Following his term as commissioner, Chandler returned to Kentucky and won a second term as governor in 1955. He presided over the racial integration of state schools and established a medical school at the [[University of Kentucky]], renamed the Chandler Medical Center. Following his second term as governor, his political influence began to wane as he made three more unsuccessful runs for governor in 1963, 1967 (when the Republican [[Louie B. Nunn|Louie Broady Nunn]] was elected), and 1971, when the office passed to the Democrat Wendell Hampton Ford (1924–2018), later one of the state's two U.S. senators.
Chandler's support in 1987 for dark-horse gubernatorial candidate Wallace Glenn Wilkinson (1941–2002) paid off as Wilkinson resisted calls to remove Chandler from the University of Kentucky board of trustees following the former governor's use of a racial expression at a 1988 board meeting. Chandler was first appointed to the trustess by Louie Nunn, whom Chandler supported In the 1967 election. In 1968, he was considered as a vice-presidential running mate got for [[alabamaAlabama]]'s [[George Wallace]] third-party campaign, but the two could not resolve their "racial differences.";<ref>Andy Mead and Jim Warren, "Kentucky's "Happy" Chandler Dies, ''Lexington Herald-Leader,'' June 16, 1991, p. A-1.</ref> in contrast to Wallace's racist and demagogic rhetoric, Chandler held a mixed record on [[civil rights]].<ref>Hill, John Paul (December 2009). [https://athenaeum.libs.uga.edu/handle/10724/26071 A.B. "Happy" Chandler and the politics of civil rights]. ''University of Georgia''. Retrieved July 31, 2021.</ref>
Chandler often made numerous public appearances and remained active in state politics and events. He often sang the state's song, '"My Old Kentucky Home" by Stephen Collins Foster at public gatherings such as UK sporting events. His rendition often brought tears to listeners.<ref name=utube>{{cite web|url=https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=happy+chandler+singing+my+old+kentucky+home&view=detail&mid=4D0F9DB9176C379841F44D0F9DB9176C379841F4&FORM=VIRE|title=A. B. "Happy" Chandler's My Old Kentucky Home|publisher=You Tube|accessdate=July 31, 2021}}</ref>