In mid-September, after Fletcher issued the pardons, a "Courier-Journal" poll found Fletcher's approval rating at 38 percent, tying the lowest rating reached by his predecessor, Paul E. Patton, during the sex scandal that tarnished his administration. On September 14, 2005, Fletcher fired nine employees, including four of the nine he pardoned two weeks earlier. The firings were praised by Fletcher critic Charles Wells of the Kentucky Association of State Employees, who said: "When all else fails, the governor did the right thing." However, Democratic state senator and former governor Julian Carroll criticized Fletcher for not firing the indicted officials when he issued the pardons. Fletcher also called for the firing of state Republican Party chair Darrell Brock, Jr. due to Brock's role in the merit scandal. The state Republican executive committee met on September 17, but did not act on Fletcher's call to fire Brock.