Lt. governors have inside track to top spot

A study by the National Lieutenant Governors Association shows that while more governors in the last 26 years have jumped from the state legislature to that position, lieutenant governors have had the greatest success rates in running for the top position.

“Fifty-six of approximately 225 lieutenant governors in the period became governor, while ninety-six of the more than 5,000 state house members, adjusted for turnover, became governor,”  said NLGA director Julia Hurst .

The study evaluated every office held by governors previous to becoming governor, according to Hurst's statement. 

Here's the overall breakdown of numbers for all governors elected between 1980 and 2006:

• 96 had a state House background (including Gov. Ernie Fletcher, 1994-96)

• 56 once served as lieutenant governor

• 53 had been in the state Senate

• 28 served in the U.S. House (including Fletcher, 1998-2003)

• 24 had been Attorney General

• 19 once were mayors

• 16 had been Secretary of State

What could that mean for Kentucky? Well, current Lt. Gov. Steve Pence hasn't decided whether he might challenge Fletcher in the GOP primary or possibly run for attorney general.

The most recent former Lt. Gov. Steve Henry, a Democrat, says he's running for his party's nomination but hasn't found a running mate. Henry served as No. 2 for Gov. Paul Patton -- once a lieutenant governor himself -- from 1995 to 2003.

Beyond those two, a couple of other former Democratic lieutenant governors still are considering a run: Brereton Jones, who served as the lieutenant governor under Gov. Wallace Wilkinson from 1987 to 1991 and then governor from 1991 to 1995; and Steve Beshear, who served as the No. 2 under Gov. Martha Layne Collins from 1983 to 1987. Beshear finished third in the 1987 Democratic primary for governor, which Wilkinson won. 

- Ryan Alessi