Governor of Kentucky
In 1931, Laffoon sought the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. As a result of factional infighting within the Democratic party, the Democrats opted for a nominating convention instead of a primary to choose their nominee for governor. It was the first nominating convention held by the Democrats since the Music Hall Convention that nominated William Goebel in 1899, and it was the only one held after 1903. The convention was held in Lexington on May 12, 1931. Laffoon gained the support of several important leaders within the party, including Ben Johnson, Thomas Rhea, M. M. Logan, Allie Young, and William J. Fields. He was selected in a landslide over a myriad of candidates, including sitting lieutenant governor James Breathitt, Jr. and Centre College football hero James "Red" Roberts.
Despite his physical disability, Laffoon waged a vigorous campaign across the state. During campaign stops, he interspersed political commentary with passages from the Bible. The Louisville Courier-Journal objected to his campaign style and gave a tentative endorsement to the Republican William B. Harrison, the mayor of Louisville. Dubbed "the terrible Turk from Madisonville" by former Republican governor Edwin P. Morrow, Laffoon promised that, if elected, he would remove all of the Republican officials appointed by sitting governor Flem D. Sampson from state government. He cited the failed administration of Governor Sampson and the problem-filled presidency of Herbert Hoover as reasons to elect a Democrat. In the general election, Laffoon defeated Harrison by a margin of just over 72,000 votes, the largest margin of victory for any Kentucky governor at the time.
Shortly after taking office, Laffoon organized the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, a charitable organization of people who had been commissioned as honorary Kentucky colonels. During his term as governor, Laffoon commissioned 2,368 honorary colonels, the most ever by a Kentucky governor. His most notable commission was to Harland Sanders, who used the title "Colonel" when he opened his chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. Other colonels commissioned by Laffoon included Mae West, Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Will Rogers, Fred Astaire, Jean Harlow, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Jack Dempsey and W. C. Fields.
Read more about this topic: Ruby Laffoon
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