The Eye

Barr's biography says that he once served as a legislative aide to Missouri Republican Jim Talent when he was in the U.S. House (1993-2001). More recently Barr was deputy general counsel to Kentucky Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who beat Chandler in the 2003 election but was defeated for re-election in 2007 by Democratic challenger Steven L. Beshear.

After his loss for governor six years ago, Chandler won a February 2004 special election to succeed Fletcher in the 6th District, which includes Lexington and the state capital of Frankfort.

Chandler has since been re-elected overwhelmingly three times, even though his district has a conservative lean: in the 2008 presidential balloting, John McCain defeated Barack Obama by 55 percent to 43 percent.

In the first eight months of 2009, Chandler sided with his party on 95 percent of votes that essentially divided Democrats and Republicans. He voted for the economic stimulus law and a House-passed bill to create a cap-and-trade system for limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

CQ Politics presently rates the Kentucky 6 race as Safe Democratic, though the rating is subject to change and we will monitor this contest for signs of competitiveness.

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