Steve Beshear

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Steve Beshear
Beshear.jpg
Governor of Kentucky
Incumbent
In office
December 11, 2007 - Present
Term ends
2015
Years in position 6
PartyDemocratic
PredecessorErnie Fletcher
Compensation
Base salary$151,643
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 8, 2011
First electedNovember 2007
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
1984-1988
Attorney General of Kentucky
1980-1984
Kentucky House of Representatives
1974-1979
Education
Bachelor'sUniversity of Kentucky
J.D.University of Kentucky
Military service
Service/branchUnited States Army Reserve
Years of service1969-1975
Personal
BirthdaySeptember 21, 1944
ProfessionAttorney
Websites
Office website

Contents

Steven Lynn Beshear (b. September 21, 1944) is a the current Democratic Governor of Kentucky. He was first elected in 2007, and won re-election in 2011. Beshear had previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives, as the Attorney General of Kentucky from 1980 to 1984 and as the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas from 1984 to 1988.

Biography

Beshear is a native of Dawson Springs in Hopkins County, KY. His father was a Baptist minister and his mother worked raising Beshear and his four siblings. He earned both a bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of Kentucky, and served in the U.S. Army Reserve as an intelligence analyst.[1]

Education

  • Bachelor's degree - University of Kentucky
  • Juris Doctor - University of Kentucky

Political career

Governor of Kentucky (2007-Present)

On December 11, 2007, Beshear was sworn in as Kentucky's 61st governor by Kentucky Supreme Court Associate Justice Bill Cunningham in a private ceremony in the Governor's Mansion in Frankfort. Beshear received the oath of office again during a public ceremony on the steps of the Kentucky State Capitol later that afternoon. The oath of office was administered during the public ceremony by Associate Justice Mary C. Noble.

Issues

Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")

In December, 2012, Beshear declined to enter Kentucky into the federal health-exchange system established under the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as "Obamacare," in favor of setting up a state-based system.[2] Kentucky is one of eighteen states - including Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington - that decided to create and run individual health-exchange systems by the December 14, 2012 deadline. The exchange is an online marketplace for citizens to purchase health insurance.[3][4]

Budget crisis

When Beshear took office, he inherited a budget crisis from the previous administration. This crisis led to the decision to cut funding in post-secondary education by nearly 15% until the state could increase its revenue stream. As legislators coped with the budget shortfalls, Beshear announced plans on February 15, 2008 for his casino gambling bill, which he claimed would generate "several hundred millions of dollars" in tax revenue for the state.[5] The proposal called for up to 12 casinos (some of which would be at existing horseracing facilities like Churchill Downs) which would generate up to $600 million. To get the casino proposal on the ballot in November 2008, the plan needed 3/5 support in both the state house and senate, which Senate President David Williams gave no chance of happening.[6]

Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky (1983-1987)

In 1983, Beshear was elected Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky on a Democratic ticket headed by Martha Layne Collins. Beshear defeated Eugene P. Stuart, the running mate of Jim Bunning, 568,869 votes to 321,352.

Attorney General of Kentucky (1980-1984)

Beshear was elected Attorney General of Kentucky in 1979, defeating Republican nominee Ron Snyder with 471,177 votes to Snyder's 302,951, and served as Attorney General from 1980 to 1984.

Kentucky House of Representatives (1974-1979)

In 1974, Beshear was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives. He represented the 76th District and served in the House from 1974 to 1979.

Elections

2011

See also: Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2011

Beshear announced he would run for re-election on July 20, 2009, adding that his running mate would be Louisville mayor Jerry E. Abramson; incumbent Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo opted to run for U.S. Senate in 2010 rather than seek re-election.[7] Beshear's campaign made significant fundraising progress in 2009 and 2010, entering 2011 with over $3 million in the bank. The ticket went unopposed in the May 17 Democratic primary, allowing it to build its war chest for the general election struggle against the Republican team of David Williams and Richie Farmer.

By mid-June, a month into the general election season, Beshear's team had raised over three times as much as its opponents. Beshear also enjoyed a 21 point advantage over Williams in a June poll.

  • General

On November 8, 2011 Beshear defeated David Williams (R) and Gatewood Galbraith (I).

Governor and Lt. Governor of Kentucky, 2011
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark.jpgSteve Beshear and Jerry E. Abramson 55.7% 464,245
     Republican David Williams and Richie Farmer 35.3% 294,034
     Independent Gatewood Galbraith and Dea Riley 9% 74,860
Total Votes 833,139


  • Primary

Beshear won the May 2011 Democratic primary by default when the only other candidate to enter the race left the field. After state Senator David Williams won the Republican nomination, the two faced each other in the November general election.

Ethics complaint

On August 2, 2011, Beshear was accused of violating campaign ethics laws during his re-election campaign by Kentucky Republican Party Chairman Steve Robertson. According to Robertson's complaint, one of Beshear's aides illegally pressured state employees to contribute to his campaign. The allegations are based on the testimony of a state whistleblower, psychologist Rodney Young of the Department of Juvenile Justice, as well as a December 2010 CNHI News story that claimed other employees had been strongly encouraged to contribute. Beshear's campaign called the allegations baseless and politically motivated, and the state Democratic Party filed a counter-complaint against his Republican challenger, State Senate President David Williams.

2007

On December 18, 2006, Beshear formally announced his candidacy for governor of Kentucky in the 2007 election with State Senator Daniel Mongiardo as his lieutenant governor. With 99% of precincts reporting as of May 23, 2007, Beshear won the primary; each of his opponents conceded the race to him. Because he exceeded 40 percent of the vote, he avoided a runoff.[8] In the general election, Beshear opposed incumbent Governor Ernie Fletcher . Beshear's platform included expanded gambling, which Fletcher opposed due to the social ills he said come with casinos. On November 6, 2007, Beshear defeated Fletcher by a 59% to 41% margin.[9]

2006

Beshear was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 1996, losing to incumbent Mitch McConnell.

1987

In 1987, Beshear ran for Governor of Kentucky and lost in a packed Democratic primary field. Beshear won 114,439 votes in the primary, good for a third place finish behind former governor John Y. Brown, Jr.'s 163,204 votes and 221,138 votes garnered by Wallace G. Wilkinson, who went on to win the general election that fall. Beshear placed ahead of former governor Julian Carroll's 42,137 votes and also defeated Grady Stumbo, who won 84,613 votes. Three other candidates combined for an additional 8,187 votes in that primary. After his defeat in the 1987 election, Beshear practiced law in Lexington, Kentucky.

Campaign donors

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Steve Beshear's donors each year.[10] Click [show] for more information.


Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Steve + Beshear + Kentucky + Governor"

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Steve Beshear News Feed


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See also

External links

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References

  1. ↑ Office of the Governor of Kentucky, "Governor Steve Beshear," accessed April 13, 2012
  2. ↑ The New York Times, "Most states miss deadline to set up health exchange," December 14, 2012
  3. ↑ The New York Times, "Most states miss deadline to set up health exchange," December 14, 2012
  4. ↑ The Daily Times, "Governor Susana Martinez to tackle state-based health exchange," January 9, 2013
  5. ↑ Beshear to unveil casino bill next week by Tom Loftus, The Courier-Journal, Feb. 08, 2008
  6. ↑ Kentucky may get up to 12 casinos by Gregory A. Hall, The Courier-Journal, Feb. 15, 2008
  7. ↑ The Daily Independent (Ashland, KY), "Abramson to join Beshear ticket for 2011 re-election," July 19, 2009.
  8. ↑ Fletcher, Beshear to Face off in Nov. LEX18, May 27, 2006
  9. ↑ Beshear beats Fletcher to win race for Kentucky governor The Courier-Journal, Nov. 06, 2007
  10. ↑ Follow the Money.org
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Preceded by
Ernie Fletcher 		Governor of Kentucky
2007 - present 		Succeeded by
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