While Gov. Beshear has been as visible a governor in this region as any, making several stops in Perry County alone, the loss of Daniel Mongiardo and the addition of Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson on his ticket may not play well. Of course it wasn’t Beshear’s fault necessarily that Mongiardo won’t be on the ticket, but a Louisvillian replacement may not fly that well, especially if there’s a Farmer from Clay County on the opposing side.
David Williams is about as polarizing a figure as there is in Kentucky politics right now. He’s the guy Democrats love to hate. He is so reviled by the Democratic establishment that he became the center of a 2008 special election for the 30th Senatorial District. The Democrats made Brandon Smith out to be a potential Williams puppet during the election, and while that strategy ultimately failed, it does illustrate just how much the Democrats like to use Williams as an issue.
It won’t be surprising if Williams does run for governor, though. He’s been an ardent opposer of many of Beshear’s policies, the biggest being Beshear’s support for expanded gambling. And he well should run, in my opinion. Much of what Williams seems to do is offer criticism, so if he can do it better, he should put his money where his mouth is, man up and run for the state’s highest seat.
The wild card in this whole equation is Richie Farmer, who could have a positive effect on the ticket if he and Williams do decide to run together. Farmer is a former University of Kentucky basketball star, which gives him better name recognition that any politician, and has also served as the state agricultural commissioner for the past few years. And locally, he hails from Clay County, which can play well in eastern Kentucky.
But the role of the lt. governor is limited, and the people will really be voting for the main candidate. Williams may just get a bit more of the eastern Kentucky vote than Ernie Fletcher did in 2007, even if he doesn’t know where Harlan County is. Williams hails from Cumberland County, which isn’t that far away. Beshear, on the other hand, hails from Lexington by way of western Kentucky.
Of course eastern Kentucky won’t win the day all by itself, and Beshear will have the majority support of the Golden Triangle, made up of Lexington, Louisville and the Covington area. He will carry some eastern Kentucky counties, most likely Perry for one. So Williams would have to capture large swaths of the state where Ernie Fletcher was unable to pull votes. While he won’t have the Golden Triangle, he needs to get as much as he can everywhere else, and I’m not sure at this point he can do that.
That may not prove as hard as one may think, though. The economic crisis is hardly Beshear’s fault, and there is a continued frustration with the status quo. Budget cut after budget cut has done nothing to progress Beshear’s image around Kentucky as well. His failure to pass any meaningful reform to increase revenue has also hurt his standing.
A David Williams/Richie Farmer ticket is an interesting notion at this point. And if I were Beshear, the continued talk of the ticket’s possibility would be an area for concern. I have to think that the state Democrat Party is already drawing up some plays if this talk comes to fruition.
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