A week after the last poll closed, the results from the commonwealth’s June 23 primary election are complete.
In an extraordinary election where Kentuckians were encouraged to file absentee ballots in place of voting in person because of the COVID-19 pandemic, several races produced surprise endings while others were more predictable.
In the race to make the ballot for the fall general election, eight of nine Maysville City Commission candidates will move forward with two incumbents and a former mayor making up three of the four top contenders.
Current Commissioner Victor McKay was the top vote-getter with 1,433 votes, followed by fellow Commissioner Andrew Wood with 1,095. Former Mayor David Cartmell came in third with 1,054 and fourth place was claimed by Ann Brammer with 826 votes. The next four included Commissioner Kelly Ashley with 798, Stephanie McCoy Gastauer with 773, Commissioner Jeff Brammer with 564 and Jon “J.C.” Bess with 528. David Doyle had the least votes with 370 and will not be on the November ballot.
In the contest for State Representative for the 70th District, which covers Mason, Bracken, Robertson and Fleming counties, William Lawrence of Mason County edged out Rob Conn of Fleming County for the Republican nomination and will face Democrat William Craig Miller of Bracken County in the fall election.
Conn easily bested Lawrence in Fleming County, 1,106 to 408 while Lawrence returned the favor in Mason County, 1,059 to 308. Lawrence took both Bracken County, 446 to 108 and Robertson County, 97 to 18, for a final tally of 2,010 to 1,540 in Lawrence’s favor.
U.S. Representative Thomas Massie easily defeated his opponent, Todd McMurtry, in the Republican primary race, 1,230 to 152 in Mason County, 504 to 72 in Bracken County and 1,916 to 255 in Lewis County, his home. Massie will face Democrat Alexandra Owensby who defeated Shannon Fabert in the Democratic primary.
In the other U.S. Representative race in the Buffalo Trace Area, Republican Andy Barr handily defeated contenders Chuck Eddy and Geoffrey Young in the 6th District and will take on Democrat Josh Hicks in the fall election. Hicks defeated Daniel Kemp 1,289 to 340 in Fleming County and 251 to 82 in Robertson County.
Hicks, a Fleming County native, served in the Marine Corps, reaching the rank of sergeant, and then spent five years as a police officer in Maysville. He went on to earn his law degree and started his own law practice in Lexington.
In the race for U.S. Senate on the Democratic side of the ballot, Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot held off a challenge from State Representative Charles Booker to win the primary for U.S. Senate. McGrath will take on U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who easily fended off several challengers in the election, in the fall general election.
