Alben William Barkley was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served as the 35th vice president of the United States from 1949 to 1953 under President Harry S. Truman. In 1905, he was elected to local offices and in 1912 as a U.S. representative. Serving in both houses of Congress, he was a liberal Democrat, supporting President Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom domestic agenda and foreign policy.

The 1923 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1923. Democratic nominee William J. Fields defeated Republican nominee Charles I. Dawson, the attorney general, with 53.25% of the vote. The Democratic State Central Executive Committee chose Fields to replace nominee J. Campbell Cantrill, a U.S. representative who died suddenly on September 2 two months before the election.