In the general election, Carroll faced Republican Robert E. Gable, a coal company owner. The main issue of the campaign was the imposition of desegregation busing on the city of Louisville. Both candidates opposed the busing, but Gable did so more vehemently and criticized the sitting governor for not "doing something about it". In a televised debate with Carroll, Gable insisted on using what he called a "truth bell". Gable rang the bell every time that he perceived that Carroll was not telling the truth. Eventually, the moderator of the debate, newspaper publisher Al Smith, ordered Gable to put the bell away, and Gable's credibility suffered in the eyes of voters. Carroll won the general election by a vote of 470,159 to 277,998, representing a record margin of victory in the Kentucky governor's race. He carried every congressional district including Jefferson County, where a Democrat had not won a race in 20 years. His separately selected running mate, Thelma Stovall, became the first woman elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky.