Race for governor stuck in neutral

Ryan Alessi sums up the non-race for governor in his weekly column.

... So it seems the approach prospective candidates have taken to this race -- particularly on the Democrats' side -- is the equivalent of a NASCAR team waiting until the flag is about to drop to check the tires and pick a driver.

It's as if Kentucky's signature political event is being put off, like taking out the trash or eating Brussels sprouts.

...

In the past, candidates began laying the groundwork months or even years before their party's primary. Businessman Wallace Wilkinson, for instance, travelled the state for two years before winning the Democratic nomination and governorship in 1987. He used that prep time to set up a network of supporters and stoke frustration among Western Kentucky voters, who felt they had been ignored by the powers in Frankfort.

This time, the field remains so uncertain and wide open that 37-year-old Louisville lawyer Jack Conway and 39-year-old state Treasurer Jonathan Miller -- who were being mentioned as possible running mates for a gubernatorial candidate a couple months ago -- are now talking about taking the leap themselves because, well, why not?

...

Former Gov. Brereton Jones, another big-name Democrat thought to be a favorite for the party's nomination, had said for months that Democrats needed to get into the governor's race "immediately" after the 2006 election.

Nearly three weeks after that passed, Jones, who was governor from 1991 to 1995, said he's somewhat concerned about losing valuable time. Still, he said, it's important to give Chandler first crack at the race.

"I think certainly we should do it sooner rather than later," Jones said in an interview. "But these are difficult decisions to make. Congressman Chandler is trying to do what's right."

- John Stamper

Comments

[ECP]

What is Ryan's response to the BluegrassReport's comment that the Gov's race is not moving slow, that 4 years ago, it was later than this that most candidates declared?
http://www.bluegrassreport.org/bluegrass_politics/2006/11/the_hysteria_ov.html

Secondly, I don't think it is fair to compare any race per-1993 in terms of when people got in, since they changed the laws on frequency of elections. Seems to me that change, along with the slate provisions, has greatly changed the dynamic of the governor's race.