1979 Kentucky lieutenant gubernatorial election

← 1975 November 6, 1979 1983  →

Nominee Martha Layne Collins Harold Rogers Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 543,176 316,718 Percentage 63.17% 36.83%

County results Collins:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Rogers:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

Lieutenant Governor before election Thelma Stovall Democratic Elected Lieutenant Governor Martha Layne Collins Democratic

The 1979 Kentucky lieutenant gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1979, to elect the lieutenant governor of Kentucky. Incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Thelma Stovall chose not to seek re-election to a second term, instead choosing to run for governor.

Contents

• Democratic primary
• Candidates
• Results
• Republican primary
• Candidates 2
• Results 2
• General election
• Results 3
• References

Kentucky Court of Appeals clerk Martha Layne Collins beat Republican nominee and commonwealth attorney for Pulaski and Rockcastle counties Harold Rogers. Just one year later, Rogers was elected to the United States House of Representatives for the state's fifth district.

Democratic primary

Throughout the primary, Bill Cox was generally seen as the favorite to win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. This changed however when Julian Carroll, the governor of Kentucky, began to be investigated by federal prosecutors over charges of being connected to a federal insurance kickback scandal. Jim Vernon, one of the candidates in the Democratic primary, accused Cox on a T.V. debate alleging that he was involved in the probe. ^[1] Vernon said he was told by Frankfort FBI agent Jim Huggins that Cox was involved in the case, although Huggins disputed what was said in the conversation. ^[2] Cox denied the allegations and repeatedly threatened to file suit against Vernon, then said he would not because he would have little chance of prevailing. On election day, Cox lost to Martha Layne Collins by a margin of 3,338 votes.

Terry McBrayer, the Carroll administration's favored candidate to win the Democratic primary in the gubernatorial election, also suffered criticism over being associated with the probe. He went on to lose the gubernatorial primary as well.

Republican primary

General election

References