On November 4, 2003, Kentuckians chose U.S. Rep. Ernie Fletcher as the state’s first Republican governor in 32 years. His Democratic opponent in the general election was state Attorney General A.B. “Ben” Chandler.

During the 2003 general election campaign, KET produced documentary profiles of the two candidates as well as one-on-one interviews by Bill Goodman of KET’s Kentucky Tonight. Chandler and Fletcher also participated in two live KET forums and made a joint appearance on Kentucky Tonight, during which they discussed policy issues and answered questions from viewers. KET also rebroadcast a debate between the two held in Owensboro and sponsored by the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce.

All of those programs are available for viewing online in RealPlayer®. Click on a title below to start that video. [Help with RealPlayer]

• Ben Chandler: A Profile
  a KET documentary
  
  
• Ernie Fletcher: A Profile
  a KET documentary
  
  
• Election 2003: A Conversation with Ernie Fletcher
  an interview by Bill Goodman
  [Transcript]
  
  
• Election 2003: A Conversation with Ben Chandler
  an interview by Bill Goodman
  [Transcript]
  
  
• Election 2003: Candidates for Governor I
  a KET forum from October 15
  
  
• Election 2003: Candidates for Governor II
  a KET forum from October 20
  
  
• 2003 Owensboro Face-Off: Ben Chandler vs. Ernie Fletcher
  a debate from August 26; program produced by the Owensboro Community and Technical College
  
  
• Kentucky Tonight Program 1034
  a joint appearance by Fletcher and Chandler on August 18

Kentucky Tonight and the KET candidate forums were produced by Deidre Clark. Renee Shaw and Bill Goodman co-produced the gubernatorial candidate profiles and interviews. The executive producer for KET’s 2003 election coverage was Donna Moore.