week before the election, when he began running ads questioning the amount of money Wilkinson claimed would be generated by a state lottery. Wilkinson won the primary, garnering 36 percent of the vote to 26 percent for Brown, 18 percent for Beshear, 12 percent for Stumbo, and 6 percent for Carroll. In total, Wilkinson spent a record $4 million during the primary campaign. Kentucky historian Thomas D. Clark opined that Wilkinson's lavish spending during the campaign prompted the legislature to adopt campaign finance reform measures. Gubernatorial campaign of 1987 Democrats enjoyed a 3-to-1 voter registration advantage in Kentucky, and while he had been the underdog in the primary campaign, Wilkinson became the heavy favorite against the Republican nominee, State Representative John Harper of Shepherdsville. Larry Forgy, who had been groomed for the Republican nomination, unexpectedly dropped out of the race before the primary, leaving the party at a significant disadvantage with a largely unknown and underfunded candidate. While Harper began his general election campaign immediately, Wilkinson made few public appearances – except for fundraisers – until the second week in September. He also refused to endorse the $125 million education reform measure that sitting governor Martha Layne Collins had guided through the legislature in 1985, which cost him the endorsement of the Kentucky Education Association. The association endorsed Harper, marking the first time in its history it had endorsed a Republican gubernatorial candidate, but endorsed Brereton Jones, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. Harper attacked Wilkinson's lottery proposal as "Alice in Wonderland" economics. In addition, Harper's campaign raised a number of ethical issues with regard to Wilkinson's business dealings. Gary Stafford, Wilkinson's brother-in-law who was serving as president of Wallace's Book Store, pleaded guilty to illegal wiretapping and rolling back the odometers on company vehicles. The company was also forced to pay $44,641 in back taxes. Further, Republican state chairman Bob Gable questioned whether Wilkinson had helped Italian businessmen circumvent laws that made it difficult to export Italian currency by disguising real estate ventures as legitimate business transactions with Jernigan Export Timber. Gable also hired a private investigator who determined that there was "substantial reason" to suspect that foul play was involved in the death of Wilkinson's business partner, Jerome Jernigan. Despite Gable's allegations and the investigator's findings, Lexington police officials said they saw no reason to re-open the investigation. Harper was at a substantial fundraising disadvantage, raising only $225,000