By Charles Wolfe
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - At every campaign stop, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Chandler leaves little doubt about what he believes is the source of Kentucky's economic woes: the federal government.

Republicans have responded by branding Chandler a "guinea pig" for national Democrats who want to gauge President Bush's vulnerability in a contest considered a proving ground for the 2004 presidential race.

Kentucky is one of three states with a regular governor's election this year, along with Mississippi and Louisiana. Bush carried the state by 15 percentage points over Al Gore in 2000, but Democrats believe their chances are better at a time when unemployment is rising.

The Republican candidate, U.S. Rep. Ernie Fletcher of Lexington, says Chandler wants to "federalize" the race. "I think he's being used as a guinea pig doing that," Fletcher said.

Chandler's strategy is a bit daring, said JoAnn Ewalt, chairwoman of the Government Department at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond.

"You would think it would be very risky, given how popular President Bush is, but I think it does seem to be working and the economy has a lot to do with that," she said.

Chandler, the state's attorney general and grandson of former Gov. A.B. "Happy" Chandler, never directly attacks Bush.

But he pounds on the economy, blaming federal tax cuts and the administration's other economic policies for Kentucky's problems.

"It's clear that we in Kentucky are facing tough times," Chandler told a recent audience. "I meet moms and dads who can't afford to take their kids to the doctor or help their parents pay for prescription drugs."

Will voters relate a national issue to a state election?

"If they don't have a job, they're going to connect it real quick," Chandler said in an interview.

The Kentucky Democratic Party has a mascot for the campaign - "Fletcher-Bush, the Job Terminator," a guy in a giant Fletcher head with wraparound sunglasses, a la Arnold Schwarzenegger. He shows up at many of Fletcher's campaign events, passing out "pink slips."

Kentucky's unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in June, an 18-month high. The national rate was 6.4 percent. In addition, the state's revenue forecasters expect a $274 million shortfall in the budget this fiscal year.

Incumbent Gov. Paul Patton is barred by term limits from seeking a third term. Scandals associated with an extramarital affair effectively ended his political career anyway.

Fletcher, who is trying to become Kentucky's first Republican governor in 32 years, sticks to a "time for a change" theme.

He and his running mate for lieutenant governor, former U.S. attorney Steve Pence of Louisville, say Chandler wants the public to disregard any consequences of the Democrats' long hold on power in Frankfort.

"It's an easy thing to say (that) everything is President Bush's fault in our state," Pence said.

"We have to take responsibility for our own actions. ... It is fundamentally wrong for us to blame our problems on someone on the outside."

Undeterred, Chandler continues to criticize the administration and the presumed role of Fletcher, who he says "has voted regularly for policies that have harmed the prosperity of Kentucky."

"It's really not a nationalization of the race as much as it is, I think, a very appropriate conversation about the record of my opponent," Chandler said.

As for Bush's federal tax cuts, Chandler claims he was not opposed to the concept but that a quarter of Kentuckians, "the very poor people," received nothing.

Republican National Chairman Ed Gillespie, who met with state party leaders Friday in Frankfort, predicted Chandler would be unable to turn the gubernatorial election into a referendum on Bush.

"I think that when people go to the polls in Kentucky here in November, they're going to look at the candidates. They're going to look at who has the best agenda," Gillespie said.

Chandler's strategy wasn't playing to Kay Richmond, a Republican who had a booth Friday at the Kentucky State Fair.

"That is just ridiculous. It's like saying Mother Goose is responsible," Richmond said.

Joe Williams, a Democrat and union trustee from Shelbyville, said he believes Bush isn't the only culprit for Kentucky's economic troubles.

"I'm not going to put blame on just the president or just the governor, but also to the House and the Senate," Williams said.