Chandler endorsed dark horse candidate Wallace G. Wilkinson in the 1987 Democratic primary, and his endorsement was considered crucial to Wilkinson's victory in the race. After Wilkinson's election as governor, he restored Chandler's voting rights on the University of Kentucky's board of trustees. (In 1981, Governor John Y. Brown Jr. had designated Chandler an "honorary," non-voting, member of the board.) While discussing the University of Kentucky's decision to dispose of its investments in South Africa at a meeting of the university's board of trustees on April 5, 1988, Chandler remarked, "You know Zimbabwe's all nigger now. There aren't any whites." The comment immediately drew calls for Chandler's resignation from the University Senate Council and the Student Government Association, and approximately 50 students marched on university president David Roselle's office demanding for Chandler to apologize or resign. Commenting on the controversy the next day, Chandler said, "I was raised in a small town in Western Kentucky. There were 400 whites and 400 blacks, and we called them niggers and they didn't mind. And I reverted temporarily, at least, to that expression, and of course, I wish I hadn't." That apology did not satisfy many, and 200 protesters marched onto the State Capitol, demanding for Wilkinson to remove Chandler from the board. Wilkinson refused to remove Chandler and urged the crowd to forgive him.