Kentucky. Governor (1851-1855 : Powell)

Lazarus W. Powell served as governor of Kentucky from 1851 to 1855. He was a Democrat and faced the difficulty of working with a legislature controlled by Whigs.

Powell was born in Henderson County, Kentucky in 1812. He attended St. Joseph's College in Bardstown, and Transylvania University in Lexington before being admitted to the bar in 1835. He entered public office for the first time in 1836 as a Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, but lost his re-election bid. In 1848 Powell was the Democratic candidate for governor, and was defeated by the Whig candidate, John J. Crittenden. Powell entered the gubernatorial race again in 1851, and this time narrowly defeated his Whig opponent, Archibald Dixon.

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