Peppy Martin, (born Josephine Ellen Martin on May 14, 1946) is a
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 ...
politician who was the unsuccessful
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 ...
nominee in the
1999 gubernatorial election.
Early career
In her early years, Martin was an intern for Republican U.S. Senator
Thruston B. Morton of Kentucky. In 1971, she worked in the office of Governor
Louie B. Nunn
Louie Broady Nunn (March 8, 1924 – January 29, 2004) was an American politician who served as the 52nd governor of Kentucky. Elected in 1967, he was the only Republican to hold the office between the end of Simeon Willis's term in 1947 and ...
. She subsequently launched a career in public relations, eventually running her own firm in
Hart County, Kentucky. She resides in
Bonnieville in Hart County.
Martin legally changed her name to "Peppy" from her given name of Josephine Ellen when she unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the
Kentucky General Assembly
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives.
The General Assembly meets annually in ...
in the 1970s.
Campaigns
In
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, Martin ran for governor against
Paul E. Patton
Paul Edward Patton (born May 26, 1937) is an American politician who served as the 59th governor of Kentucky from 1995 to 2003. Because of a 1992 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution, he was the first governor eligible to run for a second ter ...
, the
Democratic incumbent. Through a change in the
Kentucky Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Kentucky, Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more. The later versions were adopted in 179 ...
, Patton became the state's first governor eligible to seek a second consecutive term since
James Garrard
James Garrard (January 14, 1749 – January 19, 1822) was an American farmer, Baptist minister and politician who served as the second governor of Kentucky from 1796 to 1804. Because of term limits imposed by the state constitution adopted in ...
in 1799. Martin's running mate was
Wanda Cornelius, a school board member from
Taylor County. In the Republican primary, Martin defeated perennial candidate David Lynn Williams (not to be confused with then-State Senator
David L. Williams). The Martin-Cornelius ticket lost to incumbent Governor Patton and Lieutenant Governor
Steve Henry in a landslide in the general election.
Martin announced her intent to run for
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
as a Reform Party candidate in 1996 and, later, as a Reform candidate for the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
in 2000, though she never qualified to appear on the ballot in either race.
In 2003, Martin sought the Republican nomination for the office of
Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts
The auditor of public accounts of Kentucky is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Forty-seven individuals have occupied the auditor's office since statehood. The incumbent is Mike Harmon, a Re ...
, ultimately losing in the primary.
Although she announced that she would be a Democratic candidate for Governor of Kentucky in
2007, Martin ultimately failed to appear on the ballot. Martin is challenging incumbent
Andy Beshear
Andrew Graham Beshear (born November 29, 1977) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 63rd governor of Kentucky since December 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the son of the 61st governor of Kentucky, Steve B ...
in the Democratic primary of the
2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election
The 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election will be held on November 7, 2023, to choose the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. Incumbent Democratic Governor Andy Beshear is running for re-election to a second term. Primaries will be h ...
.
Electoral history
See also
*
Kentucky gubernatorial election, 1999
References
External links
WATE 6 reporting on Peppy Martin buying the Tennessee governor's toilet as inspiration for her own candidacy for governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Peppy
1946 births
American businesspeople
Kentucky Republicans
Living people
People from Hart County, Kentucky
Women in Kentucky politics
Kentucky Democrats
21st-century American women