Republican candidate Mike Chaney has won a hotly contestedelection for the post of Mississippi insurance commissioner,defeating Democrat Gary Anderson, according to unofficialresults.

Mr. Anderson ran for the post after he unseated longstandingincumbent commissioner George Dale in the Democratic primary.

A representative of Mississippi's secretary of state said itwould be 10 days before official results were in.

Press reports indicated Mr. Chaney won by a 57 percent to 43percent margin. A report in the Clarion Ledger, Jackson, Miss., putresults at 399,722 for Mr. Chaney and 304,366 for Mr. Anderson.

Mr. Chaney, a state senator, ran a campaign in which he promisedto "hold insurers accountable," lower rates and make sure companiespaid claims fairly.

He attacked Mr. Anderson as a government lobbyist with liberalleanings who was in the pocket of personal injury lawyers.

Mr. Anderson pledged to "aggressively investigate and bring tojustice those who commit insurance fraud."

In Kentucky, in a contest that could affect the insurancecommissioner, the State Board of Elections reported that Democraticcandidate Steve Beshear defeated incumbent Republican Gov. ErnieFletcher in the gubernatorial race by a margin of 58.7 percent to41.3 percent, or 619,654 votes compared with 435,857.

The results reflect 99.9 percent of precinct results, accordingto the State Board of Elections. The change in administration couldaffect the insurance commissioner's post, an appointed position.Currently, Julie McPeak is executive director of Kentucky's officeof insurance.

In Washington State, Referendum Measure 67, which addressesinsurance fair conduct related to claims for coverage or benefits,passed by a 57 percent margin. The vote total, according to theWashington secretary of state, was 520,667.