Among the few major races in this off-year political cycle will be the Kentucky governor’s race. With the GOP having lost significant ground in state capitols in 2006, defending its hold on the top job in the Bluegrass State is a Republican priority not only in its own right but also to arrest the national Democratic momentum. That job got easier last month when former Rep. Anne Northup from the Louisville area announced that she would, indeed, challenge embattled Gov. Ernie Fletcher in the Republican primary. She also announced a running mate for lieutenant governor, state House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, who is from the southeastern corner of the state and thus provides some geographical balance.

Fletcher won’t go down without a fight, and has a credible story to tell about how some of the scandal surrounding his administration resulted from partisan hit-jobs and unfair press, but Northup is already receiving lots of encouragement and endorsements, including from U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning and Steve Pence, Fletcher’s lieutenant governor. On the Democratic side, there will be a competitive primary involving former Lt. Gov. Steve Henry, House Speaker Jody Richards, State Treasurer Jonathan Miller, former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear, business Bruce Lunsford, and activist Gatewood Galbraith, whose running mate is described as a transportation engineer and “accomplished gospel mandolin artist.”

Fun stuff. More here and here.