By Charles Wolfe
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - Gov. Ernie Fletcher said Friday he intends to get involved on behalf of Republicans in legislative campaigns this fall - among them his older brother's campaign for a state Senate seat.

Harold Fletcher, the governor's sibling, is the Republican nominee against former Gov. Julian Carroll for an open seat in the capital area's predominantly Democratic 7th District.

Harold Fletcher was unopposed for nomination. Carroll rang up a 12-point victory over Joe Graviss, a restaurant owner from Versailles, in the Democratic primary. Republicans have a 22-16 majority in the Senate.

"I think it goes without saying that we're going to get involved in that race," Ernie Fletcher said in a news conference Friday.

Carroll, governor from 1974 to 1979, represents a "bygone era," Ernie Fletcher said.

Carroll said he anticipated Ernie Fletcher's involvement because the fall campaign would be a referendum on the young Fletcher administration.

"His brother has no record at all. The people will be voting on the governor's record rather than the absence of a record by his brother," Carroll said in a telephone interview.

He also said the governor could be "more a detriment than an asset to his brother" because his budget austerity included spending cuts that affected all agencies, including public schools and universities. Carroll called them "devastating decisions" for education.

Ernie Fletcher said voters would have "a very clear choice in that race." He characterized it as a choice between "the past" and a Republican agenda.

Graviss, 32 years younger than the 73-year-old Carroll, also tried to characterize Carroll as a dinosaur. "That has already been tried and failed," Carroll said.

Fletcher said he thought Graviss failed to convey the message clearly.

Fletcher said he also intended to lend a hand to Republican Sen. Jack Westwood of Erlanger in his race against Kathryn Groob in the 23rd District.

The governor already involved himself in a Republican primary, backing political ally Carroll Gibson, who unseated incumbent Republican Sen. Virgil Moore of Leitchfield in the 5th District.