Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2011
- Main article: State executive official elections, 2011
The Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election of 2011 was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, following a primary election on May 17, 2011.[1] Polling hours on all election days are from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, local time.
Incumbent Gov. Steve L. Beshear (D) first won election in 2007 and won re-election in 2011. His lieutenant governor, Daniel Mongiardo, ran for and lost the Democratic primary for the Class III U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Rand Paul. Beshear's running mate for 2011 was Jerry Abramson, a former Louisville mayor.
Beshear and Abramson defeated the Republican ticket of state Senate President David Williams and outgoing Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer. The independent ticket of trial attorney Gatewood Galbraith and Dea Riley placed third in the race.
Kentucky elects the governor and the lieutenant governor on a shared ticket with a single primary election for both offices.
Background
Key dates
- Detailed dates and deadlines relevant to the election are listed at the Kentucky State Board of Elections.[2]
- Voters may check their registration status, register for the first time, or request an absentee ballot at the Kentucky State Board of Election's Voter Registration Portal.
- Certified results for elections were legally due no later than June 6, 2011, for the primary and November 28, 2011, for general election results. These were the latest dates for the state canvassers.
- Administrative deadlines were at close of business (4:00) unless otherwise noted.
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 |
Race background
Steve Beshear previously served in Kentucky's House of Representatives, as the Commonwealth's attorney general, and as the lieutenant governor, all prior to being elected to his first term as governor. Well-known throughout the state, he secured his first term with a 17-point plurality, ousting Republican incumbent Ernie Fletcher.
In his first term, Beshear was a relatively unpopular governor in a national political landscape where only a handful of governors could claim to have approval ratings nearing 50 percent.[3] He saw his numbers rise from the beginning of his first term, with approval ratings taken in conjunction with preliminary polls on the 2011 gubernatorial election giving him favorable ratings in the upper 40s.
His only announced primary contender was perennial candidate Otis Hensley, Jr. In the 2007 Democratic primary for the governorship Hensley took 1.09 percent, compared to 41.02 percent for Beshear. By the time the deadline for candidates to file passed, Hensley's name was not on any official lists of gubernatorial hopefuls.
Across the aisle, state Senate President David L. Williams and businessman Phillip Moffet declared their candidacies. Beshear bested each by double-digit margins in hypothetical match-ups, with larger edges over Moffet. Hypothetical match-ups between Beshear and Moffett generated higher undecided totals than a Beshear-Williams contest. This trend reflected Moffet's lower name recognition and voter fatigue from a busy 2010 midterm election.
Beshear made his re-election run with a new running mate. Incumbent Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo chose to pursue a U.S. Senate seat, making him unavailable when Beshear announced he would run again in July 2009. In Mongiardo's place, Jerry Abramson, Lousiville's mayor, joined the ticket.
Among GOP hopefuls, Representative Mike Harmon ran with Moffet and Williams ran with State Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer. Farmer's stint as a University of Kentucky Wildcat basketball player may have boosted his appeal and name recognition on the campaign trail.
An independent ticket featuring gubernatorial candidate Gatewood Galbraith and lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Dea Riley also ran during the 2011 race. Galbraith made his fifth gubernatorial run in 2011 and previously ran as a Democratic and Reform Party candidate.
Race tracking
2011 Race Rankings for Governor of Kentucky | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Race Tracker | Race Rating | |||
The Cook Political Report | Leans Democratic | |||
Governing Politics | Toss-up | |||
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely Democratic | |||
The Rothenberg Political Report | Toss-up/Tilting Democrat | |||
Overall Call | Leans Democratic |
November 8 general election
Results
Governor and Lt. Governor of Kentucky, 2011 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
Democratic | 55.7% | 464,245 | ||
Republican | David Williams and Richie Farmer | 35.3% | 294,034 | |
Independent | Gatewood Galbraith and Dea Riley | 9% | 74,860 | |
Total Votes | 833,139 | |||
Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State |
Polls
On February 28 and March 1, 2010, Braun Research conducted a telephone survey of 804 Kentucky voters who were likely to vote in 2011. Respondents were asked "if the election for governor and lieutenant governor were held today, and your choices were the Democratic ticket of Steve Beshear and Herry Abramson or the Republican ticket of David Williams and Richie Farmer, who would you vote for?"
Date of Poll | Pollster | Beshear (D) | Williams (R) | Don't Know | Number polled |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb 28 - Mar 1, 2010 | Braun Research, Inc | 48.4% | 37.6% | 12.6% | 804 |
Eight months later, Mason-Dixon Polling conducted a similar survey, and though the Beshear/Abramson ticket lost a little bit of ground, they maintained a 15-point advantage over Williams/Farmer. In a later poll, conducted in June 2011, the incumbent and his running mate gained 6 points, with 7 percent of the polled voters clarifying their position in the eight months between polls.
Date of Poll | Pollster | Beshear (D) | Williams (R) | Galbraith (I) | Don't Know | Number polled |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct 18 - 19, 2010 | Mason-Dixon Polling | 45% | 30% | 5% | 20% | 625 |
June 6 - 8, 2011 | Braun Research, Inc | 51% | 29.6% | 5.6% | 13.8% | 802 |
August 25 - 28, 2011 | Public Policy Polling | 55% | 28% | 10% | 8% | 600 |
May 17 primary election
Results
In the event that no candidate received more than 40 percent of the vote in the party's primary, a runoff would have been scheduled. Turnout was scant, perhaps even lighter than predicted, but in the Republican field, the only real primary, David Williams finished with an eight-point cushion to avoid that runoff.
Gubernatorial Republican Primary election | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
Republican Party | 48.22% | ||
Republican Party | Phil Moffett | 37.98% | |
Republican Party | Barbara Holsclaw | 13.80% | |
Total Votes | 142,108 |
Gubernatorial Democratic Primary election | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
Democratic Party | (uncontested) | ||
Democratic Party | Otis Hensley, Jr. | (left race) | |
Total Votes |
Candidates
Democratic
- Steve Beshear, the incumbent governor, ran with Jerry E. Abramson, the former Mayor of Louisville.
- Otis "Bull Man" Hensley, Jr., a contractor for the state highway department, was running with Richard Robbins, his co-candidate in prior races. Hensley's name did not appear on the list of final candidates released on January 26, 2011.
Republican
- State Senator David Williams, ran with Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer.
- Jefferson County Clerk Barbara Holsclaw, ran with Bill Vermillion, Jr.
- Businessman Phil Moffett, ran with State Representative Mike Harmon for lieutenant governor, a ticket that aligned itself with tea party principles.[4]
Independent
- Attorney and frequent candidate Gatewood Galbraith, ran with Dea Riley, a marketing professional.
Polls
Republican
Date of Poll | Pollster | Holsclaw/Vermillion | Moffett/Harmon | Williams/Farmer | Don't Know/Other | Number polled |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 8 - 13 | Survey USA | 12% | 21% | 47% | 21% | 507 |
Campaign finance
The Kentucky Registry of Election Finance administers laws regulating election financing and reporting. It is also the repository for all reports that candidates and committees are required to file.
Due dates for reports
Due dates for the 2011 primary season were as follows: 32-day pre- Primary Report, due April 15, 2011 15-day pre- Primary Report, due May 2, 2011 30-day post- Primary Report, due June 16, 2011 60-day post- Primary Report, due July 16, 2011 |
Due dates for the general season were as follows: 32-day pre- General Report, due October 7, 2011 15-day pre- General Report, due October 24, 2011 30-day post- General Report, due December 8, 2011 60-day post- General Report, due January 7, 2012 |
- Contributions include all fundraising and donations, loans, money rolled over from previous accounts, and all other income to the campaign.
- Reports are listed by the day the candidate filed, which may or may not be the due date.
- Amended reports are only put on a separate line if the amendment showed a changes in the total amounts; otherwise, there is simply a note to indicate that an amendment was filed.
Nominees
Beshear & Abramson
Steve Beshear and Jerry Abramson Campaign Finance Reports[5] | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions | (Expenditures) | Cash on Hand | ||||
30 Day Post-Primary | June 16, 2011 | $3,239,082.90 | $134,605.50 | $(2,887,718.53) | $485,969.87 | ||||
15 Day Pre-Primary | May 2, 2011 | $3,322,565.04 | $200,627.84 | $(284,109.98) | $3,239,082.90 | ||||
32 Day Pre-Primary | April 15, 2011 | $2,640,682.94 | $1,146,120.20 | $(464,242.10) | $3,322,565.04 |
Williams & Farmer
David Williams and Richie Farmer Campaign Finance Reports[6] | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions | (Expenditures) | Cash on Hand | ||||
30 Day Post-Primary | June 16, 2011 | $206,511.277 | $92,787.00 | $(209,935.02) | $89,363.25 | ||||
15 Day Pre-Primary | May 6, 2011 | $669,839.23 | $76,934.00 | $(540,261.96) | $206,511.27 | ||||
32 Day Pre-Primary | April 15, 2011, amended May 16, 2011 | $641,658.57 | $446,943.01 | $(418,762.35) | $669,839.23 |
Former candidates
Holsclaw & Vermillion
Barbara Holsclaw and William Vermillion Campaign Finance Reports[7] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions | (Expenditures) | Cash on Hand | |
15 Day Pre-Primary | May 2, 2011 | $15,289.44 | $3,925.00 | $(6,566.48) | $12,647.96 | |
32 Day Pre-Primary | April 15, 2011, amended April 27, 2011 | $0.00 | $22,774.00 | $(7,484.56) | $15,289.44 |
Moffett & Harmon
Phil Moffett and Mike Harmon Campaign Finance Reports[8] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions | (Expenditures) | Cash on Hand | |
15 Day Pre-Primary | May 2, 2011 | $11,361.17 | $23,329.00 | $(18,446.16) | $16,244.01 | |
32 Day Pre-Primary | April 15, 2011, amended April 21, 2011 | $8,737.45 | $57,758.00 | $(55,134.28) | $11,361.17 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Green Papers, "2010 Gubernatorial Primaries at a Glance"
- ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections, "2011 Kentucky Election Calendar," accessed November 30, 2010
- ↑ Public Policy Polling, "Gubernatorial Approval Ratings," March 11, 2010
- ↑ VIDEO: Pure Politics: On video: Phil Moffett explains his Republican candidacy for governor," July 29, 2010
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Finance, “Statement Filed by: BESHEAR, STEVEN / ABRAMSON, JERRY: SLATE - STATEWIDE 05/17/2011 PRIMARY," accessed May 3, 2011
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Finance, “Statement Filed by: WILLIAMS, DAVID / FARMER, RICHIE: SLATE - STATEWIDE 05/17/2011 PRIMARY," accessed May 3, 2011
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Finance, “Statement Filed by: HOLSCLAW, BARBARA / VERMILLION, WILLIAM: SLATE - STATEWIDE 05/17/2011 PRIMARY," accessed May 3, 2011
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Finance, “Statement Filed by: MOFFETT, PHIL / HARMON, MIKE: SLATE - STATEWIDE 05/17/2011 PRIMARY," accessed May 3, 2011
State of Kentucky Frankfort (capital) | |
---|---|
Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |