The possibility of having the General Assembly determine who won this year’s gubernatorial election is stirring memories of the last time such an event took place in Kentucky, and suffice it to say it was far from orderly.
In November 1899, Democrat William Goebel took on Republican William S. Taylor and the latter was declared the winner of the contest by approximately 2,000 votes. The Democratic majority in the General Assembly contested the results, and although Taylor was inaugurated the following month, the outcome remained in question well into the New Year.
On the morning of January 30th Goebel was felled by an assassin’s bullet while walking in front of what is now the Old State Capitol. By that time Democrat leaders in Frankfort had invalidated enough votes to declare Goebel the legitimate governor of Kentucky and he was sworn into office on January 31st, though historians have theorized the man might have already been dead.
WUKY's Alan Lytle recently got a chance to talk about this infamous moment in Kentucky politics with historian Ron Elliott, the author of Assassination at the State House - The Murder of Kentucky 'Governor' William Goebel.
