Blackii Whyte
Blackii Effing Whyte was an independent candidate for Governor of Kentucky in the 2015 election. Whyte and his running mate, Philip Jacobs, officially filed for the election as write-in candidates on May 15, 2015.[1] The pair was defeated by Republican candidates Matt Bevin and Jenean M. Hampton.[2]
Biography
Whyte is a musician who performs with a group called The Reefer Kings. Whyte wrote and performs his own 2015 campaign theme song, "The Race of a Dark Horse."[3][4] He is a member of the state's Libertarian Party.[5]
Elections
2015
General election
Republican Matt Bevin and his running mate, Jenean M. Hampton, defeated Attorney General Jack Conway and independent Drew Curtis.[6]
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Matt Bevin/Jenean M. Hampton |
52.5% | 511,771 | |
| Democrat | Jack Conway/Sannie Overly | 43.8% | 426,827 | |
| Independent | Drew Curtis/Heather Curtis | 3.7% | 35,627 | |
| Total Votes | 974,225 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign finance
First quarter report (2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $3,712,481 and spent a total of $5,132,368.71 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on April 24, 2015.[7]
| Campaign Contributions and Expenditures | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Office | Beginning balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Ending balance |
Jack Conway/Sannie Overly  |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $951,795.60 | $872,346.75 | $410,248.42 | $1,413,893.93 |
James Comer Jr./Chris McDaniel  |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $873,474.86 | $1,013,831.02 | $848,860.07 | $1,038,445.81 |
| Hal Heiner/K.C. Crosbie |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $3,467,422.17 | $278,101.97 | $2,727,925.03 | $1,017,599.11 |
| Matt Bevin/Jenean Hampton |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $0 | $1,322,717.02 | $1,036,516.47 | $286,200.55 |
| Will T. Scott/Rodney Coffey |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $0 | $195,330.00 | $83,153.78 | $112,176.22 |
Drew Curtis/Heather Curtis  |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $0 | $30,154.24 | $25,664.94 | $4,489.30 |
| Geoff Young/Jonathan Masters |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Grand Total Raised | $3,712,481 | ||||
| Grand Total Spent | $5,132,368.71 | ||||
Fourth quarter report (2014)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $880,190.47 and spent a total of $545,733.73 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on February 3, 2015.[8]
| Campaign Contributions and Expenditures | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Office | Beginning balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Ending balance |
| Hal Heiner/K.C. Crosbie |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $3,502,534.91 | $156,104.87 | $191,217.61 | $3,467,422.17 |
| Jack Conway/Sannie Overly |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $978,044.51 | $176,042 | $202,290.91 | $951,795.60 |
| James Comer Jr./Chris McDaniel |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $477,656.47 | $548,043.60 | $152,225.21 | $873,474.86 |
| Matt Bevin/Jenean Hampton |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Drew Curtis/Heather Curtis  |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Will T. Scott/Rodney Coffey |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Geoff Young/Johnathan Masters |
Kentucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Grand Total Raised | $880,190.47 | ||||
| Grand Total Spent | $545,733.73 | ||||
Campaign themes
2015
In an interview with WDRB News, Whyte discussed his views and why he is running for governor:[4]
- On his legal name: "I have put it out there to say, 'I can say this.' And maybe it's going to offend some people, but we're to a point now where we're so scared of offending anybody that we can't say anything."
- On his political ideology: "I really kind of thought that I was a right-leaning, libertarian, kind of conservative sort of person. But I'm not sure." He added, "I think it's important not to have your leaders up there in some ivory tower somewhere."[4]
- On marijuana decriminalization: "And I want to go right to the cell and say, 'What are you in there for?' They'll say 'pot.' I'll say 'Not. You're out. What are you in there for?' 'Pot.' 'Not. You're out.'
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Blackii Whyte Kentucky governor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Open offices draw big names, new faces to Kentucky state executive elections in 2015
- Governor of Kentucky
- Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2015
- State executive official elections, 2015
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Blackii Effing Whyte, Candidate for Governor," May 15, 2015
- ↑ [results.enr.clarityelections.com/KY/57510/156550/Web01/en/summary.html Kentucky Secretary of State, "Governor and Lieutenant Governor," accessed Nov. 4, 2015]
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Blackii Whyte," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lawrence Smith, WDRB.com, "Unorthodox candidate with unorthodox name wants your vote for Ky governor," August 26, 2015
- ↑ Fidelity, "Beshear Touts Kentucky's Thawing Economy," July 21, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Governor and Lieutenant Governor," accessed November 4, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Candidate Search Results," accessed April 24, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Candidate Search Results," accessed February 3, 2015
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