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 County results Conway: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% P'Pool: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The state ofKentucky elected anAttorney General on Tuesday, November 8, 2011.Primaries for this election was held on Tuesday, May 17, 2011.[1] In the general election, incumbent Jack Conway defeated his challenger, Todd P'Pool.
Current Attorney GeneralJack Conway, ofLouisville, aDemocrat, is running for a second term. There was speculation that Conway would not seek a second term; he had won the Democratic nomination forU.S. Senate in the2010 election (defeatingLieutenant GovernorDaniel Mongiardo in the primary) but went on to be defeated byRepublicanRand Paul in thegeneral election.
Several Democrats expressed interest in running if Conway decided to opt against a bid, includingState RepresentativeJohn C. Tilley ofHopkinsville, Louisville lawyer and formerstate Democratic Party ChairmanJennifer Moore, andstate SenatorRay Jones II.[2] However, Conway announced on January 21, 2011, that he would run for a second term and did not face an opponent in the primary.[3]
On January 3,Hopkins CountyAttorneyTodd P'Pool, ofMadisonville announced his candidacy and stated that he would contribute $250,000 of his own money to help finance his run. He stated that if elected, he would fight theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency from imposing regulations on thecoal industry and would have Kentucky join alawsuit brought by a number of state attorneys general seeking to strike down the newhealth care reform law.[4]
Secretary of State of KentuckyTrey Grayson (who lost the 2010 Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to Rand Paul) was thought to have considered entering the race for the Republican nomination, but he announced on November 24, 2010, that he would not seek election to any office in 2011.[5]
Rob Sanders ofFort Mitchell, the Commonwealth's Attorney fromKenton County, announced on December 14 that he would not run for Attorney General and would instead seek re-election in 2012 to a second term as Commonwealth's Attorney.Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Steve Robertson had urged Sanders to run, but noted the interest ofHopkins CountyAttorney Todd P'Pool, ofMadisonville, andJessamine County Attorney Brian Goettl.[6] P'Pool filed paperwork to run the next day.[7]
On January 13, 2011, formerKentucky Supreme CourtChief JusticeJoseph E. Lambert, ofMount Vernon announced he was dropping his plans to seek the Republican nomination for attorney general because current chief justiceJohn D. Minton, Jr. declined to grant him aleave of absence from the senior judge program.[8][9]
Shortly afterward, Brian Goettl announced on the Jack Pattie radio show onAM 590-WVLK inLexington that he also would not seek the Republican nomination for attorney general, leaving P'Pool the only Republican candidate in that race.[10]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jack Conway (D) | Todd P'Pool (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[11] | August 25–28, 2011 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 47% | 36% | 18% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jack Conway (incumbent) | 449,638 | 55.02% | ||
| Republican | Todd P'Pool | 367,661 | 44.98% | ||
| Total votes | 817,299 | 100% | N/A | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
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See also:Political party strength in Kentucky | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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