Ky. statehouse goes to Democratic challenger

— -- Kentucky voters rejected scandal-plagued Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher's bid for a second term, electing a Democrat who last held office two decades ago in one of two governor's races decided Tuesday.

In the other, Mississippi's Republican Gov. Haley Barbour easily won a second term over Democrat John Eaves. The two gubernatorial races were the biggest stakes in an off-year election devoid of more glamorous names and races.

Elsewhere, voters decided ballot measures and mayoral posts in several big cities.

Among the measures was a referendum in New Jersey where voters were asked to pass one of the nation's most ambitious public efforts to fund stem cell research. New Jersey voters rejected the measure, which would have had the state borrow $450 million over 10 years to finance the research.

The measure was placed on the ballot by the Legislature with strong backing from Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, who said it would make the state a center for the discovery of possible cures to disease.

It drew opposition from anti-abortion groups and the Catholic Church, which consider the destruction of human embryos that is part of the research as ending a life for scientific experiments.

"It's a reinforcement of our values and a rebuke to the governor," said Steve Lonegan, a conservative Republican who led opposition to the question. "The taxpayers are saying enough is enough."

The race in Kentucky saw Steve Beshear, a lawyer who served a term as Kentucky's lieutenant governor in the 1980s, easily defeat Fletcher. Fletcher's term was marred by an indictment on charges he rewarded political friends with state jobs, and his grant of pardons to officials in his administration.

Beshear made ethics a key issue in the governor's race and avoided questions raised late in the campaign by Republicans about his own ethics as a lawyer.

"The voters made up their minds, and I accept that," Fletcher said in conceding. "Kentuckians want to focus on the work itself and not the many distractions that I helped to create."

In Mississippi, Barbour was one of the few public officials to emerge from the fallout of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 with his political standing bolstered. Barbour, who was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997, managed Mississippi's rebuilding from Katrina's devastation.

The Republicans' loss in Kentucky is offset by another change of power decided last month by voters in Louisiana. Republican Bobby Jindal, an Oxford-educated congressman of Indian descent, will succeed Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who did not seek re-election in the remaining gubernatorial race decided in elections this year.

Party control of some state legislatures also was at stake. Democrats hoped to take control of chambers in Virginia and Mississippi. Republicans had a shot to win the New Jersey Senate.

Mayoral races were being decided in Houston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and San Francisco. In Houston, Mayor Bill White easily won re-election in the nation's fourth-most-populous city, and former Democratic City Council member Michael Nutter was elected mayor in Philadelphia.

In Pittsburgh, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, 27, the nation's youngest big-city mayor, turned back a challenge from Republican Mark DeSantis. Ravenstahl took office after his predecessor died of cancer.

Mayor Gavin Newsom was likely to win re-election easily in San Francisco despite his divorce and admissions of an extramarital affair and alcohol problem. Official results won't be known for two weeks because concerns over the reliability of voting equipment will result in an inspection of all ballots.

Texans approved a bond measure pushed by cyclist Lance Armstrong to borrow $3 billion over 10 years for cancer research. Utah voters were deciding whether a state program to provide education vouchers for private school students should be approved. The Legislature earlier this year authorized vouchers of $500 to $3,000 for private-school tuition.

Denver voters considered a law making marijuana-possession offenses the lowest priority for police and prosecutors.

In Ohio, primaries were held to select nominees in a special election to fill the seat of Republican Rep. Paul Gillmor, who died in September. Robin Weirauch was selected by Democrats. The Republican race was too close to call.

Contributing: Joseph Gerth, Louisville Courier-Journal; William M. Welch in Los Angeles