1995 Kentucky gubernatorial election

none related races 1995 United States gubernatorial elections August 2026 August 2026 1995 Kentucky gubernatorial election Kentucky presidential no 1991 Kentucky gubernatorial election 1991 1991(Lt. Governor) November 7, 1995 1999 Kentucky gubernatorial election 1999 44.5% ( 1.7%) Paul E. Patton 2013 (cropped).jpg Paul E. Patton Democratic Party (United States) Steve Henry 500,605 50.88% 3x4.svg Larry Forgy Republican Party (United States) Tom Handy 479,227 48.71% 300px County results 300px Congressional district results 1 300px Patton: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90%Forgy: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% Governor Brereton C. Jones Democratic Party (United States) Paul E. Patton Democratic Party (United States) The 1995 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1995, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. Democratic lieutenant governor Paul E. Patton narrowly defeated Republican attorney Larry Forgy to win his first term in office. Patton succeeded Democratic incumbent Brereton C. Jones, who was term limited. Primary elections were held on May 23. Patton finished first in a field of four Democratic candidates with 45 percent of the vote, avoiding a primary runoff which would have been held had no one won at least 40 percent of the vote. Forgy, who narrowly lost the Republican nomination for governor in 1991, easily defeated former state party chairman Bob Gable with 82 percent of the vote. Patton's running mate was Jefferson County commissioner Steve Henry. Forgy's running mate was commonwealth's attorney Tom Handy. This was the first gubernatorial election following the approval of 1992 Kentucky Amendment 2, which made two changes to the electoral process. The first was that the governor and lieutenant governor were to be elected on a joint ticket. The second was that the term limit for governor was changed to two consecutive terms; this was an increase from the prior limit of one consecutive term, leaving Virginia as the only state to prohibit its governor from serving immediate successive terms. However, this was only effective beginning with the winner of the 1995 election, making incumbent governor Brereton Jones ineligible to seek an immediate second term. In a sign of the party's growing strength in suburban and exurban counties, this was the first gubernatorial election in which the Republican candidate won the counties of Bracken, Calloway, Scott, Shelby, and Spencer. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Paul E. Patton, lieutenant governor of Kentucky (1991–1995) and Judge/Executive of Pike County (1982–1991) Running mate: Steve Henry, surgeon and Jefferson County Commissioner (1992–1995) Eliminated in primary Bob Babbage, Secretary of State of Kentucky (1992–1996) and Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts (1988–1992) Running mate: Tommy Thompson, builder Gatewood Galbraith, perennial candidate Running mate: Jerry W. Hammond Steven Maynard Running mate: Bonnie Lou Maynard John A. Rose, president of the Kentucky Senate (1993–1997) from the 28th district (1978–1999) Running mate: Denise Harper Angel, Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator (1990–2004) Results thumb|300px|Results by county: #8da9e2 Patton #dee8fb 30–40% #b4c7ec 40–50% #8da9e2 50–60% #678cd7 60–70% #4170cd 70–80% #3358a2 80–90% #73bc84 Babbage #d6efdc 30–40% #a3d5af 40–50% #73bc84 50–60% #d79346 Rose #e8ba85 40–50% #d79346 50–60% Democratic primary resultsPrimary Election: Governor of Kentucky May 23, 1995 https://elect.ky.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/Election%20Results/1990-1999/1995/95Pri_govltgov1.txt Kentucky State Board of Elections 9 August 2026 Paul E. Patton Stephen L. Henry Democratic Party (United States) 152,203 44.95 Bob Babbage Tommy Thompson Democratic Party (United States) 81,352 24.02 John A. "Eck" Rose Denise Harper Angel Democratic Party (United States) 71,740 21.18 Gatewood Galbraith Jerry W. Hammond Democratic Party (United States) 29,039 8.58 Steven "Butch" Maynard Bonnie Lou Maynard Democratic Party (United States) 4,305 1.27 338,639 100.0 Republican primary Candidates Nominee Larry Forgy, attorney and candidate for governor in 1991Lucke Jamie November 22, 1994 Forgy: Handy introduced as running mate The Lexington Herald-Leader https://www.newspapers.com/article/lexington-herald-leader-19941122-vowin/109426319/ Newspapers.com Running mate: Tom Handy, commonwealth's attorney of the 27th Circuit Court (1977–2003) and Republican nominee for attorney general in 1991 Eliminated in primary Bob Gable, chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky (1986–1994) and Republican nominee for governor in 1975 Running mate: Shirley W. Palmer-Ball Tommy Klein, perennial candidate Running mate: Tommy Klein III Endorsements Larry Forgy U.S. representatives Ron Lewis, KY-02 (1994–2009)Associated Press May 1, 1995 Lewis endorses Forgy in GOP governor's race The Courier-Journal https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-lewis-endorses-forgy/203504866/ Newspapers.com Bob Gable U.S. executive branch officials Joe Whittle, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky (1986–1993)Loftus Tom May 24, 1995 GOP victor Forgy assails Democrats as corrupt The Courier-Journal https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-gop-victor-forgy-ass/203504859/ Newspapers.com U.S. representatives Larry J. Hopkins, KY-06 (1979–1993) Gene Snyder, KY-03 (1963–1965) and KY-04 (1967–1987)Associated Press Wolfe Charles May 13, 1995 Supporters of Gable call Forgy 'Judas' to the GOP The Courier-Journal https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-supporters-of-gable/203550002/ Newspapers.com Statewide officials Louie Nunn, governor of Kentucky (1967–1971) State legislators Susan Stokes, HD-48 (1989–1993) Results thumb|300px|Results by county: #ed8783 Forgy #e55651 60–70% #d02923 70–80% #b00600 80–90% #850400 >90% Republican primary results Larry Forgy Tom Handy Republican Party (United States) 97,099 82.44 Robert E. "Bob" Gable S. W. Palmer-Ball Republican Party (United States) 17,054 14.48 Tommy Klein Tommy Klein Republican Party (United States) 3,627 3.08 117,780 100.0 General election Results 1995 Kentucky gubernatorial electionGeneral Election: Governor of Kentucky November 7, 1995 https://elect.ky.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/Election%20Results/1990-1999/1995/95Gen_govltgov.txt Kentucky State Board of Elections 9 August 20261995 General - Voter Turnout Report https://elect.ky.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/Election%20Statistics/turnout/1991-1995/95gen.pdf Kentucky State Board of Elections 9 August 2026 Democratic Party (United States) Paul E. Patton Stephen L. Henry 500,605 50.88 -13.85 Republican Party (United States) Larry Forgy Tom Handy 479,227 48.71 +13.44 Write-in Gatewood Galbraith Jerry W. Hammond 3,965 0.40 N/A 983,797 100.0 N/A 1,000,206 44.50 -1.69 2,247,781 Democratic Party (United States) References 1995 Gubernatorial Kentucky Category:November 1995 in the United States