Election

GOP gets top job in Ky.; Mississippi race close

Rep. Ernie Fletcher easily won the Kentucky governor's race Tuesday, ousting Democrats from power after 32 years. Mississippi Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove fought to keep his job against Washington lobbyist Haley Barbour as the GOP sought to make further inroads in the South.

Fletcher, a three-term congressman, defeated state Attorney General Ben Chandler, polling 55 percent, or 593,508 votes, to the Democrat's 45 percent, or 484,938 votes, with all precincts reporting.

With 54 percent of Mississippi precincts reporting, Barbour had 53 percent, or 243,426 votes, to 46 percent, or 212,269 votes, for Musgrove. Returns were slow coming from some of the biggest counties, including several Democratic strongholds.

In both states, candidates tried out slogans and strategies that might be used in the 2004 presidential race.

Mississippi Democrats criticized Barbour as a "Washington insider" as President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other top GOP officials came to campaign for him.

In Kentucky, party activists argued that a vote for Chandler would tell the White House its economic policy is a failure.

State Republican Chairwoman Ellen Williams said Bush helped swing the race in western Kentucky, a conservative Democratic area which both campaigns said was crucial. Bush "lit that district on fire," she said. "The people in that part of the state are in line with Bush's conservative values."

Democrats in Mississippi complained Tuesday of intimidation at black voting precincts, echoing an earlier clash over race in Kentucky's final days. In both states, Democrats claimed GOP poll observers sought to suppress the black vote, though Kentucky activists said they saw few problems on Election Day.

Under Mississippi law, unless one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the popular vote and carries a majority of the state's 122 House districts, the race would be decided in the state House - which is controlled by Democrats.

Each state's race turned on state issues, but as the highest-level elections before the 2004 White House contest, they drew close scrutiny from political strategists.

Each party will try to frame the outcome to its advantage, said political science professor Alan Rosenthal of Rutgers University: "The winners will make it national, and the losers will make it idiosyncratic and local."

ALABAMA: Birmingham re-elected Mayor Bernard Kincaid, a Democrat.

ARIZONA: Tucson rejected a proposal for a 13-mile light-rail system.

CALIFORNIA: Entrepreneur Gavin Newsom had a wide lead in the polls in a crowded race to succeed San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who was term-limited. A runoff is likely. San Francisco also considered whether to set $8.50 minimum wage for virtually all workers.

COLORADO: Defeated measures to allow slot machines at racetracks and to approve $2-billion in bonds for water projects. Denver rejected a measure requiring City Council to implement stress-reduction measures.

IDAHO: Neo-Nazi Richard Butler ran for mayor of Hayden Lake, population 9,000, three years after he lost his compound outside of town in a civil rights lawsuit.

INDIANA: Approved riverboat casino in French Lick, hometown of basketball great Larry Bird, a potential investor.

MAINE: Rejected a $650-million gambling resort. Supporters said state's first casino would produce jobs; foes said it would tarnish Maine's outdoorsy image.

NEW JERSEY: Democrats gained control of both houses. The Senate had been tied 20-20; Democrats narrowly controlled state House.

NEW YORK: New York City defeated a measure that would have abolished primaries and have nonpartisan elections for mayor and certain other city posts. Buffalo's longest-serving mayor, James Griffin, sought election to Common Council.

OHIO: Defeated a proposal for the state to borrow $500-million for high-tech research and job development. Akron's longest-serving mayor, Democrat Don Plusquellic, won a fifth term. Cleveland Heights approved a measure allowing same-sex and unmarried heterosexual couples to register as domestic partners.

PENNSYLVANIA: Approved a pair of amendments to the state Constitution designed to allow children to testify by closed-circuit television or videotape. Philadelphia's Democratic Mayor John Street easily defeated Republican businessman Sam Katz in a rematch of their 1999 contest, which Street narrowly won. Street's poll numbers rose after revelations the FBI bugged his office. The district attorney's office had received 171 calls about alleged harassment and interference at polling locations, spokeswoman Cathie Abookire said.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. won an unprecedented eighth term.

TEXAS: Bill White, an Energy Department deputy secretary in the Clinton administration, was ahead in a Houston mayoral field of nine. VIRGINIA: Republicans held their majorities in the state Senate and House of Delegates. Richmond overwhelmingly approved a measure for direct elections of the mayor, rather than appointment by City Council.

WASHINGTON: Voted on whether to repeal rules aimed at reducing repetitive-strain injuries in workplace.

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