Steve Beshear In Bowling Green On Fly Around, Predicts Big Win.
Beshear kicks off campaign finale in Bowling Green
By ROGER ALFORD
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) -- Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear predicted one of the biggest triumphs in Kentucky history as he made the first stop of a fly-around that will take him to cities across the state leading up to Tuesday's general election.
Beshear, seeking re-election to a second term, stumped Friday in Bowling Green where about 150 cheering supporters crowded shoulder-to-shoulder into the lobby of the airport.
"This sends the message that we're going to go out on Tuesday, we're going to turn out the vote, and we're going to see one of the biggest victories this state has ever seen in a governor's race," Beshear said.
Polls show Beshear with a huge lead over Republican David Williams, the longtime president of the Kentucky state Senate, and independent Gatewood Galbraith, a Lexington attorney.
Williams campaign chairman Donald Storm urged voters Friday to abandon Beshear, saying he has no plan to get unemployed Kentuckians back to work. Storm said Williams has a bold plan to improve the state's ailing economy.
Williams continued his bus tour on Friday and will be doing his own election-eve fly-around on Monday. Galbraith spent Friday campaigning in central Kentucky.
If he pulls out the win, Beshear would become the second Democrat to win a U.S. governor's race this year. Earl Ray Tomblin won West Virginia's special election Oct. 4, narrowly avoiding what could have been an embarrassing loss for President Barack Obama, who was dragged into the race by Republican challenger Bill Maloney.
The GOP won in Louisiana last month when incumbent Gov. Bobby Jindal coasted to a second term, and is also expected to hold the governor's office in Mississippi, where Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant is the front-runner in a race to succeed two-term Gov. Haley Barbour. Bryant faces Democrat Johnny DuPree, a mayor who is the first black candidate in modern times to win a major-party nod for Mississippi governor.
Williams has tried to portray Beshear as an Obama surrogate, a tactic that hasn't changed poll numbers substantially despite the president's negatives in Kentucky. Williams reminds voters at every campaign stop that Beshear has endorsed Obama for re-election. The Republican accuses the Obama administration of implementing environmental policies that have hurt Kentucky's coal industry, which employs about 18,000 people.
Williams also tried this week to whip up a Bible-Belt backlash against Beshear for participating in a Hindu-style ceremony last month on the site of an India-based company's proposed manufacturing plant. The Beshear campaign labeled the attack "pathetic and desperate."
Galbraith, who has raised less than $200,000 for his race, is banking on the nasty contest between Beshear and Williams angering voters enough that they will turn to him. In stump speeches, Galbraith laments the political gridlock between Democrats and Republicans in the state Capitol.
Beshear also has held a fundraising advantage throughout the race, having raised more than $10 million since the start of his re-election bid. Williams has raised about $2 million.
Some outside political groups funded largely by Williams' father-in-law, Russell Springs businessman Terry Stephens, have helped to keep pro-Williams TV ads on the air. Campaign finance reports show that Stephens has given about $2.7 million to Restoring America, a Republican political group, and $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. Both groups used the money to run ads targeting Beshear.
"It is remarkable that after spending 10 million dollars on a campaign there's not one person in Kentucky who can tell you what Gov. Beshear's plan is to fix the economy," Storm said in a statement Friday afternoon. "Beshear has no plan, supports Obama, and is staunchly pro-choice on abortion. Williams is a bold leader with a real plan to create jobs and protect our Kentucky values. The choice is clear."
By ROGER ALFORD
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) -- Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear predicted one of the biggest triumphs in Kentucky history as he made the first stop of a fly-around that will take him to cities across the state leading up to Tuesday's general election.
Beshear, seeking re-election to a second term, stumped Friday in Bowling Green where about 150 cheering supporters crowded shoulder-to-shoulder into the lobby of the airport.
"This sends the message that we're going to go out on Tuesday, we're going to turn out the vote, and we're going to see one of the biggest victories this state has ever seen in a governor's race," Beshear said.
Polls show Beshear with a huge lead over Republican David Williams, the longtime president of the Kentucky state Senate, and independent Gatewood Galbraith, a Lexington attorney.
Williams campaign chairman Donald Storm urged voters Friday to abandon Beshear, saying he has no plan to get unemployed Kentuckians back to work. Storm said Williams has a bold plan to improve the state's ailing economy.
Williams continued his bus tour on Friday and will be doing his own election-eve fly-around on Monday. Galbraith spent Friday campaigning in central Kentucky.
If he pulls out the win, Beshear would become the second Democrat to win a U.S. governor's race this year. Earl Ray Tomblin won West Virginia's special election Oct. 4, narrowly avoiding what could have been an embarrassing loss for President Barack Obama, who was dragged into the race by Republican challenger Bill Maloney.
The GOP won in Louisiana last month when incumbent Gov. Bobby Jindal coasted to a second term, and is also expected to hold the governor's office in Mississippi, where Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant is the front-runner in a race to succeed two-term Gov. Haley Barbour. Bryant faces Democrat Johnny DuPree, a mayor who is the first black candidate in modern times to win a major-party nod for Mississippi governor.
Williams has tried to portray Beshear as an Obama surrogate, a tactic that hasn't changed poll numbers substantially despite the president's negatives in Kentucky. Williams reminds voters at every campaign stop that Beshear has endorsed Obama for re-election. The Republican accuses the Obama administration of implementing environmental policies that have hurt Kentucky's coal industry, which employs about 18,000 people.
Williams also tried this week to whip up a Bible-Belt backlash against Beshear for participating in a Hindu-style ceremony last month on the site of an India-based company's proposed manufacturing plant. The Beshear campaign labeled the attack "pathetic and desperate."
Galbraith, who has raised less than $200,000 for his race, is banking on the nasty contest between Beshear and Williams angering voters enough that they will turn to him. In stump speeches, Galbraith laments the political gridlock between Democrats and Republicans in the state Capitol.
Beshear also has held a fundraising advantage throughout the race, having raised more than $10 million since the start of his re-election bid. Williams has raised about $2 million.
Some outside political groups funded largely by Williams' father-in-law, Russell Springs businessman Terry Stephens, have helped to keep pro-Williams TV ads on the air. Campaign finance reports show that Stephens has given about $2.7 million to Restoring America, a Republican political group, and $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. Both groups used the money to run ads targeting Beshear.
"It is remarkable that after spending 10 million dollars on a campaign there's not one person in Kentucky who can tell you what Gov. Beshear's plan is to fix the economy," Storm said in a statement Friday afternoon. "Beshear has no plan, supports Obama, and is staunchly pro-choice on abortion. Williams is a bold leader with a real plan to create jobs and protect our Kentucky values. The choice is clear."
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