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Kentucky Election Today to Replace Lawmaker Who Killed Himself

Via Representative Linda Belcher, Facebook and J.Tyler Franklin, WFPL

  A special election in Kentucky to replace a state representative who killed himself last year includes both the man's widow and a retired teacher who held the seat for six years.

Voters in House District 49 go to the polls today to choose between Democrat Linda Belcher and Republican Rebecca Johnson.

Former Rep. Dan Johnson killed himself in December after facing allegations he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in his basement. Johnson denied the allegations until his death. His widow, Rebecca Johnson, says her husband was a victim of "an assault from the left that wasn't true."

Democrat Linda Belcher held the seat before narrowly losing to Johnson in 2016. Belcher was first elected in 2008 when she replaced her husband on the ballot, who was killed in a car wreck.

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