FRANKFORT — One of Kentucky’s most colorful political figures, Gatewood Galbraith, a perennial candidate for statewide office, has died.

Galbraith, 64, apparently died in his sleep and his body was discovered by a family member Wednesday morning. The Fayette County Coroner listed the cause of death as complications from emphysema.

The Carlise native was a criminal defense attorney in Lexington who ran seven times for statewide office including five times for governor, the most recently this past fall when he got 8.9 percent of the vote in the election won by Gov. Steve Beshear defeated Galbraith and Republican David Williams. He ran previously for agriculture commissioner and attorney general. His most successful race was in 1999 when he garnered 15 percent of the vote in the gubernatorial race won by Democrat Paul Patton.

Early in his political career, Galbraith campaigned for the decriminalization of marijuana, claiming his chronic asthma benefited from smoking the drug. As he grew older, Galbraith offered more mainstream solutions to some of Kentucky’s chronic problems while still taking provocative and often unpopular positions on things like mountaintop removal. But voters always associated him with the marijuana issue.

Quick-witted and articulate, Galbraith often told reporters, “I’m a perennial candidate because Kentucky has perennial problems.” He said if voters had elected him in previous races then the state might not still be facing the same problems.

“As anyone who knew Gatewood will say, he was a colorful character,” said Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo. “Whether you agreed with Gatewood or didn’t agree with him, I think we always admired the courage with which he stated his views.”

Beshear called Galbraith “a gutsy, articulate and passionate advocate who never shied away from a challenge or potential controversy.”

Last August at the annual Fancy Farm Picnic, Galbraith blistered Beshear for the governor’s speech in a highly partisan, political environment about his visit to the Middle East to visit Kentucky troops there, accusing Beshear of hiding behind the flag and servicemen. Galbraith said, as a former Marine, he was offended by Beshear’s comments.

Ferrell Wellman, host of Comment on Kentucky and a lontime Frankfort political reporter before teaching journalism at Eastern Kentucky University, had known Galbraith since their days as students at Lexington’s Lafayette High School. He said Galbraith’s speech at Fancy Farm reflected what others might have been thinking.

“Gatewood said what a lot of people — particularly veterans —were thinking,” Wellman said. “He caught some heat, and he went overboard a little bit, but he had the courage to say what others were thinking.”

Wellman said Galbraith took on controversial and unpopular subjects when others wouldn’t, including mountaintop removal. “That kind of voice is going to be missed,” Wellman said. “He was a valuable contributor in his own way.”

Williams said he and Galbraith had been friends for almost 40 years.

“His wit, humor, and intellect made him one of the most intriguing of Kentucky originals,” Williams said. Dea Riley, Galbraith’s running mate in 2011, said she spoke with him Monday evening and Galbraith told her he didn’t feel well and was suffering “from a horrible cold.”

“He said it was the sickest he thought he’d ever been,” Riley said Wednesday. “I was concerned but he assured me he was OK. I’m just heartbroken. I’ve lost a very dear friend. This is a real loss for the state of Kentucky.”

Galbraith was regarded as an able criminal defense attorney but he encountered his own personal difficulties, falling behind on child support payments for a time years ago and at one time filing for personal bankruptcy. He said he slept for a time in his car in order to make the child support payments and he said last fall near the end of the gubernatorial campaign he couldn’t afford to continue paying for statewide races.

During a speech to the Kentucky Association of Counties, Galbraith announced the 2011 campaign would be his last, saying: “Losing statewide elections doesn’t pay worth a damn” as the crowd laughed and cheered his speech.

He also authored an autobiography, “The Last Free Man in America,” which promoted personal liberties and recounted his childhood in Carlisle.

Galbraith is survived by three daughters. Funeral arrangements are pending at Milward Funeral Directors in Lexington.

RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort, Ky. He may be contacted by email at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.