Steve Beshear
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Steven L. Beshear (born 1944), is a Democrat, won election as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, Attorney General of Kentucky and Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky before losing races for Governor of Kentucky and the United States Senate.
Beshear was educated at the University of Kentucky, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta social fraternity.
Beshear was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives to begin his political career. He represented the 76th District and served in the House 1974-1979. He was elected Attorney General of Kentucky in 1979, defeating Republican nominee Ron Snyder with 471,177 votes to Snyder's 302,951. Beshear served as Attorney General from 1980 to 1984.
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.
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. He was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 1996, losing to Mitch McConnell.
On December 18, 2006, Beshear formally announced his candidacy for Governor of Kentucky in the 2007 election with State Senator Daniel Mongiardo as his Lt. Governor.
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| Preceded by Martha Layne Collins |
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky 1983–1987 |
Succeeded by Brereton C. Jones |
| Preceded by Robert F. Stephens |
Attorney General of Kentucky 1980–1984 |
Succeeded by David L. Armstrong |
| Preceded by Martha Layne Collins |
Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky 1983–1983 |
Succeeded by Brereton C. Jones |
| Preceded by Harvey I. Sloane |
Democratic nominee, United States Senate (Class 2) from Kentucky 1996– |
Succeeded by Lois Combs Weinberg |
| Lieutenant Governors of Kentucky |  |
|---|---|
| Bullitt • Caldwell • Slaughter • Hickman • Slaughter • Barry • McAfee • Breathitt • J. Morehead • Wickliffe • M. Thomson • Dixon • Helm • J. Thompson • Hardy • Boyd • Jacob • Stevenson • Carlisle • Underwood • Cantrill • Hindman • Bryan • Alford • Worthington • Marshall • Beckham • Thorne • Cox • McDermott • Black • Ballard • Breathitt, Jr. • Chandler • Johnson • Myers • Tuggle • Wetherby • Beauchamp • Waterfield • Wyatt • Waterfield • Ford • Carroll • Stovall • Collins • Beshear • Jones • Patton • Henry • Pence |
