I sure the heck hope so. The last Republican Governor in Kentucky served in office from 1967-1971 (Louie Nunn, whose son Steve is one of several GOP primary hopefuls for next year).
We all thought we had a chance at the Governor's Office in 1995 with Larry Forgy. But then-candidate Patton was involved in the most election corruption anyone's ever seen, outside of Arkansas and D.C. And to put it in perspective, Kentucky has 120 counties (yes, I know it's too damned many); and exluding the votes from only the western half of Louisville/Jefferson County (read: VERY URBAN AREA), Forgy would have won the 1995 gubernatorial election. That is to say, Forgy would have won, if we counted 119 1/2 counties and not 120.
And, in 1999, no viable Republicans ran for the seat. And the word "viable" is one that I usually shun, because I don't like for people to tell me who is and isn't a viable candidate. But everyone in the know in Kentucky can tell you that senior U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell basically made a deal with Patton that the Republican Party of Kentucky would not run a serious candidate against Patton in 1999 if the Kentucky Democrats would not run a serious candidate against McConnell in 2002. Ergo, Patton won the first-ever second term for a Kentucky governor with ease, and McConnell is on his way to a cake walk in the November Senate race.
Sounds ridiculous on it's face. Who stopped you from running? Mephistopheles himself couldn't have dreamt up Peppy.