Voters across Kentucky – and in six other states – cast ballots in primary elections Tuesday, with some of the results setting matchups for this November’s general election and others entirely deciding races.
In communities across the state, Kentuckians weighed in on candidates for local government leaders and for lawmakers that will represent them in Frankfort – and Washington, D.C.
To see complete unofficial primary election results in western Kentucky, click on your desired county:
Several judge-executive seats are up for grabs this year in far western Kentucky. Here’s a rundown of those races, and where the candidates stand going into this fall’s general election:
- In Caldwell County, fiscal court magistrate Jeff Simms defeated Chris Noel for the Republican nomination for judge-executive. He’ll face Democrat James Trent Fox in November’s general election. Incumbent Judge-Executive Kota Young did not run for reelection.
Paul Rister - Calloway County Judge-Executive Kenny Imes, a two-time Kentucky state representative who was appointed to the post by former Gov. Matt Bevin in 2018, lost his reelection bid to Paul Rister, a second-term Calloway County magistrate. Rister will face a pair of independent candidates – Boone Chambers and Gidget Manning – in fall’s general election, per Calloway County Clerk Antonia D. Faulkner.
- Republican candidate Jessica Galloway won the GOP nomination for Carlisle County judge-executive over Nick Teasley. She’ll face Democrat Roxie Toon in November’s general election.
- Crittenden County Republicans voted to give incumbent Judge-Executive Perry Newcom the nomination for the office. He beat out two challengers in Todd Campbell and Nathan Ratley. Newcom, who is running for his fifth term in office, does not have any opponents in the general election.
- Incumbent Fulton County Democratic Judge-Executive Jim Martin, who’s served the community in various offices for five decades, lost his reelection bid to primary opponent Chris Wade Adams. Adams will face a Republican opponent, Rob Coffey, in November.
- In Graves County, longtime county commissioner Todd Hayden beat out Dale Usher and Cody Jones for the Republican judge-executive nomination. No Democrat awaits Hayden in November. Incumbent Judge-Executive Jesse Perry, an independent, did not file for reelection.
- Hickman County Republicans voted to give Kory Naranjo, a magistrate on the county’s fiscal court, the GOP nomination for the judge-exec seat over Justin Dewayne Jackson, 65% to 35%. No Democrat has filed to run for the seat. Incumbent Kenny Wilson is not running for reelection.
- Republicans in Livingston County voted to give Michael Williams the GOP nomination for the judge-executive seat over Tina Tinsley, 65% to 35%. Williams will face Democratic nominee Teris N. Swanson, who previously served in the office after Gov. Andy Beshear appointed her to the role in 2024, in November.
Craig Clymer - McCracken County Judge-Executive Craig Clymer beat out a field of competitors in his bid for reelection, including Paducah businessman Matt Moore and McCracken County Commissioner Richard Abraham. Clymer took 53% of the vote to Moore’s 28% and Abraham’s 18%. While no Democrat has filed to run for the McCracken seat, Paducah Mayor George Bray announced his intent to run for the office as an independent earlier this year. It’s not yet been confirmed that he will appear on November’s ballot.
- Todd County incumbent Judge-Executive Todd Mansfield beat out Kent Knight for the Republican nomination. No Democrat awaits him in the general election.
- In Trigg County, incumbent Judge-Executive Stan Humphries handily defeated Sam Carter for the Republican nomination, 79% to 21%. No Democrat has filed to run for the office.
- Union County Republicans put their support behind incumbent Judge-Executive Adam O’Nan. The incumbent defeated his opponent Marvin Butts by a wide margin, taking 83% of the vote to Butts’ 17%. No Democrat awaits O’Nan in November’s general election.
- Webster County Democrats voted to nominate Jeremy Tyler Brown for the county seat. He’ll face Republican incumbent Judge-Executive Steve Henry in November.
- While some incumbents for judge-executive didn’t face primary opponents, they will face competition in the general election. Incumbent Republican Lyon County Judge-Executive Jaime Smith will face off with Democrat Jordan Hunter Stone and incumbent Marshall County Republican Judge-Executive Kevin Spraggs will face Democrat Jimmie D. Sloan.
- Other incumbents won’t face opposition at all in November, including Ballard County Judge-Executive Todd Cooper, Christian County Judge-Executive Jerry Gilliam, Hopkins County Judge-Executive Jack Whitfield Jr., and McLean County Judge-Executive Curtis L. Dame, all of which are Republicans.
Other key downballot results include ousters of a mayor who’s led her city through natural disaster recovery, an embattled sheriff who’s made controversial headlines in recent years and the rejection of two jailer candidates in communities where local leaders asked them to resign in the run up to the election.
In Mayfield, incumbent Mayor Kathy O’Nan – who has led the city through nearly five years of recovery efforts in the wake of the deadly 2021 tornado outbreak that devastated the western Kentucky community – lost her bid for reelection to a third term. Out of the three candidates running for the office, O’Nan received the least amount of votes and will not appear on the ballot in November. Her two competitors – Mayfield City Council member Derrick Parrott and engineer Tim Choate – received 40.5% and 35.3% of the votes to her 24.2%.
Another big western Kentucky mayorship is also set to change hands, with Republican James R. Knight Jr. losing his bid for reelection in Hopkinsville to Russ Guffey. He will face Markeeta Wilkerson, who previously ran but did not win a Hopkinsville city council race in 2024, is running for mayor as the lone Democrat in November. Desaepa Vansauwa has also filed to run in the general election as an independent. Hoptown Chronicle reported Tuesday night that that wasn’t the only sign of change in city government, with three Republican incumbents losing to challengers in their bids for reelection to the city council.
Trigg County Sheriff Aaron Acree, a Republican, was defeated in his bid for reelection. Acree has been the subject of multiple controversies during his time in office, including allegations of brutality – as reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal – and misconduct. Acree pleaded guilty in 2023 to multiple misdemeanors, including two counts of official misconduct and two counts of menacing.
Michael Sandbrink, who beat out Acree for the Republican nomination Tuesday, was a party in a suit against Acree in 2022, alleging the sheriff had illegally suspended and fired him and fellow deputy Michelle Keller in retaliation for them informing the FBI regarding “actual or suspected” law violations committed by the sheriff.
In Ballard and Crittenden counties, voters ousted incumbent jailers that had been asked to resign by local leadership. Eric Coppess was beat out in his bid for the Ballard County office after the fiscal court requested his resignation last year in the wake of a series of incidents at the Ballard County Detention Center, calling the facility’s safety into question. Meanwhile, in Crittenden County, Jailer Athena Hayes lost her bid for reelection after the local fiscal court asked her to resign over budget issues.
Around the state
The marquee matchups that drew the most attention going into Primary Election Day were the races for the Republican and Democratic U.S. Senate nominations, with victors set to square off this fall for the chance to succeed the retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell.
The Associated Press called the GOP primary for Andy Barr early on Tuesday night, just as the state’s Central Time Zone polling places closed. Barr, already a Kentucky congressman, cruised to a comfortable victory over former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron after receiving an endorsement from President Donald Trump earlier this month. As of 10:45 p.m. Central Time, the Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office reported that Barr received 60.5% of the vote to Cameron’s 30.8%.
The race for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination saw former Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker beat out Amy McGrath, state Rep. Pamela Stevenson and a quarter of other candidates. As of 10:45 p.m. Central Time, the Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office reported that Booker carried 46.7% of the vote to McGrath’s 35.8%.
Some other key races included:
- Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District Republican primary, where incumbent Congressman James Comer sailed through with a more than 80-point victory over a trio of GOP candidates in David Sims, Robert James Sutherby and Penny Arcos. He’ll face the lone Democrat to file for the contest – construction worker John “Drew” Williams – in November.
- Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District GOP primary contest, which saw the Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein outperform incumbent Thomas Massie in a test of the president’s hold on his party’s base. Massie was repeatedly at odds with the Trump administration during his reelection campaign. Gallrein ultimately topped Massie by around 10 points.
- Kentucky’s 2nd state House District Republicans voted to – again – give Kim Holloway the nomination, with the freshman state representative beating out former longtime western Kentucky lawmaker Richard Heath for the second time.
Other results from around the state can be found here.
Additional reporting by Hannah Saad.
