Republican U.S. Rep. Larry Hopkins, who won election seven times in a mostly Democratic district, will see if he can defeat Lt. Gov. Brereton Jones for governor in a mostly Democratic state.
Hopkins, who's trying to become the first Republican elected governor of Kentucky since 1967, edged Lexington lawyer Larry Forgy by less than 1 percent of the vote in Tuesday's GOP primary election.With all of the state's 3,231 precincts reporting, Hopkins had 81,133 votes, or slightly more than 50 percent, to Forgy's 79,764, a fraction above 49 percent.
In the Democratic primary, Jones had 183,746 votes, or 38 percent. Lexington Mayor Scotty Baesler was second with 148,924 votes, or 30 percent. Former state transportation chief Floyd Poore had 131,133 votes and Gatewood Galbraith, a Lexington lawyer who favors the legalization of marijuana, had 25,563 votes.
Hopkins, 57, campaigned with the message that he appeals to Democrats, who hold a 2-1 registration advantage in the state. He has easily won elections to Congress from the 6th District, where Democrats hold nearly a 4-1 registration margin.
"I'm not very good at primaries obviously, but I can do very well in the general election and we expect to," Hopkins said. The general election will be Nov. 5.
Forgy, 51, was expected to seek a recanvass of the balloting, in which all voting machines would be checked to determine if the count was accurate.
The withdrawal of Kentucky first lady Martha Wilkinson from the primary on May 10, opened up the Democratic race somewhat. Gov. Wallace Wilkinson was limited by state law to a single four-year term.
Wilkinson's administration, being investigated by state and federal grand juries, has alienated many Democrats. Mrs. Wilkinson acknowledged she withdrew because she could not win the primary.
The investigations involve a $9 million dormitory construction contract for Northern Kentucky University that initially was awarded to a company whose officers had contributed $58,000 to Wilkinson and to his wife's campaign.
Jones, 51, who has feuded with Wilkinson, moved to Kentucky in 1973 after two terms in the West Virginia House as a Republican.