Less than 12 hours after the polls closed, here are some notable results and some first impressions.
Liberty Repubs face down the establishment
As noted by multiple analysts leading up to the primary, the “traditional” Republican establishment, led by the likes of the various chambers of commerce and even House leadership, was trying to purge itself of some or all of the so-called “Liberty” caucus in Frankfort. It appears that most of their efforts (though not all) were for naught.
- In House 45, Liberty candidate Thomas Jefferson beat out moderate incumbent Killian Timoney.
- In House 47, Liberty incumbent Felicia Rabourn defeated Mark Gilkison, who had support from various establishment PACs.
- In House 50, Candy Massaroni (somewhat in the Liberty camp) easily defeated her challenger, Andy Stone.
- Similarly, in House 60, Marianne Proctor had no problem defeating Christopher Pavese
- In House 66, T.J. Roberts beat Ed Massey. Massey was trying to regain the seat he lost in 2022.
- Steven Doan had no problem winning in House 69, defeating Diane Brown.
- And in Senate 7’s three-way race, incumbent Adrienne Southworth (Libertarian and sorta Liberty) came in third behind Liberty candidate Aaron Reed, while Ed Gallrein came in second, even with support from House leadership.
As far as I can tell, the only Liberty candidate who lost was Kelcey Rock, who lost to incumbent Michael Meredith in House 19.
“Legacy” candidate loses
When Ruth Ann Palumbo announced she was retiring, the common wisdom was that her son, Jamie Palumbo, would win the primary based on name recognition alone. But in the three-way race, he lost to Anne Gay Donworth 44% to 41%, with Josh Buckman getting 15%.
Most incumbents won, as usual
As expected, most incumbents won their primaries (if they had one). The only two that lost in the House were Richard Heath in House 2, losing to Kimberly Holloway, and Killian Timoney in House 45. In the Senate, the only incumbent to lose was Adrienne Southworth in Senate 7.
The 80-Plus Club
Five candidates received more than 80 percent of the votes in their race, with four of those being incumbents.
- Hal Rogers (Congress 5 incumbent) – 82%
- Terry Hatton (House 67) – 82%
- Savannah Maddox (House 61 incumbent) – 83%
- Morgan McGarvey (Congress 3 incumbent) – 84%
- Timmy Truett (House 89 incumbent) – 89%
The Closer-Than-Expected Club
On the other end of the scale, some incumbents had some nail-biting moments.
- In House 30, Dem Daniel Grossberg had to come from behind to defeat Mitra Subedi by 50 votes, 51% to 49%.
- In House 64, Repub Kimberly Moser won by 84 votes out of 3,000 cast, 51% to 49%.
Recount coming
We always have to have at least one race that is too close to call, and this year’s nominee for “Can’t Get a Sheet of Paper Between Them” is the Dem nominee in House 36. Out of 2,033 votes cast, only 5 votes separate Colin McDowell and William Zorn.
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