Republican candidate Mike Chaney has won a hotly contested election for the post of Mississippi insurance commissioner, defeating Democrat Gary Anderson, according to unofficial results.

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

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

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

Mr. Chaney, a state senator, ran a campaign in which he promised to "hold insurers accountable," lower rates and make sure companies paid claims fairly.

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

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

In Kentucky, in a contest that could affect the insurance commissioner, the State Board of Elections reported that Democratic candidate Steve Beshear defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher in the gubernatorial race by a margin of 58.7 percent to 41.3 percent, or 619,654 votes compared with 435,857.

The results reflect 99.9 percent of precinct results, according to the State Board of Elections. The change in administration could affect the insurance commissioner's post, an appointed position. Currently, Julie McPeak is executive director of Kentucky's office of insurance.

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

Special Reports /

GOP's Chaney Takes Miss. Commissioner Tilt

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