Steve Beshear
Template:Future election candidate
Steven L. Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is the Democratic nominee in the 2007 Kentucky gubernatorial election. He is a former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, a former Attorney General of Kentucky and a former Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky. He unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Kentucky in 1987.
Kentucky Central Scandal - Besheargate 2007
Steve Beshear has been hit by a flurry of accusations resulting from a 12-year old document revealing an investigation into his firm's ethics violations in the liquidation of Kentucky Central Life insurance. The document was sealed from what some call $100,000 of "hush money" to pay for the investigation by a Cincinnati law firm.
The report found that "The failure of Beshear and others in the firm to fully inform officials who were trying to save Kentucky Central violated Kentucky ethics rules, said the report prepared by the Cincinnati firm of Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur," according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Steve Beshear is now in danger of facing investigations into federal securities fraud and losing a comfortable lead in what would be the worst upset in the polls in national gubernatorial elections history.
Education and early career
Beshear attended the University of Kentucky. He received a bachelor's degree and a law degree there.
Beshear was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives to begin his political career. He represented the 76th District and served in the House from 1974 to 1979. He was elected Attorney General of Kentucky in 1979, defeating Republican nominee Ron Snyder with 471,177 votes to Snyder's 302,951. Beshear served as Attorney General from 1980 to 1984.
In 1983, Beshear was elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky on a Democratic ticket headed by Martha Layne Collins. Beshear defeated Eugene P. Stuart, the running mate of Jim Bunning, 568,869 votes to 321,352.
In 1987, Beshear ran for Governor of Kentucky and lost in a packed Democratic primary field. Beshear won 114,439 votes in the primary, good for a third place finish behind former governor John Y. Brown, Jr.'s 163,204 votes and 221,138 votes garnered by Wallace G. Wilkinson, who went on to win the general election that fall. Beshear placed ahead of former governor Julian Carroll's 42,137 votes and also defeated Grady Stumbo, who won 84,613 votes. Three other candidates combined for an additional 8,187 votes in that primary.
After his defeat in the 1987 election, Beshear practiced law in Lexington, Kentucky. He was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 1996, losing to incumbent Mitch McConnell.
2007 election
On December 18, 2006, Beshear formally announced his candidacy for governor of Kentucky in the 2007 election with State Senator Daniel Mongiardo as his lieutenant governor. With 99% of precincts reporting as of May 23, 2007, Beshear won the primary; each of his opponents conceded the race to him. Because he exceeded 40 percent of the vote, he avoided a runoff.[1] and will face incumbent Governor Ernie Fletcher in the general election in November 2007. Beshear's platform includes expanded gambling, which Governor Ernie Fletcher opposes due to the social ills he says come with casinos.
References
- ^ "Fletcher, Beshear To Face Off In Nov". LEX18. 2006-05-27. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
External links
- Beshear 2007 Campaign site
- Project Vote Smart - Steven L. Beshear
- Louisville Courier-Journal article on May 2007 primary victory
