Larry Forgy, influential Republican who ran three times for Ky. governor, has died.

Larry Forgy, an ardent but independent supporter of the Republican Party who narrowly lost Kentucky’s 1995 race for governor to Democrat Paul Patton, died early Thursday. He was 82.

Forgy, an attorney, had been in declining health for several years after suffering a heart attack in 2016. His sister, Republican state Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr, of Lexington, posted on her Facebook page Thursday morning that he had died.

“He was a devoted son, brother, father, and friend in addition to his long and distinguished career in law and politics,” she wrote. “We are all heartbroken to lose this wonderful man who had a profound impact in Kentucky, but we are comforted to know that he is now in the embrace of our Heavenly Father. We are grateful to all who have assisted in his care and comfort during his last several years of declining health.”

“Larry was an independent thinker and not a creation of any interest group within the Kentucky Republican Party,” said London attorney Tom Handy, who was Forgy’s running mate in the 1995 race for governor.

“He sometimes was at odds with party leadership. He had an independent streak and was his own man.”

Handy said in a 2020 interview that they had “stayed in touch over the years as friends. We visited regularly before this virus hit and he was a great conversationalist.”

Lawrence Eugene Forgy had been a part of Kentucky’s political and civic landscape for more than 50 years. His political forays ranged from his days as budget director to the late Gov. Louie B. Nunn to accompanying Matt Bevin when the Louisville businessman who became governor in 2015 filed his papers in the secretary of state’s office in 2013 to try unsuccessfully to unseat Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Forgy, an attorney, often quoted the Bible and Shakespeare in his public comments but could get homespun with the best of them. In a Lincoln Day address at Western Kentucky University while running for governor in 1995, he told the crowd he was “full up to the gizzards with Democrats.”

To emphasize how important it is to learn from mistakes, he often would say, “There is no education in the second kick of a mule.”

A conservative, Forgy, at times, could get at odds with his political party, especially with Nunn and McConnell.

He also could get in controversy with his bluntness. In 2011, Forgy said the only reason then-Gov. Steve Beshear picked Jerry Abramson of Louisville, who was Jewish, to be his running mate was “to attract New York and Hollywood Jewish money” for the campaign.

A native of Lewisburg in Logan County, Forgy attended the University of Kentucky. He transferred to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and received from the university both a bachelor’s and law degree. While in law school, he became friends with the late Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

From 1967 to 1971, Forgy was budget director for Gov. Nunn.

In 1987, Forgy began his first of three tries to become governor of Kentucky. He announced he would seek the Republican gubernatorial nomination but withdrew from the race because of fundraising difficulties.

The GOP selected state Rep. John Harper of Bullitt County as its nominee, but Harper carried only five of the state’s 120 counties against Democrat businessman Wallace Wilkinson of Lexington.

In 1991, Forgy ran again for governor but lost in the Republican primary to then-U.S. Rep. Larry Hopkins of Lexington.

Nunn backed Forgy, and Hopkins labeled Forgy “the Nunn candidate.” Forgy came within 2,200 votes, about 1 percent shy, of winning the race.

Then came the pivotal 1995 race that pitted Forgy against Democrat Paul Patton of Pikeville.

The two candidates made a whopping 35 joint appearances on the campaign trail because spending limits were in place, said Al Cross, former Courier Journal political reporter and now director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky.

Forgy was “one of the most self-confident candidates I’ve ever known,” said Cross. “He could talk to the high and mighty and the low and humble, a most engaging fellow.”

On paper, said Cross, it looked like Forgy’s race to win, “but he was out campaigned.”

In 1995, Nunn turned against Forgy in the GOP primary for governor and supported Bob Gable, a former state Republican chairman. Nunn made a radio commercial that blasted Forgy. Patton made repeated use of the commercial and beat Forgy by 25,000 votes.

Gable said Forgy “was an extraordinary person and a true friend.”

Barry Peel, who covered the 1995 race for Lexington’s WKYT-TV, said Forgy “was quoted as once saying you can’t go too far right in Kentucky politics. But he did.”

Peel said Forgy “embraced” the endorsement of Dr. Frank Simon, a Louisville allergist-immunologist known for his far-right activism, and “that hurt him especially with suburban women.”

“Forgy was an extremely tough opponent,” said Patton. “Early in the campaign, we made speeches at a Leadership Kentucky forum. He waxed elegantly and I gave a speech Al Cross didn’t think much of, though Al did say later I got better.”

“I was the underdog in the race because it had been 24 years since Republicans held the governor’s office and many people thought it was time for a change.”

Patton said he did not recall ever receiving a phone call from Forgy conceding the election.

Handy, Forgy’s running mate in the 1995 election, said “it was fun” to campaign with Forgy.

“He would break out into song. You don’t see many candidates do that,” said Handy. “He identified with everyone.”

Handy said they lost the race “because it came down to a certain geographical area in Jefferson County that voted in bloc.” He did not elaborate.

In 1999, Forgy ran for the Kentucky Supreme Court but lost in a special election to the late James E. Keller of Lexington.

Forgy was mulling a run for the U.S. Senate against McConnell in 2008 but did not file as a candidate. Forgy had backed the county judge in Jefferson County when McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 but over the years sharply criticized him.

McConnell released a statement Thursday saying he was saddened by Forgy’s death, calling him “a prominent Kentucky Republican who made an important mark on our state party.”

“Larry built a high-profile career in both law and politics, making it his life’s work to serve the Commonwealth and its citizens,” McConnell said. “Through his advocacy, he forged friendships with Kentuckians from all corners of our state, and I know we will all miss his humor, lively speeches, and kind heart.”

State Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, a Republican, said in a statement that Forgy was a pioneer in Kentucky GOP politics.

“He was one of the best off-the-cuff stump speakers I ever had the privilege of hearing, never hesitated to speak his mind, and served as an inspiration for many young conservatives growing up in Kentucky,” Quarles said.

State Auditor Mike Harmon, also a Republican, said in a statement that Forgy “dedicated much of his life in advocating for Kentucky.”

In 2004, Forgy co-chaired Bryan Coffman’s unsuccessful race for Central Kentucky’s 6th Congressional district against Democrat Ben Chandler.

Forgy returned to political races when he backed Bevin in the 2014 race for U.S. Senate instead of McConnell and in the 2015 race for governor.

McConnell noted in 2013 that Forgy had contributed $1,000 to Democrat Reid’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2008 and questioned Forgy’s loyalty to the party. Forgy said he contributed to a longtime friend, and anybody who considered him a Democrat “needs to read up a little bit.”

Besides his involvement in Kentucky political races, Forgy was a former Republican national committeeman and state chairman of Ronald Reagan’s successful presidential election bids in 1980 and 1984.

He also was president of the non-profit Health Kentucky, vice chairman of Kentucky Council on Higher Education, chairman of the Finance Committee of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees and a board member at Georgetown College.

He worked in several law firms in Lexington and Louisville and ran for several years his own office in Frankfort.

Lexington political consultant T. J. Litafik was a close friend of Forgy.

“He was not a rabid party idealogue. He always rooted for the little guy. He was thoughtful, an old-school Republican,” said Litafik.

“I think that Larry Forgy was the most influential Republican in Kentucky politics in this last half century who was never elected to public office. There’s not his kind any more.”

This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 7:17 AM.