1979Final results
1979 election for Kentucky Governor
Governor · Kentucky
J. Y. Brown Jr (D) won with 59.4% of the vote, defeating Louie B. Nunn (R) by 18.8 points.
J. Y. Brown JrDemocrat · winner
59.4%558,088
Louie B. NunnRepublican
40.6%381,278
939,366 votes
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1979
Races before and after
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET