Kentucky Today and Staff Report

Republicans took all constitutional offices Tuesday, but Democrats took the prize — the Governor’s race.

Democrats Andy Besher and Jacqueline Coleman won the Governor/Lt. Governor race with 711,995 votes to Republicans Matt Bevin and Ralph Alvardo’s 707,297 votes and Libertarians John Hicks and Ann Cormican’s 28,475 votes.

“I will be a governor who listens more than I talk and solves more problems than I create,” said Beshear. “I ran on kitchen-table issues: pensions, health care, public education and creating good-paying jobs. That is how I will govern.”

*Andy Beshear makes his victory speech.*

Vote margins from Jefferson County (Louisville) and Fayette County (Lexington) were 135,253 in Beshear’s favor.

Beshear claimed victory but Bevin said he wouldn’t concede “by any stretch,” despite 100% of precincts reporting.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes called the race for Beshear, as her office does not believe the difference in vote can be made up by Bevin.

Under the law, Bevin has 30 days to formally contest the outcome once it is certified by the State Board of Elections.

Every one of the down-ticket races for constitutional offices went to Republicans, including Daniel Cameron for attorney general, Michael Adams for secretary of state, Mike Harmon for auditor, Ryan Quarles for agriculture commissioner and Allison Ball for treasurer.

Most of the races weren’t even that close.

Attorney General  -elect Cameron scored an impressive win over Democrat Greg Stumbo. He will replace Beshear in that office, becoming the first African-American to hold the office.

Secretary of State   Adams defeated Heather French Henry in the closest of the down-ticket races in what some may have considered a mild upset.   Henry had served as an executive in the state Department for Veterans Affairs in both Democratic and Republican administrations and was considered by many to be one Democrat who could win a statewide race, perhaps even a bigger favorite than Beshear.

Auditor   Harmon, the incumbent, was easily re-elected to office by cruising past Sheri Donahue.  In his victory speech, he said, “There’s more work to be done, there’s more to do. We’re so excited, I’m so humbled.”

Agriculture Commissioner   Quarles, also an incumbent, was one of the first to secure victory on election night. He won easy re-election over Democrat Robert Conway.

During his victory speech, Quarles said he would continue the policies of his first term, which included re-emergence of hemp and cutting down on credit card skimming at gas pumps.

“We hope to use agriculture for economic development to create jobs and opportunities for all of Kentucky.”

State Treasurer   Ball had no trouble in being re-elected to her position, winning her second term by a 60-40 margin over Michael Bowman. She says she hopes to grow upon her first-term accomplishments, during her victory speech.

“I returned more unclaimed property than any other treasurer in a second term. So next time, I have to beat my own record.”   She also vowed to keep expanding efforts on financial literacy, as well as the STABLE program she started, which is a savings plan for people with disabilities.

Other races  

There were also some special elections held Tuesday.

In Western Kentucky, the 1st District Supreme Court race to fill the unexpired term of Bill Cunningham who retired earlier this year, Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Shea Nickell beat State Senator Whitney Westerfield.

A 3rd District Court of Appeals seat in southern Kentucky went to Jacqueline Caldwell, who defeated Michael Caperton.

Two special elections in State House races will remain in Republican hands. In Northern Kentucky’s 63rd District, Republican Kimberly Banta beat Democrat Josh Blair; while in the 18th District, Republican Samara Heavrin defeated Democrat Becky Miller.