| Fletcher and Chandler: 2003 Governor’s Race in Western Kentucky |
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Fletcher and Chandler: 2003 Governor’s Race
The 32 counties of far western Kentucky turn out a total of 208,668 votes for the 2003 governor’s race. This was just under 20 % of the total statewide vote of 1,083,441. The race in western Kentucky became a classical battle between a strong central Democratic Kentucky candidate (Chandler) up against a well organized Republican candidate who worked the conservative vote.
Fletcher won, in part, due to the misfortunes of Governor Paul Patton. Patton’s last year of scandal in office destroyed whatever chance the Democrat’s had of being re-elected back into office. The Democratic Party could not pull out the voters when Fletcher played the “moral values card” against them. This strategy worked very well in the Western Kentucky counties.
Charted here are the results of that race for the counties of western Kentucky. Use these figures to understand just how fragmented the Democratic base can be in the West. Key counties such as McCracken, Warren, Calloway, Daviess, Marshall, Christian, and Muhlenberg are no longer safe and for sure Democratic. They are becoming strong two party in voter turn out. These are the battlefields for the future of West Kentucky politics.
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