Beshear's Franklin County win 3 to 1
Democrat Steve Beshear defeated Republican incumbent Ernie Fletcher Tuesday to become governor of Kentucky, pulling off a political comeback 20 years after last holding office.

Beshear defeated Gov. Ernie Fletcher by almost 3 to 1 in Franklin County, according to unofficial results from the Franklin County Clerk's office.

With 44 precincts in Franklin County reporting, Beshear received 13,878 (73 percent) votes to Fletcher's 5,022 (27 percent).

As bad news rolls in, Roach critiques Fletcher's campaign

By Vince Tweddell

LEXINGTON - Former Kentucky Supreme Court Justice John Roach said he is disappointed for "his good friend Gov. Fletcher."

As polls show Democratic candidate Steve Beshear ahead of Republican Ernie Fletcher by a wide margin, Roach stopped short of saying the governor should have run his campaign differently, saying anyone who knows anything about campaigns would say the same.

He did say the governor's problems tonight can be attributed to the "beating of the drum of the state's two major newspapers." He said they undercut him from his first day in office.

The merit scandal overshadowed all of the governor's achievements, such as Medicaid improvements, improvements in the Health and Families Cabinet and fiscal affairs, Roach said.

Roach, who ran unsuccessful campaign for justice last year, losing to current Justice Mary Noble, said he doesn't plan to get back into politics unless he has "heard the audible voice of God."

Polls point to Beshear, Republican crowd small but upbeat

By Vince Tweddell

LEXINGTON - A crowd of more than 300 was upbeat despite poll numbers that suggest their candidate has lost by a wide margin.

With 845 of 3543 precincts reporting, Steve Beshear has 64 percent of the vote compared to Gov. Ernie Fletcher's 36 percent.

"Get Ready" by The Temptations and "Still the One" by Orleans has put a pep in the crowd.

Frankfort couple provides soundtrack for Beshear victory party

By Charlie Pearl

Frankfort's Laura and Jonathan Keeler arrived early at the Convention Center. They're playing with Joey & The Cruisers band at the Beshear-Mongiardo victory night party.

"We're rooting for Beshear and to be able to play at his victory gala is a pretty big deal," Laura said. "It ranks way up there (in shows they've done). It's definitely in the Top 5."

She said Lexington's Joe McGrannahan, the saxophone player and band leader, was responsible for getting them booked at the Democratic celebration on election night.

Laura said she supported Beshear "because he seems to be more aligned with my values. And he just really seems like a nice guy."

She said Beshear did a walk-through in their Montrose Park neighborhood Saturday.

McGrannahan said he gave Beshear a call requesting the gig as soon as he knew Beshear was going to be the Democrat nominee for governor, "and that was it. He's a great guy."

McGrannahan said he was a Beshear supporter 20 years ago when he ran unsuccessfully for governor.

After playing an old hit song, "Stand By Me," the band moved into some smooth jazz numbers.

Fletcher says first precinct to report not necessarily representative
By Paul Glasser

LEXINGTON - Gov. Ernie Fletcher said he will remain optimistic and keep an even keel as he watches initial election results this evening.

Fletcher, a veteran of 12 primary and general elections, said his experience tells him early poll numbers can be misleading. He said urban precincts, where Republicans perform poorly, usually report first.

"We'll wait for the rural counties to come in," Fletcher told reporters at about 6 p.m. Fletcher said he will watch the election results on television with his wife, son and grandchildren at a private room at the Griffon Gate Marriott Hotel in Lexington.

Although several opinion polls have put Fletcher more than 20 points behind his Democratic opponent Steve Beshear, he said they are not reflecting what he's seen on the campaign trail.

"The support seems to be pretty strong," Fletcher said. "I saw larger crowds and more excitement than I did four years ago."

The polls, Fletcher said, are more for the benefit of pundits and the media. It's unlikely voters will cast their ballot according to who is leading in opinion polls, he said.
"They don't reflect what I'm seeing out there," Fletcher said.

From Republican Headquarters, 6 p.m.

By Vince Tweddell

Lexington - Supporters were just starting to make their way to the reception area at the Marriott Griffin Gate north at 6 p.m., but the crowd appeared to be smaller than four years ago.

Gov. Ernie Fletcher and First Lady Glenna Fletcher arrived at the Marriott Griffin Gate north of Lexington around 5:20 p.m. with their children and grandchildren.

The governor was all smiles when he entered, saying, "We're ready for a great evening. We're ready to celebrate."

In final Q & A, Beshear says he feels pretty good about chances

Steve Beshear, the Democratic candidate for governor, was interviewed briefly by State Journal Staff Writer Charlie Pearl around 4:55 p.m. inside the downtown Frankfort Convention Center where his victory night celebration is planned.

Q: What will you do tomorrow?

Steve Beshear: We're going to make ourselves available to the news media in the morning, about 10:30 at the (Capital Plaza) Hotel. I'm not making any pronouncements but I figure everybody is going to want to ask a few questions and follow up on the election results.

I've been invited to speak to the Legislative Research Commission tomorrow afternoon at 1:30, assuming I win, of course. That's the entire leadership, both Republican and Democrat of the House and Senate. And I hope I can get a little rest.

Q. Did you sleep well on the night before Election Day?

Beshear: Yeah, I slept well. We had a long day yesterday. We rolled in about 10:30 or 11 o'clock in Lexington after a full fly-around day. I think we had seven stops. We started at Paducah, then Bowling Green, Hazard, Ashland, Northern Kentucky, Louisville and then Lexington.

Q. Can you tell us any of the key people who will be in your administration?

Beshear: I'm going to be thinking and having some announcements of that in the next few days. We'll probably start day after tomorrow making some announcements. Vicki (Glass, his director of communications) will let you know. I guess she's making all the calls (he laughs).

Q. Are you going to stay up late tonight?

Beshear: I'm sure I will. We have a lot of family and friends here. I'm expecting a big crowd here tonight. We've just had indications, everywhere we've gone in the state, they're coming. They're ready to celebrate. Hopefully we will have something to celebrate. After I get through on the stage, I'm going to get out here in the middle of how many ever thousands of people there are. Because that's part of what they come for.

Q. Do you want to take a guess regarding the percentage you expect going to win by?

Beshear: I don't know. I'm hoping that we win. And then we'll go from there.
Q. You're confident, right?

Beshear: I feel pretty good about it. You see all these polls and they all say the same thing. After so many of them, you tend to give them some credence.

Republicans optimistic

By Vince Tweddell

LEXINGTON - Fletcher's campaign communications director Jason Keller said he has received anecdotal information from various calls that there has been a light turnout. Keller said this could be good for Fletcher as the campaign had a strong final push with their get the vote out effort.

Nate Hodson, campaign manager for Trey Grayson, said the campaign is confident. "We feel good. We ran a good campaign. We raised over $1 million," he said before the polls closed at 6 p.m.

He said battling a Democratic surge predicted for today would be something the campaign has to deal with. "It is what it is," he said. "There's nothing we can do to control that."

He said the campaign focused on Grayson's accomplishments the last four years and hoped the voters focused on that.

Grayson spent Sunday in his home area of northern Kentucky, campaigning with his family. Monday he drove to several volunteer offices to thank people who worked for him, Hodson said.

Fletcher votes at the Mansion
Gov. Ernie Fletcher says the election results are now in the hands of the voters.

"You can always look back but we are looking forward," he told reporters. "We did the best we could, we got up every day and worked hard."

The Governor, along with First Lady Glenna Fletcher and his two grandchildren, Hannah, 8, and Callie, 10, voted at the Capital precinct in the Mansion Garage at 10:15 a.m. Ernie was accompanied by Hannah when he voted on the old Shouptronic mechanical machine. Glenna and Callie voted on the new E-Slate machine.

Fletcher said he will spend time with his four grandchildren today.
"It's a good civics lesson for them," he said.

He will also visit Republican Party headquarters and make calls to supporters who worked for him during the election.

"We want to let them know how much we appreciate their efforts," Fletcher said.
Fletcher said he has received calls, e-mails and text messages from supporters all over the state. But, the results won't come in until after the polls close at 6 p.m.

"Some people say today is the longest day of the election," he said.

No early surprises for morning voters
Outside King's Daughters Apartments just after voting around 7:30 a.m., Judith Thornton, a retired state government employee, said she's hoping Steve Beshear and other Democrats are celebrating in a big way tonight.
"I feel we need a change, not just in Kentucky but in the country as well," said Thornton, a resident of Shelby Street who voted at Bridge-Glenns precinct.
Disturbing issues to her include "the war, the way other countries view us, the economy and education," she said. "I think our state and country are ready for change. I think people are sick and tired of the way things are going and they want a better day."
At 7:30 a.m. Tommy Poole, a precinct worker at Bridge-Glenns, said 55 of 609 registered voters had voted there. He said the longest line had been at the 6 a.m. opening when six or seven people were waiting to vote.
Voter Martha Stamper, at 7:25 a.m., said she didn't have to wait to vote. She said the newer voting machine was a little confusing "but the precinct workers were very helpful."
Around 8 a.m. Franklin County Clerk Guy Zeigler said there had been minimal problems with voting.
He described the little obstacles as "typical" on election day.
He said election officials had to replace a printer in a Shouptronic machine in the St. John's precinct. He said that had been prepared and the voting machine was back in action. While the Shouptronic was down, people voted on the newer e-slate machine also at the polling place.
Zeigler also said vote protectors should not be present at any polling place in the county today. None showed up for training, which disqualifies them from being present at a voting location, Zeigler said.
Zeigler called the early morning voting "pretty steady turnout, as usual." He mentioned polling places at Westgate and Bellepoint, where they were averaging about a voter each minute this morning.
He estimated a 62 percent turnout in Franklin.
Seventy of 600 registered voters had voted at the Governor's Garage precinct at 7:55. Precinct worker Alice Powell said everything was going smoothly and the longest line had been "three or four."
Gov. Ernie Fletcher and first lady Glenna Fletcher were expected to vote at the Governor's Garage around 10 a.m.
At Coleman-Vogler precinct in the VFW Post 4075 building on Third Street, precinct worker Harold Johnson said 62 of 515 registered voters had cast their ballots by 8:10 a.m. He said "it's a very quiet precinct" and voters almost always get in and out quickly.
Precinct worker Louise Roy said voters are "adapting really well to the computer machine. About one-third have voted on the new machine."
Janice Osborne, clerk for the Westgate precinct, said 113 residents had voted by 8 a.m. She said that's a good turnout so far, considering there are 845 registered voters in the precinct.
"That's above average for this time of day," Osborne said.
She expects to see a surge in voters between 10 a.m. and noon, but said things had been going smoothly so far. There was only one man waiting to vote when the polls opened at 6 a.m. and lines have been short.
Dusty Whitaker, clerk for the North Westgate precinct, said 75 voters had cast a ballot by 8 a.m. There are 808 registered voters in the precinct and Whitaker said there haven't been any problems.
"It's been a good, steady turnout so far," she said.
The polling place for both Westgate and North Westgate precincts is at the Bondurant Middle School.
Statewide, with choices for governor and a list of other statewide offices on the ballot in Kentucky, elections officials predicted about 42 percent of voters would head to the polls on Tuesday.
The top race on the ballot is between incumbent Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher and his Democratic challenger, Steve Beshear. Pre-election polling by various media outlets put Beshear in front by 15-23 points.
Linda Rose, a 54-year-old bank manager from Prestonsburg, voted for Fletcher at the Floyd County Courthouse in eastern Kentucky, where about a dozen voters trickled in within the first hour after the polls opened.
"I'm against gambling big time and for conservative Christian values," Rose said.
Kay Ross, 45, an adult education director for Floyd County, voted for Beshear. Ross said no particular issue influenced her. "I think it would be something new and fresh ... I think he'll listen to the people of Kentucky," Ross said. "Not that I think Gov. Fletcher hasn't, but I think he has a personal agenda."
The only unusual calls received by the Secretary of State's office came shortly after the polls opened at 6 a.m. CST in western Kentucky.
Les Fugate, a spokesman for the Kentucky Secretary of State's office, said several people complained that Mayor Dan Potter of Oak Grove in Christian County had put up "yellow police tape" around city hall. The tape blocked access to bathrooms, phones and much of the building except for the polling place, Fugate said.
The tape could be considered a form of voter intimidation, Fugate said.
"Who wants to go vote at something that looks like a crime scene," Fugate said. "This is a first. We've never heard of this happening before."
A phone and e-mail message left for Potter were not immediately returned.
Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson has predicted about 42 percent of the voters in Kentucky will cast ballots. Kentucky has 2.8 million registered voters, including about 1.6 million Democrats, about 1 million Republicans and 186,451 people registered as "other."
Grayson, Kentucky's top election official, said the projection was based in part on an increase in absentee ballots cast in the days before Tuesday's election. The number was up by about 20 percent from the 2003 election.
"We'd like to have it higher, but that's just what we think it's going to be," Grayson said.
Voters also will cast ballots in several other statewide races.
Incumbent state Auditor Crit Luallen, a Democrat from Frankfort, faces Republican Linda Greenwell in a rematch of their 2003 campaign. Grayson is challenged by Democrat Bruce Hendrickson, a former small-town mayor from southeastern Kentucky. Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer, a popular former University of Kentucky basketball player, is opposed by Democrat David L. Williams, a perennial candidate who was once a Republican.
Campaigns for two statewide offices do not involve an incumbent.
Republican Melinda Wheeler, who is running on a platform to abolish the office, is running against Democrat Todd Hollenbach for treasurer. Meanwhile, Democrat Jack Conway takes on Republican state Rep. Stan Lee in the race for attorney general.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.