McCain, McConnell win in Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Voters in Kentucky have broken a 44-year streak of picking overall winners in presidential races by backing the unsuccessful campaign of Republican John McCain.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama was elected the nation’s first black president Tuesday night in a historic triumph.

McCain won Kentucky and collected eight electoral votes in the state that had picked the overall winner in presidential races dating back to 1964.

With 98 percent of Kentucky precincts reporting, McCain had 1,008,429 votes or 57 percent, compared with 727,289 votes or 41 percent for Obama.

Although registered Democrats outnumber Republicans, the state has trended Republican in recent years, supporting President Bush in the past two elections.

Neither McCain nor Obama had campaigned in Kentucky recently. They instead spent their time in battleground states that had more electoral votes at stake and where the race was closer.

Voters in Kentucky turned out at the polls at what was a near-record pace to make their selections between McCain and Obama.

They also re-elected Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell over Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford in a race that turned into the most expensive ever in Kentucky at $25 million and counting.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, McConnell had 912,307 votes or 52 percent, compared with 819,116 votes, or 47 percent for Lunsford.

McConnell, the Senate minority leader, had raised $17.9 million for his re-election campaign by the end of September. Lunsford, a Louisville millionaire, personally put up $5.5 million of the $7.1 million in contributions he listed on campaign finance reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

McConnell reminded voters in stump speeches and political ads of his rank as the Senate’s top Republican, telling voters that translates into clout for Kentucky in Washington. He said it would be unwise to trade him in for a rookie Democrat.

Lunsford’s political strategy has been to link McConnell to President Bush, and to lay blame for the nation’s economic woes at his feet.

Five incumbent U.S. representatives were re-elected in Kentucky. That includes Democrats John Yarmuth of Louisville and Ben Chandler of Lexington and Republicans Hal Rogers of Somerset, Ed Whitfield of Hopkinsville and Geoff Davis of Hebron. Republican Brett Guthrie defeated Democrat David Boswell in western Kentucky’s 2nd congressional district. He fills a seat left open by Ron Lewis, who is retiring.

Voters also promoted state Rep. Kathy Stein, a Lexington Democrat, to the Kentucky Senate in one of 40 contested state legislative races.

In the presidential race, McCain drew support from a broad range of Kentuckians, tapping some who considered themselves liberals and about half of Democrats who preferred Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as the nominee, according to an Associated Press exit poll.

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