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 County results Chandler: 50–60% 60–70% Kerr: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2004 United States House of Representatives special election inKentucky's 6th congressional district was held on February 17, 2004, to select the successor toErnie Fletcher (R) who resigned upon being electedGovernor of Kentucky. Each party held a nominating convention to choose their nominee for the special election. Republicans selectedstate SenatorAlice Kerr overstate RepresentativesStan Lee andLonnie Napier and Lexington city councilmanCharles Ellinger II as their nominee[1] while Democrats chose formerstate Attorney General and 2003 Democratic gubernatorial nomineeBen Chandler.
Chandler won the election to fill out the rest of Fletcher's unexpired term. This was a symbolic victory for Democrats considering that the man Chandler succeeded was the same one he lost to in theGubernatorial election months earlier. Though Kerr was able to out raise and out spend Chandler, it was not enough to overcome his popularity, who in addition to having served as state attorney general was also the grandson ofHappy Chandler, a former governor, U.S. Senator, andCommissioner of Baseball, in this conservative, but generallyticket-splittingLexington centered District, which supported Fletcher with 71% in 2002, andGeorge W. Bush overAl Gore by a smaller but nonetheless substantial 55% to 42% margin in thePresidential election of 2000.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ben Chandler | 84,168 | 55.16 | |||
| Republican | Alice Kerr | 65,474 | 42.91 | |||
| Libertarian | Mark Gailey | 2,952 | 1.93 | |||
| Total votes | 152,594 | 100.00 | ||||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||||
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See also:Political party strength in Kentucky | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
