A man vying to become the next Kentucky governor has legally changed his name to Gatewood Galbraith after a late local celebrity who bid five times for the title but never won enough votes. The 68-year-old Pulaski County resident, who was known as Terrill Wayne Newman until Tuesday, told the Lexington Herald-Leader he doesn't expect to be elected but hopes the gesture will 'warm Galbraith's grave.' His predecessor, who died in 2012 from chronic emphysema, gained a following for his wit, sharp dress sense and support of legalizing marijuana. Terrill Wayne Newman (right), who is vying to become Governor of Kentucky, has legally changed his name to Gatewood Galbraith after the late local celebrity (left) who bid five times for the title but never won . The newly-christened Galbraith filed paperwork on Wednesday to run as an independent for the state's highest office. The Secretary of State's office says independent candidates must obtain 5,000 signatures from registered voters by August 11 to get their names on the general election ballot. Galbraith said he'll run on a similar platform, but will focus on his namesake. 'I mostly will be talking about the great Gatewood Galbraith,' he said. Galbraith says he and the late Galbraith were 'not friends per se,' but they shared mutual friends and knew each other on a first-name basis. Dea Riley, who was the original Galbraith's running mate in 2011, said she thinks he would find the whole name change amusing. 'I can hear him now: "I'll tell the IRS to send him the tax bill,"' Riley said. But she also said the new Galbraith 'has very big shoes to fill' with his name and she hopes he will honor it. 'To have Gatewood's name and message prostituted, for the sake to garner political office, is a personal affront to me in that I was not only his running mate but equally his friend and confidant,' Riley said.
Terrill Wayne Newman is vying to become the next Kentucky governor .
On Tuesday he legally changed his name to Gatewood Galbraith after a late local celebrity who bid five times for the title but never won enough votes .
Newman says he doesn't expect to be elected but hopes the gesture will 'warm Galbraith's grave'