The 1995 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1995. Incumbent Governor Brereton Jones was not eligible to run for a second term due to term limits established by the Kentucky Constitution, creating an open seat. At the time, Kentucky and Virginia were the only states that prohibited their Governors from serving immediate successive terms. The Democratic nominee, Lieutenant Governor Paul E. Patton, defeated Republican nominee Larry Forgy to win his first term as governor. It was the last time that the election was held until the Kentucky General Assembly changed its term limits law in 1992, allowing Patton to run again in 1999 and leaving Virginia as the only state that prohibits its governor from serving immediate successive terms.
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| Turnout | 43.8%  0.4 pp | |||||||||||||||||||
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  Patton: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Forgy: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- Paul E. Patton, Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
- Bob Babbage, Secretary of State of Kentucky
- John A. Rose Jr., Kentucky State Senator
- Gatewood Galbraith, perennial candidate
- Steven Maynard
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Paul Patton | 152,203 | 44.95 | |
| Democratic | Bob Babbage | 81,352 | 24.02 | |
| Democratic | John A. Rose, Jr. | 71,740 | 21.18 | |
| Democratic | Gatewood Galbraith | 29,039 | 8.58 | |
| Democratic | Steven Maynard | 4,305 | 1.27 | |
| Total votes | 338,639 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Larry Forgy, counsel to Governor Louie B. Nunn
- Robert E. Gable, perennial candidate
- Tommy Klein, perennial candidate
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Larry Forgy | 97,099 | 82.44 | |
| Republican | Robert E. Gable | 17,054 | 14.48 | |
| Republican | Tommy Klein | 3,627 | 3.08 | |
| Total votes | 117,780 | 100.00 | ||
General election
editResults
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Paul Patton | 500,605 | 50.88% | −13.85% | |
| Republican | Larry Forgy | 479,227 | 48.71% | +13.44% | |
| Write-in | Gatewood Galbraith | 3,965 | 0.40% | ||
| Majority | 21,378 | 2.17% | −27.29% | ||
| Turnout | 983,797 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||