Kentucky was good to George W. Bush in November. Now he is being good to Kentucky.

        Mr. Bush has nominated Elaine Chao, wife of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, as secretary of labor.And eastern Kentucky banker Mike Duncan, who oversaw Mr. Bush's campaign in five states, including Kentucky, is expected to be elected treasurer of the Republican National Committee.

Chao

        Also, this week in Congress, U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, a Southgate Republican, was named to the Senate Armed Services Committee; and U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, a Republican from Somerset, was named chairman of the Senate budget subcommittee on transportation.

        “This has been a great week for Kentucky, and Elaine Chao's nomination just caps it off,” Kentucky GOP Vice Chairman Damon Thayer said Friday.

        Mr. Bush carried the state by 16 percentage points over Democrat Al Gore.

        Mr. Bush nominated Ms. Chao after his first choice, Linda Chavez, dropped out because of revelations that she allowed an illegal alien to live in her home.

        Republican state chairwoman Ellen Williams said Ms. Chao's nomination would not face any hurdles.

        “She's very upfront. She's very honest,” Ms. Williams said. “Elaine is a public servant and if you choose to work in the public arena, you live by a different standard, and Elaine understands that.”

        Mr. Thayer said Ms. Chao — who has headed the Peace Corps and the United Way and was deputy transportation secretary under former President Bush — is “eminently qualified for any number of Cabinet positions.”

        “I think for Kentuckians, for Republicans and for conservatives she is an excellent choice,” he said.

        Chris Sanders, the secretary/treasurer of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO, said unions don't know where Ms. Chao stands on issues.

        “We don't know where she is on increasing the minimum wage, on safety standards in the workplace, on workers' right to organize or workers' voice in the political process,” he said Friday.

        “Hopefully she'll have answers we can support when she appears for (Senate) confirmation hearings,” he said.

        Mr. Bunning said he “will do everything possible to help move her nomination through the Senate as quickly as possible.”

        Mr. Bunning also has a connection to Mr. Duncan. He managed Mr. Bunning's 1998 winning campaign over Scotty Baesler.

        “Mike Duncan works hard for all Republicans and he knows how to raise money,” said Hayes Robertson, a GOP strategist from Covington.

        The Associated Press contributed.

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