y Gary Bauer and William Bennett, who he said were outsiders who lacked knowledge of the two House candidates.[56] Saying he knew both candidates personally, David Williams characterized Gex Williams as mean-spirited and "a full-time anarchist".[56] Robinson lost the primary, but Gex Williams was defeated by Democrat Ken Lucas in the general election.[58] When Gex Williams, who did not seek re-election to his Senate seat in order to run for the House, left the chamber at the end of 1998, David Williams blocked a resolution commending his years of service, a traditional honor for long-serving legislators.[59] In early 1999, weakened by the attempt to remove him as floor leader, Dan Kelly did not seek the post again at the General Assembly's organizational meeting. Williams declared his candidacy for the position, and ally Charlie Borders became a candidate for minority caucus chairman. Williams' leadership team was elected, and Democrat Larry Saunders was re-elected unanimously as President of the Senate. As minority leader, Williams negotiated an agreement with Saunders to allow Republicans to hold a majority in three Senate committees and to allow Republicans to chair those committees.[49] In July 1999, State Senator Dan Seum of Louisville switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, shifting the balance of power from a 20–18 edge for the Democrats to a tie between Democrats and Republicans.[60] The switch called into question how legislation would proceed through the chamber. Historically, the flow of legislation on the floor had been managed by the majority leader, but with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, neither Williams nor Democratic floor leader David Karem could be considered the majority leader. Among the options considered were allowing Karem to retain control as before, allowing Williams and Karem to alternate control daily or weekly, allowing members of the chamber to choose between the two, or flipping a coin to determine who would be in control.[60] Bob Leeper of Paducah rendered the discussion moot when, after talking with Williams, he also switched party affiliations from Democratic to Republican in August 1999, giving Republicans control of that chamber for the first time in state history.[61] Following Leeper's switch, Williams announced that the Republicans, now in the majority, would oust Senate President Larry Saunders and elect a new president.[62] Williams cited the party's deteriorating relationship with Saunders after he called a Democratic caucus meeting, held before Leeper's switch, in which Democrats pledged to block Republicans from exercising floor leadership during the upcoming legislative session.[62] Williams called the move an act of bad faith by Saunders.[62] Saunders pledged to resist the Republicans' ouster, claiming the state constitution called for the election of the Senate President to a two-year, uninterrupted term during the Assembly's odd-year organizational sessions and made no provision for unseating him in the interim.[62] After requesting an advisory opinion on the issue from Attorney General Ben Chandler and threatening to take the case to the Kentucky Supreme Court, Saunders backed down in October 1999, announcing he would resign rather than wage a protracted legal battle.[63] The move left Williams, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate and the third-longest serving members in the entire chamber, as Sauders' presumptive replacement.[4] With Democratic Governor Paul Patton, freed from a constitutional one-term limit by a constitutional amendment in 1992, seeking re-election in 1999, Williams gave Patton his endorsement, snubbing Republican candidate Peppy Martin.[64] Martin won the Republican nomination after most of the party's potential high-profile candidates chose not to run, citing concerns that the state's campaign finance laws would make challenging an incumbent difficult.[64] Although Republican Senator Jim Bunning endorsed Martin and encouraged fellow party leaders to do the same, most Republicans shied from Martin's candidacy because of her erratic campaign style and open support of abortion rights.[64] In the general election Patton garnered 352,099 votes, 60.6 percent of the total; Martin fini
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