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Kentucky attorney general election, 2011
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The Kentucky Attorney General election of 2011 was held on November 8, 2011. Democratic incumbent Jack Conway defeated Republican challenger Todd P'Pool.
Background
Incumbent Democrat Jack Conway announced his run for re-election on January 23, 2011, following his defeat to Republican Rand Paul in a hard-fought, often acrimonious race for Kentucky's open U.S. Senate seat.[1] Conway admitted he considered not running and that he wondered if he had enough "gas in the tank" for another campaign.[1] The hard-fought Senate race, which Paul ultimately won by 11 percent, saw Conway's campaign dogged by accusations of mudslinging after it produced the infamous "Aqua Buddha" ad that appeared to question Paul's faith as a Christian.
Hopkins County Attorney Todd P'Pool stepped forward to challenge Conway on December 14, 2010. He would ultimately be the only Republican to challenge Conway.[2] P'Pool said he was running because he thought Conway had not done enough to help Kentucky's coal industry.[3] He also criticized Conway for not joining other state attorneys general in opposing President Barack Obama's health care reform, saying that he thought the law (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010) was unconstitutional.[3]
General election
Candidates
Republican Party - Hopkins County Attorney Todd P'Pool
Democratic Party - Incumbent Jack Conway
Commercials
Republican candidate Todd P'Pool released three TV campaign ads and Democrat Jack Conway two ads by October 5, 2011.
Jack Conway[4]
Todd P'Pool[5]
Endorsements
Jack Conway
- Teamsters Local 89[6]
- AFL-CIO Kentucky[6]
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers[6]
- United Mine Workers of America[6]
- United Food & Commercial Workers Local 227[6]
- Indiana-Kentucky Regional Council of Carpenters[6]
- Kentucky Educators Political Action Committee[7]
- Mayor of Louisville Jerry Abramson[7]
- State Auditor Crit Luallen[7]
- Former Governor of Kentucky Brereton Jones[7]
- U.S. Reps Ben Chandler, John Yarmuth and former Rep. Ken Lucas[7]
- Former Kentucky Supreme Court Justices John Palmore and Martin Johnstone[7]
- State Sens. Gerald Neal and Jerry Rhoads[7]
- State Reps. Joni Jenkins, Rocky Adkins, and Larry Clark[7]
Todd P'Pool
- Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police[8]
- Northern Kentucky Right to Life[6]
- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli[9]
- Louisville Tea Party[10]
- Former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson[11]
- Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee[12]
- Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt[13]
- U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul (R-KY)[6]
- Tea Party Patriots (Central Kentucky)[6]
- State Rep. Jim Gooch, Jr.
Campaign finance
Neither candidate filed general election campaign finance reports as of September 2, 2011.[14] See below for finance summaries from the primaries.
Polling
Incumbent Conway held a significant lead through the spring and summer, though one late August poll showed P'Pool climbing within ten points.
| Date of Poll | Pollster | Todd P'Pool (R) | Jack Conway (D) | Undecided | Number polled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 29-31, 2011[15] | cn|2/Braun Research | 26.4% | 53.2% | 20.4% | 803 |
| Aug. 25-28, 2011[16] | Public Policy Polling | 36% | 47% | 18% | 600 |
| Jun. 6-8, 2011[17] | cn|2 | 29.5% | 56.4% | 14.2% | 800 |
| Feb. 28-Mar. 1, 2011[18] | cn|2 | 32.7% | 52.1% | 13.6% | 804 |
Primary election
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Incumbent Jack Conway was unopposed.[19]
Finances
As of July 12, 2011, the breakdown of Conway's campaign finances was as follows:
| Jack Conway Campaign Finance Reports -- Primary Election[20] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | |||
| Total | --- | --- | $283,303.30 | $29,264.25 | --- | |||
| 60-Day Post-Primary | 7/16/2011 | $261,835.72 | $-1,500.00 | $5,796.97 | $254,538.75 | |||
| 30-Day Post-Primary | 6/16/2011 | $147,336.09 | $118,950.00 | $4,450.37 | $261,835.72 | |||
| 15-Day Pre-Primary | 5/2/2011[21] | $116,011.54 | $35,530.75 | $4,206.20 | $147,336.09 | |||
| 32-Day Pre-Primary | 4/15/2011[22] | $0.00 | $130,822.55 | $14,811.01 | $116,011.54 | |||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Hopkins County attorney Todd P'Pool was unopposed.[23]
Finances
As of July 12, 2011, the breakdown of Conway's campaign finances was as follows:
| Todd P'Pool Campaign Finance Reports -- Primary Election[24] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | |||
| Total | --- | --- | $437,780.50 | $89,439.90 | --- | |||
| 60-Day Post-Primary | 7/16/2011 | $400,507.08 | $-48,391.90 | $2,774.58 | $349,340.60 | |||
| 30-Day Post-Primary | 6/16/2011 | $411,442.72 | $20,705.00 | $31,640.64 | $400,507.08 | |||
| 15-Day Pre-Primary | 5/2/2011[25] | $305,647.21 | $114,335.40 | $8,539.89 | $411,442.72 | |||
| 32-Day Pre-Primary | 4/15/2011 | $270,274.34 | $79,482.00 | $44,109.13 | $305,647.21 | |||
| Quarterly | 12/31/2010 | $0.00 | $272,650.00 | $2,375.66 | $270,274.34 | |||
Key dates
The following table details key dates and deadlines during the 2011 election:
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| January 25, 2011 | Declaration of candidacy for primary |
| April 18, 2011 | Voter registration for primary |
| May 10, 2011 | Deadline to request absentee ballots by mail |
| May 16, 2011 | Deadline to request absentee ballots in person |
| May 17, 2011 | Emergency absentee ballot request for primary |
| May 17, 2011 | Primary election |
| May 27, 2011 | Last day to request a recount and to challenge primary results |
| June 6, 2011 | Certification of primary results |
| August 9, 2011 | Declaration of candidacy for general election |
| October 11, 2011 | Voter registration for general election |
| October 28, 2011 | Write-in candidate announcement for general election |
| November 1, 2011 | Deadline to request absentee ballot for general election by mail |
| November 7, 2011 | Deadline to request absentee ballot for general election in person |
| November 8, 2011 | Emergency absentee ballot request for general election |
| November 8, 2011 | General election |
| November 15, 2011 | Last day to challenge general election results |
| November 18, 2011 | Last day to request a general election recount |
| November 28, 2011 | Certification of general election results |
External links
- List of candidates qualified for Kentucky's May 17 Attorney General primary
- Green Paper's list of candidates for Kentucky Attorney General, 2011
Republican candidates
Democratic candidates
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lexington Herald-Leader, "Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway wins re-election," November 9, 2011
- ↑ Todd P'Pool for Attorney General, "Prosecutor Todd P'Pool Announces His Candidacy For The 2011 Republican Nomination for Attorney General," accessed July 12, 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kentucky.com, "Conway, P'Pool to square off in attorney general's race this fall," May 18, 2011
- ↑ Jack Conway for Attorney General, "TV Ads," accessed October 5, 2011
- ↑ Todd P'Pool for Attorney General, "Media," accessed October 5, 2011
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 The Courier-Journal (Louisville), "2011 Voter Guide -- Attorney General," accessed July 12, 2011
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 KEPAC, "Candidate Endorsements," accessed July 12, 2011
- ↑ The Independent, "State FOP give endorsement to P'Pool," September 7, 2011
- ↑ Todd P'Pool for Attorney General, "Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to Campaign for Todd P'Pool," August 21, 2011
- ↑ Todd P'Pool for Attorney General, "Louisville TEA Party Endorses Todd P'Pool," October 3, 2011
- ↑ Todd P'Pool for Attorney General, "Trey Grayson and Travis Ford to Campaign for Todd P'Pool," August 21, 2011
- ↑ Todd P'Pool for Attorney General, "Governor Mike Huckabee to Campaign for Todd P'Pool," August 22, 2011
- ↑ Todd P'Pool for Attorney General, "Oklahoma AG Scott PRuitt to Campaign for Todd P'Pool," August 29, 2011
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Candidate Searches," accessed September 2, 2011
- ↑ cn|2 "cn|2 Poll: Beshear's lead increases but other races largely unchanged since June," accessed September 8, 2011
- ↑ Public Policy Polling, "Beshear set to romp, helping Dems down-ballot," August 30, 2011
- ↑ cn|2 Pure Politics, "Down ballot Democrats begin with leads; Auditor race is closest in cn|2 Poll," accessed July 12, 2011
- ↑ cn|2 Pure Politics, "At the starting line, Jack Conway has nearly 20-point lead over Todd P'Pool," March 3, 2011
- ↑ Louisville Courier-Journal, "Jack Conway to run for re-election; seeks money to pay off Senate debt" 19 Nov. 2010
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Candidate Searches," accessed July 12, 2011
- ↑ Amended 5/16/2011.
- ↑ Amended on 5/2/2011 and 5/16/2011.
- ↑ 89.3 FM WFPL "Hopkins County Attorney P’Pool Seeking AG’s Office" 15 Dec. 2010
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Candidate Searches," accessed July 12, 2011
- ↑ Amended 6/1/2011.
