Kentuckians pick McCain in presidential race

By ROGER ALFORD Associated Press Writer
Published: November 4, 2008

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain has won Kentucky and collected eight electoral votes in a state that has picked the overall winner in presidential races dating back to 1964.

The call was based on an analysis of voter interviews conducted for The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.

With 14 percent of precincts reporting, McCain had 140,161 votes or 54.84 percent, compared with 112,045 votes or 43.84 percent for Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack 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 could be a record pace to make their selections between McCain and Obama.

Meanwhile Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell remains locked in a tighter race with Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford — one that turned into the most expensive ever in Kentucky at $25 million and counting.

With 14 percent of precincts reporting, McConnell had 123,894 votes or 50.6 percent, compared with 120,953 votes or 49.4 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.

McConnell supporters slowly filtered into a modestly decorated ballroom at the Galt House in downtown Louisville. Several large screen televisions blared election results of the race, which has drawn national interest thanks to a Democratic surge and a rare strong challenge for the seat by Lunsford.

Several of the state’s top-ranking Republicans were at the Louisville hotel with McConnell, including McCain’s Kentucky campaign chairman David Williams, Secretary of State Trey Grayson and state Republican Party chairman Steve Robertson.

An open congressional seat in western Kentucky has also received increased voter interest among Kentucky, as have 40 contested state legislative races. Two state senators, Republican Brett Guthrie and Democrat David Boswell, were facing off in that race for the seat vacated by a retiring U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis.

Grayson said he expected 65 to 70 percent of Kentucky’s 2.9 million registered voters to cast ballots. That kind of turnout would shatter the record set in 2004.

Lines were so long when Kathleen Blanton arrived at her polling station in a Louisville surburb at 6:30 a.m. EST that she gave up and went home to wait for the morning rush to pass. Blanton, a Democrat from Crestwood, found a much shorter line when she returned to Centerfield Baptist Church at 10:30 a.m. EST to cast her vote for Obama.

“I feel like it’s time for a change,“ Blanton said. “I think he’s highly intelligent and I think it’s about time we have a highly intelligent president.“

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Associated Press writers Janet Blake and Will Graves in Louisville contributed to this report.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.