1995 Kentucky gubernatorial election

The 1995 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1995. Incumbent Governor Brereton Jones was not eligible to run for a second term due to term limits established by the Kentucky Constitution, creating an open seat. At the time, Kentucky and Virginia were the only states that prohibited their Governors from serving immediate successive terms. The Democratic nominee, Lieutenant Governor Paul E. Patton, defeated Republican nominee Larry Forgy to win his first term as governor. It was the last time that the election was held until the Kentucky General Assembly changed its term limits law in 1992, allowing Patton to run again in 1999 and leaving Virginia as the only state that prohibits its governor from serving immediate successive terms.

1995 Kentucky gubernatorial election

← 1991 November 7, 1995 1999 →
Turnout43.8% Decrease 0.4 pp
 
Nominee Paul Patton Larry Forgy
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Steve Henry Tom Handy
Popular vote 500,605 479,227
Percentage 50.9% 48.7%

Patton:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Forgy:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election

Brereton Jones
Democratic

Elected Governor

Paul E. Patton
Democratic

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paul Patton 152,203 44.95
Democratic Bob Babbage 81,352 24.02
Democratic John A. Rose, Jr. 71,740 21.18
Democratic Gatewood Galbraith 29,039 8.58
Democratic Steven Maynard 4,305 1.27
Total votes 338,639 100.00

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Larry Forgy 97,099 82.44
Republican Robert E. Gable 17,054 14.48
Republican Tommy Klein 3,627 3.08
Total votes 117,780 100.00

General election

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Results

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Kentucky gubernatorial election, 1995[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Paul Patton 500,605 50.88% −13.85%
Republican Larry Forgy 479,227 48.71% +13.44%
Write-in Gatewood Galbraith 3,965 0.40%
Majority 21,378 2.17% −27.29%
Turnout 983,797
Democratic hold Swing

References

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