former candidate Bert T. Combs or former Louisville mayor Wilson Wyatt. Clements united the faction behind Combs, making Wilson Wyatt their candidate for lieutenant governor and promising him support for later races. Combs defeated the Chandler candidate, Harry Lee Waterfield in the Democratic primary and went on to win the general election. In 1960, Combs appointed Clements as state highway commissioner. Some state newspapers charged that Clements had demanded this post at the head of the state's largest executive department in exchange for supporting Combs, a charge Combs denied. Others wondered if Clements took the post in order to organize the state political machinery for his friend Lyndon Johnson, who was rumored to be considering a run for president. Still others believed that, from his powerful post, Clements would be the real governor and Combs only a puppet. Scandal continued to plague Clements as highway commissioner. In March 1960, news broke that the highway department was about to lease 34 used dump trucks at a very favorable price from Louisville Ford dealer Thurston Cooke, who had served as finance chairman for Combs' gubernatorial campaign. Some charged that this amounted to a political payoff by Clements. Combs, already under fire for appointing Clements, canceled the lease bid on April 19. Clements was offended by this action and considered it a public rebuke. The incident caused a rift between Combs and Clements that never fully healed, although Clements did not resign immediately. In August 1960, Clements met with Combs and told him he wanted to resign to work for the vice-presidential campaign of Lyndon Johnson. Combs called a press conference and announced that Clements' resignation would be effective September 1 and that he would be replaced by Henry Ward. The resignation was the end of the Clements faction of the state Democratic party. His split with Combs was so severe that he allied with his longtime foe, Happy Chandler, against the new Combs faction of the party. In the 1962 senatorial race, Clements opposed Wilson Wyatt's challenge to Senator Thruston Morton. Morton won re-election, ending Wyatt's political career. Chandler again sought the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1963. Clements appeared on stage with Chandler at a rally where Chandler claimed that Combs had arranged the truck deal to discredit Clements. Chandler hoped to damage Combs' reputation and, by extension, that of his hand-picked successor Edward T. Breathitt. His strategy was unsuccessful; Breathitt carried