Published: December 17, 2006 03:22 pm      

Have Dems forgotten West Ky.?

by Ronnie Ellis

FRANKFORT — Someone smarter than I pointed this out, but Democratic gubernatorial candidates seem to have forgotten the importance of western Kentucky.

That part of the state produced Alben Barkley, Earle Clements, A. B. “Happy” Chandler, Ned Breathitt, Wendell Ford, and Julian Carroll. The area bounded by Bowling Green in the south, Owensboro in the north and Paducah in the west was once solidly Democratic and key to any statewide Democratic candidate’s prospects.

Yes, the area has trended Republican and both the First and Second Congressional Districts have Republican representatives. Republicans have narrowed the registration gap, but Democrats still outnumber Republicans in both districts, even if a lot of those Democrats have voted Republican in recent years.

But Democrats can’t vote for Republicans in a Democratic primary.

Fully 35 percent of Kentucky’s registered Democrats live in the First and Second Districts. Wallace Wilkinson who wasn’t from western Kentucky nevertheless understood those numbers. He campaigned relentlessly in western Kentucky and he promised its voters that if they elected him governor, he wouldn’t forget them once he got to Frankfort. He won the 1987 primary in those districts, holding a victory party that night at the Executive Inn in Owensboro and he traveled to western Kentucky often as governor.

Wilkinson and the others, like Clements and Ford, ran for governor before election laws required candidates to be paired with running mates for lieutenant governor. With all the talk of various potential tickets under discussion by Democrats, none so far has even a running mate from western Kentucky. That’s hard to understand.

Steve Beshear, who is expected to announce on Monday he will run for governor, can claim birth in Hopkins County, but it’s been a long time since he lived there. How many western Kentuckians outside of Hopkins County think of him as one of them? Most of those mentioned for governor are from central Kentucky or Louisville, including Steve Henry who is originally from Owensboro. Only Daviess County’s state Sen. David Boswell — who has been mentioned as a candidate for either governor or lieutenant governor — can claim to be a western Kentucky resident. If House Speaker Jody Richards gets in, he would represent the southern and most eastern point of the region.

In a crowded Democratic primary — which looks likely — a ticket with at least one candidate from western Kentucky where 35 percent of the state’s Democratic voters live might have an advantage. Especially if other tickets all contain central Kentucky and Louisville representatives, splitting the vote in those areas.

Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort, Ky. He may be reached by email at rellis@cnhi.com.