The Associated Press

LEXINGTON - The political arm of the Kentucky Education Association endorsed Democrat Ben Chandler and his Republican opponent, Steve Nunn, for governor, after both candidates promised better pay and benefits for school employees and offered to work closely with the teachers' union.

Although Democratic candidate Bruce Lunsford made the most quantifiable pay promise by proposing a 10 percent raise in the first two-year budget, Chandler earned at least 60 percent of the delegates' votes on the first ballot to win the Democratic primary endorsement.

"My administration will be committed to increasing the salaries of our public-school employees to the level of public-school employees in the surrounding states and increasing salaries to the national average," Chandler told the group before it voted Saturday.

He didn't specify where he would get the money.

Chandler, the state attorney general, said that when his office receives a request for a legal opinion on an education matter, the first call made is to find out KEA's stand.

Chandler told the group that if he received their endorsement and was elected, "You'll not only have a seat at the table, you'll have a seat right next to the governor."

Endorsement from the Kentucky Educators Political Action Committee was most important for Nunn, who has been well behind Fletcher in fund raising and does not have a running mate who can make unlimited campaign contributions.

"This is a historic moment," Nunn told the group after the endorsement. "You can have as great an impact as some governors, but when you've got a governor working hand in hand with you, working for you, ready to fight for you, we're gonna make a difference in Kentucky."

Democrat Jody Richards and Republicans Ernie Fletcher and Rebecca Jackson also sought the group's endorsement. But the three were less specific in their comments about education.