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  Wilkinson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Harper: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Kentucky |
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 Government |
The 1987 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1987. Democratic nominee Wallace Wilkinson defeated Republican nominee John Harper with 64.50% of the vote.
Primary elections were held on May 26, 1987. [1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Wallace Wilkinson | 221,138 | 34.90 | |
| Democratic | John Y. Brown Jr. | 163,204 | 25.75 | |
| Democratic | Steve Beshear | 114,439 | 18.06 | |
| Democratic | W. Grady Stumbo | 84,613 | 13.35 | |
| Democratic | Julian Carroll | 42,137 | 6.65 | |
| Democratic | Stanley Luttrell | 3,788 | 0.60 | |
| Democratic | Dinwiddle Lampton Jr. | 2,638 | 0.42 | |
| Total votes | 633,718 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Harper | 37,432 | 41.42 | |
| Republican | Joseph E. Johnson III | 22,396 | 24.78 | |
| Republican | Leonard "Buck" Beasley | 21,067 | 23.31 | |
| Republican | Thurman Jerome Hamlin | 9,475 | 10.49 | |
| Total votes | 90,370 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Wallace Wilkinson | 504,674 | 64.50% | +10.1% | |
| Republican | John Harper | 273,141 | 34.91% | -9.2% | |
| Majority | 231,533 | ||||
| Turnout | 777,815 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
Brereton Chandler Jones is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1987 to 1991, he served as the 50th lieutenant governor of Kentucky and from 1991 to 1995, he was the state's 58th governor. He now chairs the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP), a lobbying organization for the Kentucky horse industry.
Southern Democrats are affiliates of the U.S. Democratic Party who reside in the Southern United States.
Wallace Glenn Wilkinson was an American businessman and politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1987 to 1991, he served as the state's 57th governor. Wilkinson dropped out of college at the University of Kentucky in 1962 to attend to a book retail business he started. The business rapidly became a national success, and Wilkinson re-invested his profits in real estate, farming, transportation, banking, coal, and construction ventures, becoming extremely wealthy. In 1987, he joined a crowded field in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. After running behind two former governors and the sitting lieutenant governor for most of the race, Wilkinson began to climb in the polls after hiring then-unknown campaign consultant James Carville. Wilkinson campaigned on a promise of no new taxes and advocated a state lottery as an alternative means of raising money for the state. Wilkinson surprised most political observers by winning the primary and going on to defeat his Republican challenger in the general election.
The 2007 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2007. In this election, incumbent Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher ran for reelection to a second term, but was soundly defeated by Democratic challenger Steve Beshear. A primary election to determine the Republican and Democratic nominees for governor was held on May 22, 2007, in which Fletcher and Beshear won their respective primaries. Steve Beshear's son, Andy, would also be elected to the same office 12 years later.
John David Harper was a five-term member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Bullitt County and the 1987 Republican nominee for governor of Kentucky. Harper agreed to run for governor after the expected choice of party leaders, Lexington attorney Larry Forgy, surprisingly dropped out of the race because of fundraising problems. Harper lost to Democrat Wallace G. Wilkinson in a record landslide. Wilkinson carried 115 of Kentucky's 120 counties and won 504,367 votes to Harper's 273,035. Of the five counties Harper carried, one was his home county of Bullitt, and another was Wilkinson's county of residence, Fayette.
Thomas Dale Emberton Sr. was an American politician and judge in the state of Kentucky. He was the Republican nominee for his state's governorship in the 1971 election. Of note, Mitch McConnell worked on his campaign.
Harvey I. Sloane, a physician and Democrat, served two terms as Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky and also a term as county judge-executive of Jefferson County, Kentucky. He narrowly lost two Democratic primaries for Governor of Kentucky and lost a race for the United States Senate to incumbent Mitch McConnell.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 4, 2008. Minority Leader and incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell won re-election to a fifth term. Although Barack Obama lost Kentucky by a 16.22% margin to John McCain in the concurrent presidential election, McConnell more narrowly kept his seat with a 5.94% margin against businessman Bruce Lunsford. This was a greatly reduced margin from when he won re-election in 2002 with a 29.4% margin.
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Kentucky:
The 1991 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1991. Incumbent Governor Wallace Wilkinson was not eligible to seek a second term due to term limits established by the Kentucky Constitution, creating an open seat. At the time, Kentucky was one of two states, along with Virginia, which prohibited its governors from serving immediate successive terms. The Democratic nominee, Lieutenant Governor Brereton Jones, defeated Republican nominee and U.S. Congressman Larry J. Hopkins to win a term as governor.
Gerald G. Lundergan is an American businessman, politician and member of the Democratic Party from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1980 to 1985 and 1987 to 1989 and has served as Chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party on two occasions. In September 2019, he was convicted in federal court of providing illegal corporate campaign contributions to his daughter, then Secretary of State of Kentucky Alison Lundergan Grimes’ 2014 failed U.S. Senate campaign.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the six U.S. representatives from the state of Kentucky, one from each of the state's six congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on May 17.
The 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. The Democratic nominee, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, defeated Republican incumbent Matt Bevin by just over 5,000 votes, or 0.37%, making this the closest gubernatorial election in Kentucky since 1899 by total votes, and the closest ever by percentage. It was also the closest race of the 2019 gubernatorial election cycle.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Kentucky on November 5, 2019, with all executive offices in the state up for election. Primary elections were held on May 21, 2019.
The 1983 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1983. Democratic nominee Martha Layne Collins defeated Republican nominee Jim Bunning with 54.50% of the vote, replacing outgoing governor John Y. Brown Jr., and becoming the first female governor of Kentucky.
The 1979 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1979. Democratic nominee John Y. Brown Jr. defeated Republican nominee Louie Nunn with 59.41% of the vote.
The 1975 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1975. Incumbent Democrat Julian Carroll defeated Republican nominee Robert E. Gable with 62.84% of the vote.
United States gubernatorial elections are scheduled to be held on November 7, 2023, in the states of Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In addition, special elections may take place if other gubernatorial seats are vacated. These elections form part of the 2023 United States elections. The last regular gubernatorial elections for all three states were in 2019.
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 were held on May 16, 2023. The winner of the election is scheduled to be sworn in on December 12, 2023.
The 2019 Kentucky Secretary of State election was held on November 5, 2019, to elect the secretary of state of Kentucky. Primary elections were held on May 21, 2019. Incumbent Democratic secretary Alison Lundergan Grimes was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits, creating the first open election for secretary of state since 2003.
