GOP Wins Late Rep. Natcher’s Seat in Long-Democratic District

A conservative Republican won a special election for the seat of the late Rep. William H. Natcher on Tuesday in a Kentucky district that had sent Democrats to Congress for 129 years.

It was the second such victory for the GOP this year, and Republicans were quick to see the results as a referendum on President Clinton. Earlier this month in Oklahoma, Republican Frank D. Lucas won the seat of Democratic Rep. Glenn English, who retired.

In Kentucky’s 2nd District, spanning central and western portions of the state, Ron Lewis, a minister and owner of a fundamentalist Christian bookstore, benefited from an outpouring of national Republican money and expertise. His media blitz portrayed Democrat Joe Prather as a clone of Clinton. Prather, a former legislator and state party chairman, emphasized his experience in politics and his role in electing two governors.

“Everywhere I went through the district there were people upset,” Lewis said in acknowledging victory. “They actually were mad . . . . They felt like they needed to do something and say something that would change lives.”

With 100% of precincts reporting, Lewis had 40,040 votes, or 55%, and Prather had 32,595, or 45%.

Rep. Bill Paxon (R-N.Y.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, declared that the results are “a big defeat for the President and the Democrats in Congress, and a warning message to Democrats that 1994 is going to be a Republican year.”

Lewis becomes the first Republican ever sent to Washington from the district. He will fill out the remaining months of Natcher’s term and then run again in November for a full term.

Jim Arnett, executive director of the Kentucky Democratic Party, said he wasn’t surprised by Lewis’ victory because of the influx of national Republican and special-interest money. “We’ll get the seat back in November,” Arnett said.

In another election Tuesday, Idaho Atty. Gen. Larry EchoHawk won the Democratic nomination in his bid to become the nation’s first Native American governor. EchoHawk’s likely opponent for November was former Lt. Gov. Phil Batt. Democratic Gov. Cecil Andrus is retiring.