Damon Thayer, Kentucky Republican Party vice chairman, was traveling on business in upstate New York in August when he got a call on his cell phone from George W. Bush's campaign headquarters in Texas.

        “They tracked me down in New York to ask me if I would chair the Bush campaign in Scott County,” said Mr. Thayer, director of marketing for the Breeders' Cup thoroughbred horse racing championship and a Georgetown, Ky., resident.

        “I agreed, of course, but I was so impressed and excited at the grass-roots effort the Bush campaign was putting together,” said Mr. Thayer, a veteran of four previous statewide GOP campaigns.

        “I had never seen anything like it.”

        Kentucky Republicans are crediting that grass-roots effort — which included phone calls, e-mail, direct mail and dollars all by the millions — with Mr. Bush's whopping 16-point win in Kentucky over Democrat Al Gore on Election Day.

        Much of the credit is being given to the effort organized by U.S. Sen. Mitch McCon nell, a Louisville Republican who chaired the Bush Kentucky campaign; the work of the state Republican Party led by chairwoman Ellen Williams; and the thousands of campaign volunteers throughout the state who worked to elect Mr. Bush.

        “The Bush/Cheney 2000 Kentucky campaign repre sents the most extensive and organized statewide political campaign in Kentucky history,” Mr. McConnell said.

        “Beginning with Gov. Bush's trip to the Kentucky Derby in early May, the Bush campaign sent an early and frequent message that he took the state seriously and was willing to work hard to win its eight electoral votes,” he said.

        Fort Thomas Democrat Terry Mann, a member of the Campbell County Democratic Executive Committee, admitted the strength and success of the Republican effort for Mr. Bush.

        “What can I say, they were more aggressive,” said Mr. Mann, a former state lawmaker. “But I do see both sides of the strategy.

        “The Democrats on the national level looked at the polling numbers early on, saw that the situation in Kentucky looked hopeless and moved on with their money for radio and television to other states,” he said.

        “I'm not talking about or questioning the commitment of people at the local level,” Mr. Mann said. “But nationally it was pretty clear this battle was going to be fought elsewhere by the Democrats.”

        The statewide GOP vehicle used to campaign for Mr. Bush was officially known as Victory 2000. It was based in Louisville and headed by London, Ky., native Scott Douglas, an experienced fund-raiser and political operative on loan from Mr. McConnell's staff.

        The Victory 2000 campaign plan included:

        • Raising and spending $1.1 million in campaign money.

        • Sending regular e-mail about campaign activity to 5,800 Bush volunteers and supporters.

        • Mailing 2.2 million pieces of campaign literature to Kentucky voters.

        • Erecting 32,000 campaign yard signs across the state.

        • Putting 2,600 volunteers to work on phone banks, literature drops and yard-sign blitzes.

        Those efforts were augmented by 14 campaign visits made in Kentucky by Mr. Bush, his running mate Dick Cheney or Mr. Cheney's wife, Lynn Cheney.

        By comparison, Mr. Gore made just two visits to Kentucky, none after Labor Day.

        GOP strategist Hayes Robertson of Covington, who has worked on presidential races in Illinois, Florida and Kentucky, said the Bush campaign was the best he has seen since Ronald Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign.

        “Everybody was so highly motivated that by the time July rolled around, we knew we were going to carry Kentucky for George W. Bush,” Mr. Robertson said. “The whole key was getting organized early and getting out on the campaign trail early. That made the difference.”

        Another key was raising the money needed to put the party's plans into motion, said Fort Mitchell lawyer Rick Robinson, a member of the Kentucky Republican Executive Committee.

        “There was an excellent effort by the party from top on down to the local level to raise the money and raise it early,” Mr. Robinson said. “They didn't have to worry about needing money down the stretch.”

        Mr. Bush's win was in many ways remarkable given that Kentucky has long been recognized as a Democratic state despite gains Republicans have made in recent years, including winning a majority in the state Senate and holding seven of the eight seats in federal delegation.

        Bill Clinton and Mr. Gore carried Kentucky in 1992 and again in 1996. And many political watchers expected both parties to battle intensely for Kentucky, which has been carried by the winners of every presidential election from 1964 through 1996.

        While Mr. Bush's national campaign gave great attention to Kentucky, the race was won in the trenches by inspired locals who did the grass-roots leg work, said Marc Wilson of Florence, a GOP media and campaign consultant and member of Mr. Bush's statewide campaign.

        “People were fired up about Bush running, and the campaign did a great job motivating people on the local level to stay involved and stay focused,” Mr. Wilson said.

        “Voters here in Kentucky, and especially Republicans in Northern Kentucky, were hungry for a candidate like Bush, and the campaign took the steps to involve those people,” he said.

        As an example of grass-roots work, he pointed to an effort orchestrated by Park Hills lawyer Trey Grayson.

        Mr. Grayson helped organize a group that called itself Young Professionals for George W. Bush, which recruited more than 150 active members through e-mail.

        Members then campaigned for Mr. Bush by talking to friends, neighbors and colleagues.

        “That's the kind of local effort that pays off and leads to a big state win like Bush had here in Kentucky,” Mr. Wilson said.

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