Primary elections were held on May 26, 1987.
Democratic primary Candidates •
Wallace Wilkinson, businessman •
John Y. Brown Jr., former
Governor •
Steve Beshear, incumbent
Lieutenant Governor and future Governor • W. Grady Stumbo, former Secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Human Resources •
Julian Carroll, former Governor • Stanley Luttrell • Dinwiddle Lampton Jr.
Results Republican primary Candidates •
John Harper,
State Representative • Joseph E. Johnson III • Leonard "Buck" Beasley • Thurman Jerome Hamlin
Results ==General election==