Free Republic

<p>FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Paul Patton (search) is not running for re-election, but public disdain for him and his scandal-tarnished administration is setting the tone in the race to succeed him.</p> <p>Attorney General Ben Chandler (search), the Democratic candidate for governor, makes a point of telling audiences he stands apart from the incumbent even though they're from the same party.</p>

DEMOCRATS' GIMMICK SPAWNS OTHER DEVICES Like its cinematic namesake, the Democratic Party's Job Terminator mascot just keeps coming back. The Job Terminator -- a giant head with sunglasses that is supposed to resemble and lampoon GOP gubernatorial nominee Ernie Fletcher -- made its debut at the Fancy Farm picnic in Western Kentucky two weeks ago where that kind of gimmickry is the order of the day. The idea was for Democratic candidate Ben Chandler to slam Fletcher, a Congressman from Lexington, for supporting President Bush's economic policies, but it has spawned a series of theatrics that Kentucky voters can expect...

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug. 13 — Improbable as it sounds, the first major test of President Bush's vulnerability on the weak economy may come this November in a state that he won handily in 2000, where his favorable ratings are still high and where Republicans hold seven of eight Congressional seats. No one said Kentucky politics was predictable. With a tenacity that has surprised his opponent and some supporters, the Democratic candidate for governor, Attorney General Ben Chandler, has attacked Mr. Bush's stewardship of the economy, contending that Republican policies have drained Kentucky of 56,000 jobs, aided the wealthy at the...

Combining modern Internet technology with old-school groundwork, state Republican Party leaders are fanning out across the state and setting up shop in ten key cities (including Florence), in a bid to elect the state's first Republican governor in more than 35 years. The statewide initiative, which party officials call "Team Kentucky," is a take on a similar strategy used in last year's statehouse and congressional races. Organizing on a local level, the party will mobilize state, local and federal Republicans to promote its statewide ticket, headed this year by gubernatorial candidate Congressman Ernie Fletcher. Team Kentucky will start with door-to-door...