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Elections in Kentucky |
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Government |
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Kentucky on November 7, 2023. [1]
Notably, few Democratic candidates ran for statewide offices. The Lexington Herald-Leader attributed this to Kentucky's strong Republican lean and the fact that Republicans gained seats in the Kentucky General Assembly in 2022. However, Democrats have pointed to recent victories by liberal judges in nonpartisan elections and the defeat of a 2022 ballot measure that would have removed abortion rights from the Kentucky Constitution as signs that they can still win in the state. In addition to the candidates listed below, former state representative Attica Scott was speculated as a potential statewide candidate, but she did not run for any office in 2023. [2]
Incumbent governor Andy Beshear ran for re-election. [3] He faced Republican nominee, incumbent attorney general Daniel Cameron. Due to his high favorability ratings, Beshear was considered the favorite in the election; however, polling tightened in the week leading up to the election. [4] Despite this apparent late momentum for Cameron, Beshear went on to comfortably win re-election by five percentage points, improving on his 2019 performance by 4.6 percentage points.
Incumbent attorney general Daniel Cameron ran for governor. [5]
Kentucky State Representative for the 43rd District Pamela Stevenson announced a run to succeed Cameron. She was the only high-profile state-level Democrat (barring Andy Beshear and Jacqueline Coleman) to have announced a run for statewide office. [6]
Russell Coleman, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky was the only Republican candidate to have declared a run, and thus won the Republican primary unopposed. [7] [8]
Coleman would go on to win the election by 16 percentage points. He also narrowly improved on Daniel Cameron’s win in 2019 by 0.6 percentage points.
Incumbent secretary of state Michael Adams ran for re-election. [9] He faced former state representative Charles "Buddy" Wheatley.
Unlike 2019, the race wasn't close. Adams won re-election by 21.3 percetange points, improving upon his past performance by 16.7 percentage points.
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County results Metcalf: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Bowman: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent treasurer Allison Ball was term-limited and could not seek re-election. She ran successfully for state auditor. [10]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Mark Metcalf | 135,400 | 51.2 | |
Republican | Andrew Cooperrider | 77,347 | 29.3 | |
Republican | OJ Oleka | 51,582 | 19.5 | |
Total votes | 264,329 | 100 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Mark Metcalf | 735,066 | 57.2 | |
Democratic | Michael Bowman | 549,257 | 42.8 | |
Total votes | 1,284,323 | 100 |
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County results Ball: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Reeder: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Auditor Mike Harmon was term-limited and could not seek re-election. He ran for governor. [18]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Allison Ball | 190,685 | 72.4 | |
Republican | Derek Petteys | 72,581 | 27.6 | |
Total votes | 263,266 | 100 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Allison Ball | 782,736 | 60.7 | |
Democratic | Kim Reeder | 505,742 | 39.3 | |
Total votes | 1,288,478 | 100 |
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County results Shell: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Enlow: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles ran for governor. [21]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Jonathan Shell | 148,169 | 56.5 | |
Republican | Richard Heath | 114,291 | 43.5 | |
Total votes | 262,460 | 100 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Sierra Enlow | 103,243 | 58.7 | |
Democratic | Mikael Malone | 72,560 | 41.3 | |
Total votes | 175,803 | 100 |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [lower-alpha 1] | Margin of error | Jonathan Shell (R) | Sierra Enlow (D) | Undecided |
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Public Opinion Strategies (R) [upper-alpha 1] | July 19–20, 2023 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 45% | 27% | 27% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Jonathan Shell | 762,992 | 59.4 | |
Democratic | Sierra Enlow | 522,335 | 40.6 | |
Total votes | 1,285,327 | 100 |
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Ryan Francis Quarles is president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. An American Republican politician, he served as Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky from 2016 to 2024 and in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2011 to 2016.
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