The 2004 United States House of Representatives special election in Kentucky's 6th congressional district

Kentucky's 6th congressional district

Kentucky's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Based in Central Kentucky, the district contains the cities of Lexington , Richmond, and Frankfort, the state capital....

was held on February 17, 2004 to select the successor to Ernie Fletcher

Ernie Fletcher

Ernest Lee "Ernie" Fletcher is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. In 1999, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives; he resigned in 2003 after being elected the 60th governor of Kentucky and served in that office...

 (R) who resigned upon being elected Governor of Kentucky

Governor of Kentucky

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...

. Each party held a nominating convention to choose their nominee for the special election. Republicans selected state Senator

Kentucky Senate

The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...

 Alice Kerr over state Representatives

Kentucky House of Representatives

The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve...

 Stan Lee and Lonnie Napier

Lonnie Napier

Lonnie Napier is an American politician from the Republican Party . Napier is currently serving his fourteenth two-year term in the Kentucky House of Representatives....

 and Lexington city councilman Charles Ellinger II as their nominee while Democrats chose former state Attorney General

Attorney General of Kentucky

The Attorney General of Kentucky is an office created by the Kentucky Constitution. . Under Kentucky law, he serves several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor , the state's chief law enforcement officer , and the state's chief law officer...

 and 2003 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Chandler

Ben Chandler

Albert Benjamin "Ben" Chandler III is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 2004. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...

.

Chandler won the election to fill out the rest of Fletcher's unexpired term. This was a symbolic victory for Democrats considering that the man Chandler succeeded was the same one he lost to in the Gubernatorial election

Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2003

The 2003 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on 4 November 2003 for the post of Governor of Kentucky. Republican candidate Ernie Fletcher defeated Democrat Ben Chandler and became the first Republican governor of Kentucky in 32 years.-Campaign:...

 months earlier. Though Kerr was able to out raise and out spend Chandler, it was not enough to overcome his popularity, who in addition to having served as state Attorney General was also the grandson of Happy Chandler

Happy Chandler

Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, Sr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. He represented the state in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also served as the second Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1951 and...

, a former Governor, U.S. Senator, and Commissioner of Baseball, in this conservative, but generally ticket-spliting

Split-ticket voting

In American politics, a split-ticket refers to a ballot on which the voter has chosen candidates from different political parties when multiple offices are being decided by a single election...

 Lexington

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

 centered District, which supported Fletcher with 71% in 2002, and George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 over Al Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

 by a smaller but nonetheless substantial 55% to 42% margin in the Presidential election of 2000

United States presidential election, 2000

The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....

.

Election results