jennifer Moore, and

state Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Ray S. Jones. However, Conway announced on January 21, 2011 that he would run for a second term and did not face an opponent in the primary. On January 3, Hopkins County Attorney

Todd P'Pool Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

, of Madisonville announced his candidacy and stated that he would contribute $250,000 of his own money to help finance his run. He stated that if elected, he would fight the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...

from imposing regulations on the

coal industry Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when de ...

and would have Kentucky join a lawsuit brought by a number of state attorneys general seeking to strike down the new health care reform law.

Secretary of State of Kentucky The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who was ...

Trey Grayson Charles Merwin "Trey" Grayson III (born April 18, 1972) is an American politician and attorney who is currently a member at Frost Brown Todd and a principal at CivicPoint. A former Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Grayson als ...

(who lost the 2010 Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to Rand Paul) was thought to have considered entering the race for the Republican nomination, but he announced on November 24, 2010 that he would not seek election to any office in 2011. Rob Sanders of Fort Mitchell, the Commonwealth's Attorney from

Kenton County Kenton County is a county located in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,064, making it the third most populous county in Kentucky (behind Jefferson County and Fayette County). It ...

, announced on December 14 that he would not run for Attorney General and would instead seek re-election in 2012 to a second term as Commonwealth's Attorney.

Republican Party of Kentucky The Republican Party of Kentucky is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Kentucky and follows its nationally established platform. The party's headquarters is in Frankfort, Kentucky. The party gained relevance around the 1940s. Since this ...

Chairman Steve Robertson had urged Sanders to run, but noted the interest of Hopkins County Attorney Todd P'Pool, of Madisonville, and Jessamine County Attorney Brian Goettl. P'Pool filed paperwork to run the next day. On January 13, 2011, former

Kentucky Supreme Court The Kentucky Supreme Court was created by a 1975 constitutional amendment and is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Prior to that the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The Kentucky Court of ...

Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert, of

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

announced he was dropping his plans to seek the Republican nomination for attorney general because current chief justice John D. Minton, Jr. declined to grant him a

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...

from the senior judge program. Shortly afterward, Brian Goettl announced on the Jack Pattie radio show on AM 590-WVLK in Lexington that he also would not seek the Republican nomination for attorney general, leaving P'Pool the only Republican candidate in that race.Kenny Colston,
The Chatter: Lambert and Goettl out of AG race; several state candidates file... and more
(January 13, 2011). cn, 2 Politics.

Candidates

Republicans

*Todd P'Pool,

Hopkins Hopkins is an English, Welsh and Irish patronymic surname. The English name means "son of Hob". ''Hob'' was a diminutive of ''Robert'', itself deriving from the Germanic warrior name ''Hrod-berht'', translated as "renowned-fame". The Robert spell ...

County Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

Democrats

* Jack Conway - incumbent Attorney General

General election

Polling

Result

References

External links

Jack Conway official campaign website

Todd P'Pool official campaign website
{{United States elections, 2011

Kentucky Attorney General elections