 Beshear's initial rise to political prominence was interrupted in 1987 when he finished third in a five-candidate Democratic gubernatorial primary election. The Beshear campaign's sparring with that of former Governor Brown, the second-place finisher in the primary, opened the door for political novice Wallace Wilkinson's well-financed campaign to achieve a come-from-behind upset in the race. For the next 20 years, Beshear practiced law at a Lexington law firm. His only foray into politics during this period was an unsuccessful challenge to Senator Mitch McConnell in 1996. In 2007, however, Beshear was drawn back into politics by the vulnerability of incumbent Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher, whose administration was under extended investigation by then-Attorney General Greg Stumbo, over violations of the state's merit system. In the 2007 gubernatorial election, Beshear emerged from a six-candidate Democratic primary – largely on the strength of his pledge to expand casino gambling as a means of further funding social programs like education – and defeated Fletcher in the general election. Beshear won re-election in 2011, defeating Republican David L. Williams and Independent Gatewood Galbraith. He was ineligible for re-election in 2015 due to term limits imposed by the Kentucky Constitution.
