After-the-election News and Notes

It’s the day after the midterm elections, and even though we’re still waiting to see if the Repubs will actually take the U.S. House, Senate, or both, there are still a number of things we DO know – including that the Dems outperformed everyone’s expectations, and that Trump continues to be a drag on the GOP.

Let’s get to the News & Notes.

Constitutional amendments voted down

Kentucky voters rejected both of the Repubs’ attempts to amend the state constitution. Apparently even in a red state, people think a total ban on abortion is a bad idea. And, most people don’t want to give our legislature any more time to pass laws than they already have. So, a big No on Amendment 1 and a bigger No on Amendment 2.

Repubs gain even MORE seats in the state legislature

The GOP flipped some more seats in the KY House, and also gained a seat in the KY Senate because the Dems didn’t run anyone for the seat. At this point, out of the 138 seats in the General Assembly, Repubs hold about 114 of them.

Fischer loses bid for SCOKY; Shepherd keeps Circuit Court seat

Joe Fischer, the author of the abortion trigger law and a far-right Repub who ran for the Supreme Court of KY as a far-right Repub, lost his race against the incumbent, Michelle Keller. And, Judge Phillip Shepherd was reelected to the Franklin Circuit Court seat, which is an important seat because it often decides issues from Frankfort.

Greenberg, Gorton win mayorships; McGarvey wins Yarmuth’s seat; Booker loses to Paul

All of these races went pretty much as expected, with Craig Greenberg winning the Louisville mayor’s race and Linda Gorton winning for mayor in Lexington. Morgan McGarvey picked up John Yarmuth’s seat in the U.S. House, but Charles Booker lost his bid to unseat Rand Paul in the U.S. Senate.

Berea elects first openly transgender elected official in Kentucky history

Voters in Berea made history, electing an openly transgender person to office for the first time in Kentucky history. Rebecca Blankenship won a write-in race on Tuesday to become a member of the Berea Community School Board. The Richmond Register reported that she won the seat with 55 votes. The Fairness Campaign, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy group, wrote in a post on Facebook that Blankenship is the first openly transgender elected official in Kentucky. (Herald-Leader)

Women dominate Jefferson County judge races in 2022 election

Women continued to dominate judicial elections on Tuesday in Jefferson County, where candidates vied in 16 contested races. Men won only one of the five races in which a male faced a female − with Anthony Jones defeating Emily Monarch. (Courier-Journal)

Judge who signed Breonna Taylor search warrant loses reelection

Judge Mary Shaw, who signed the warrant that led to the death of Breonna Taylor, was defeated by challenger Tracy Davis. Initial results from the Jefferson County Clerk’s office show Davis beating Shaw by about 2,300 votes. Shaw was the only incumbent circuit judge in Louisville facing a challenge this year. (WFPL)

Computer glitches, no write-in votes. What’s going on with Kentucky’s election results?

Computer glitches in reporting, including the votes cast for write-in candidates, apparently are delaying completed Kentucky vote tallies. Almost no votes cast for write-in candidates, including in the Sixth Congressional District where Democrat Randy Cravens challenged both Republican incumbent Andy Barr and official party nominee Geoff Young, were appearing in vote totals or percentages of votes cast. (Herald-Leader)

And from the Twitterverse ...

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