Ben Chandler

Ben Chandler (2011)

Albert Benjamin "Ben" Chandler III. (Born September 12, 1959 in Versailles , Kentucky ) is an American politician . He is a member of the Democratic Party . Between 2004 and 2013, he was a member of the US House of Representatives as representative of the state of Kentucky .

Chandler was born in Versailles, the grandson of former Kentucky Governor Happy Chandler . He received his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Kentucky . He then worked as a lawyer. Chandler began his political career in 1991 when he became the State Auditor of Kentucky. In 1995 he was elected Attorney General of his state and held the office until 2003.

In 2003 he was a Democratic Party candidate for governor in Kentucky, but lost to Republican Ernie Fletcher . Fletcher then gave up his office as a member of the US House of Representatives. In the subsequent by-election in February 2004, Chandler was able to secure Fletcher's seat by defeating Alice Forgy Kerr, a member of the State Senate , and was a member of the House of Representatives until 2013 as a representative of the sixth congressional district of Kentucky.

In the congressional elections of 2008 he was able to prevail against the Republican Jon Larson, where he achieved a share of the vote of 65 percent. In 2010 he held his ground with 50.1 percent of the vote against the Republican candidate Andy Barr , who came to 49.9 percent. Exactly 600 votes separated the two candidates. The result only became official after a recount. In the election on November 6, 2012, Chandler was defeated in the second clash by his new challenger Andy Barr with over 11,000 votes. In mid-2013, Chandler became a director of the private Kentucky Humanities Council and was traded for his state's governorship in 2015, but did not run.

Chandler is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition , which represents the conservative wing within the Democratic Party.

Web links

• Ben Chandler in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Jack Bremmer: Andy Barr Ousts Ben Chandler in Kentucky's 6th Congressional District. In: Lexington Herald (online edition), November 6, 2012.
2. ^ Jack Brammer: Ben Chandler Is Named Director of Kentucky Humanities Council. In: Lexington Herald (online edition), May 10, 2013.