As May’s primary election draws near in Kentucky, WKMS – and Kentucky Public Radio – have worked to keep readers and listeners informed on races across the commonwealth.
Judge-Executive races
Many local offices are up for grabs this year, including county judge-executive seats. Similar to city mayors, judge-executives serve as the head of their local government. They preside over the county’s fiscal court and are responsible for submitting an annual budget to this body for approval. Judge-executives can also appoint people to serve on county boards and commissions.
For the WKMS 2026 Primary Voter Guide, our reporters reached out to candidates in judge-executive races across our coverage area. Some of those primary races are likely to decide who wins the office.
Candidates were each sent the same sets of questions and offered the chance to either answer them in an interview or by email. Candidates’ responses were then edited for length and clarity, when necessary.
All of the local races WKMS has previewed are taking place on the Republican side of the ballot. Since Kentucky has a closed primary election system, this means that only voters who are registered as Republicans can vote in these races.
Though WKMS invited candidates from across the Purchase Area to participate in this Voter Guide, we only received responses from candidates in the following counties:
For information regarding downballot races in other counties around western Kentucky, check the Kentucky Attorney General’s office website.
State legislature
All of Kentucky’s state House seats are up for election this year. State representatives are elected in even-numbered years and serve two-year terms.
Nineteen of Kentucky’s 38 state Senate offices are up for election in 2026. This year, candidates in even-numbered districts are running to serve four-year terms in the state chamber.
In the WKMS region, there is one contested legislative primary race. In District 2, which includes all of Graves County and part of McCracken County, incumbent Republican Rep. Kim Holloway is facing two challengers: former state Rep. Richard Heath – whom Holloway defeated in 2024 – and Mayfield city council member Nate Cox.
Since no Democrats are running for the seat, this primary will likely determine who will represent the district in Frankfort next year.
All three candidates gave interviews to WKMS discussing why they are running for office and why they think voters should elect them to office.
More information on the race for Kentucky's state House District 2 seat is available here.
The race to replace U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell
Later this year, Kentuckians will elect – for the first time since Rand Paul took office in 2011 – a new U.S. Senator, with Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell retiring this year after holding the seat for more than four decades. But, before that happens, Kentucky will have to decide whose names are going on the ballot.
Many Republican ballots for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination will have a dozen names for voters to choose from. Among them are sitting U.S. Congressman Andy Barr – who has the endorsement of President Donald Trump – former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and a bevy of grassroots and newcomer candidates (Anissa Catlett, James Duncan, Michael Faris, Valerie Fredrick, Jonathan Holliday, Jimmy I. Leon, A. Nick Shelley, George Washington and Other Donald Wenzel). Kentucky businessman Nate Morris dropped out of the race in early May after Trump asked him to step away from his Senate campaign and join the president’s administration as an ambassador.
Things are a little less crowded on Democratic ticket, but voters will still be choosing from several Senate hopefuls. Familiar faces on the Democratic side include former Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker, retired U.S. Marine Corps member Amy McGrath and current Kentucky House of Representatives Floor Leader Pamela Stevenson, as well as Joshua Blanton, Logan Forsythe, Dale Romans and Vincent Anthony Thompson.
Every seat in the U.S. House is also up for election this year. Republican James Comer, whose district includes all of the Purchase Area and much of the Pennyrile Area, has three candidates running against him in the Republican primary: David Sims, Robert James Sutherby and Penny Arcos.
John “Drew” Williams is the only Democrat who filed to run for Kentucky’s First Congressional District seat. He’ll face the winner of the Republican primary in November’s General Election.
Meanwhile, in the Second Congressional District – which includes southcentral Kentucky and stretches into western Kentucky counties like Daviess, McLean and Muhlenberg – Republican Congressman Brett Guthrie will appear on the GOP side of the ballot along with challengers G. “Shay” Perry-Adelmann and Joshua M. Ferguson. Four Democrats are campaigning for their party’s nomination for this congressional seat. They are William Dakota Compton, David S. Hatfield, Hank Linderman and Megan Wingfield.
Voter information
Kentuckians can check their voter registration status – including their political affiliation – on the Secretary of State’s website by entering their legal first and last names and date of birth. On this page, voters can also find which state House, state Senate and congressional districts they live in. You can also find a list of locations in your county where you can vote on Election Day, as well as information on how to find early in-person absentee polling locations. Kentucky’s Secretary of State website also has a list of polling locations by county.
Democratic and Republican voters in every county will be able to weigh in on their party’s candidates for the open U.S. Senate seat. To check what other congressional, state legislative and local races will be on your ballot, you can find your county’s sample ballot on the Secretary of State’s website.
Voters who are registered as independent or in third parties will only be able to vote in the primary if there is a contested nonpartisan race, such as the mayor’s office in some cities like Mayfield, on their ballot.
Changing your political affiliation now would not take effect before this month’s primaries. The voter registration deadline for the 2026 primary has passed, but it’s not too late to register for the November General Election.
Voters can request mail-in absentee ballots on the Secretary of State’s website through May 5. County clerks must have your mail-in ballot by 6 p.m. local time on Election Day in order for your vote to be counted. All 120 counties have a drop box where voters can return these mail-in ballots.
Kentucky also has times before Election Day where voters in every county can cast ballots early in-person. In-person excused absentee voting – where voters must meet certain eligibility requirements to cast ballots during this time – will be available statewide on May 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 13. All voters are allowed to cast ballots ahead of Election Day during the no-excuse in-person absentee voting days on May 14, 15 and 16. Times and locations on these early voting days vary by county.
Primary Election Day in Kentucky is May 19. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time. If you are in line at 6 p.m. that day, you will be allowed to vote.
