New Ky. governor makes unlikely comeback

Believing his political career was over long ago, Steve Beshear spent much of last year urging other prominent Democrats to run for governor. When they declined, he decided to run himself.

On Tuesday, the former lieutenant governor who had not held office in 20 years completed an unlikely political comeback by defeating Republican incumbent Ernie Fletcher, whose first term was plagued by a hiring scandal.

Beshear, 63, lost in the 1987 Democratic gubernatorial primary, then failed again in a 1996 run for the U.S. Senate. After that, he concentrated on his law practice, fading from the political spotlight.

"Quite honestly, I felt that my political career was over at that point and resigned myself to that and moved on," he said, referring to his previous gubernatorial defeat.

"I know that I will be a much better governor today," he said. "I have had more life experiences in the last 20 years. I hope I'm a little wiser, and I know I'm a little more patient."

Beshear got enough votes in the spring to win a crowded Democratic primary outright and avoid a runoff, letting him set his sights immediately on Fletcher.

Beshear was quick to remind voters of Fletcher's indictment last year on charges that he illegally rewarded political supporters with protected state jobs after he took office. The misdemeanor charges eventually were dismissed in a deal with prosecutors.

But the scandal gave Democrats an opening to reclaim the governorship they had controlled for a generation until Fletcher's election in 2003.

"Certainly being in the right place at the right time always plays a role in politics," Beshear said.

Beshear, a Lexington attorney, had climbed the political ladder in the 1970s and 1980s as a state legislator, attorney general and lieutenant governor. He seemed to hit a political ceiling with his loss in 1987 to Democratic rival Wallace Wilkinson, who won the governorship on his promise to create a state lottery.

Twenty years later, Beshear was out front on another gambling issue. Beshear, the son of a small-town preacher, supports legalizing casinos in the state. He says that putting about 10 casinos at horse tracks and a handful of towns along Kentucky's border would raise about $500 million in extra revenue that could go for such priorities as education and health care. Before that could happen, voters would have to approve it in a ballot referendum.

He also talked of providing health coverage for Kentucky's 81,000 uninsured children, expanding early childhood education and assisting seniors struggling to afford their prescription drugs.

Beshear emphasized faith and family in television commercials that touted his small-town roots in western Kentucky. His wife, Jane, took a lead role in one television commercial.

Fletcher acknowledged Beshear's comeback in his concession speech at a Lexington hotel.

"He persevered, and there's something admirable in that," Fletcher said.