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Peppy Martin
Peppy Martin
Personal details
Born	Josephine Ellen Martin; May 1, 1946 (age 78)
Political party	Republican (before 2006); Democratic (2006–present)
Education	Connecticut College (BA); Bryn Mawr College (MA)

Peppy Martin (born Josephine Ellen Martin; May 1, 1946)^[1] is an American public relations executive who is also a perennial candidate for office in the state of Kentucky. She was the unsuccessful Republican nominee in the 1999 gubernatorial election, and later ran in the 2003 Republican primary for Auditor of Public Accounts, and in the 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election Democratic primary for governor.^[2]

Early career

Martin began her political career as an intern for U.S. Senator Thruston Ballard Morton. In 1971, she worked in the office of Governor Louie B. Nunn. She then launched a career in public relations, eventually running her own firm in Hart County, Kentucky. As of 2023^[update], she resides in Glenview, Kentucky.^[1]

Martin legally changed her name to "Peppy" from her given name of Josephine Ellen when she unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Kentucky General Assembly in the 1970s.^[3]

Campaigns

In 1999, Martin ran for governor against Paul E. Patton, the Democratic incumbent. Through a change in the Kentucky Constitution, Patton became the state's first governor eligible to seek a second consecutive term since James Garrard in 1799. Martin's running mate was Wanda Cornelius, a school board member from Taylor County. In the Republican primary, Martin defeated perennial candidate David Lynn Williams (not to be confused with then-State Senator David L. Williams). The Martin-Cornelius ticket lost to incumbent governor Patton and Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry in a landslide in the general election.

Martin announced her intent to run for president as a Reform Party candidate in 1996 and, later, as a Reform candidate for the United States Congress in 2000, though she never qualified to appear on the ballot in either race.^[3] In 2003, Martin sought the Republican nomination for the office of Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts, ultimately losing in the primary.^[4] Although she announced that she would be a Democratic candidate for Governor of Kentucky in 2007, Martin ultimately failed to appear on the ballot.^[5] Martin unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Andy Beshear in the Democratic primary of the 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election.^[6]^[7]

Electoral history

Kentucky gubernatorial election, 1999^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Paul E. Patton	352,099	60.70%	+9.81%
	Republican	Peppy Martin	128,788	22.20%	−26.51%
	Reform	Gatewood Galbraith	88,930	15.33%	+14.93%
	Natural Law	Nailah Jumoke-Yarbrough	6,934	1.20%
	Write-ins		3,323	0.57%
Majority			223,311	38.50%	+36.32%
Turnout			580,074
	Democratic hold		Swing

Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts Republican primary results, 2003^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Linda Greenwell	50,366	40.42
	Republican	Peppy Martin	32,421	26.02
	Republican	Basha Cannon Roberts	25,216	20.24
	Republican	Osi Onyekwuluje	16,596	13.32
Total votes			124,599	100

Kentucky Gubernatorial Democratic primary results, 2023^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Andy Beshear (incumbent)	176,589	91.3
	Democratic	Geoff Young	9,865	5.1
	Democratic	Peppy Martin	6,913	3.6
Total votes			193,367	100.0