# 2015 Kentucky Secretary of State election

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vte :
The 2015 Kentucky Secretary of State election was held on November 3, 2015, to elect the Secretary of State of Kentucky. Primary elections were held on May 19, 2015. Incumbent Democratic Secretary Alison Lundergan Grimes narrowly won re-election to a second term against Republican nominee Steve Knipper.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Alison Lundergan Grimes, incumbent Secretary of State

#### Eliminated in primary

* Charles Lovett, candidate for Jefferson County Justice of the Peace in 2010

#### Declined

* Colmon Elridge, aide to Governor Steve Beshear and former Executive Vice President of Young Democrats of America
* David O'Neill, Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Alison Lundergan Grimes (incumbent) | 131,654 | 73.24% |
| | Democratic | Charles Lovett | 48,096 | 26.76% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 179,750 | 100.00% |

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Steve Knipper, former Erlanger city councilor

#### Withdrawn

* Michael Pitzer, business consultant

#### Declined

* Michael Adams, attorney and general counsel for the Republican Governors Association
* Matt Bevin, businessman and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014 (ran for governor)
* Ken Fleming, former Louisville Metro Council member
* Damon Thayer, Majority Leader of the Kentucky Senate

## General election
### Endorsements

* The Courier-Journal

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) | Steve Knipper (R) | Undecided |
| SurveyUSA | October 23–26, 2015 | 798 | ± 3.5% | 50% | 37% | 12% |
| WKU Social Science Research Center | October 19–25, 2015 | 770 | ± 3.5% | 46% | 35% | 19% |
| Mason-Dixon Polling & Research | October 6–8, 2015 | 625 | ± 4.0% | 47% | 45% | 8% |
| SurveyUSA | September 22–27, 2015 | 701 | ± 3.8% | 46% | 38% | 15% |
| SurveyUSA/Bluegrass Poll | July 22–28, 2015 | 685 | ± 3.8% | 46% | 40% | 12% |
| Public Policy Polling | June 18–21, 2015 | 1,108 | ± 2.9% | 42% | 47% | 12% |
| Gravis Marketing | January 5–6, 2015 | 608 | ± 4.0% | 47% | 46% | 7% |

### Results

2015 Kentucky Secretary of State election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Alison Lundergan Grimes (incumbent) | 493,204 | 51.16% | –9.47 |
| | Republican | Steve Knipper | 470,894 | 48.84% | +9.47 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 964,098 | 100.00% | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### By congressional district

Lundergan Grimes won 2 of 6 congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican.
| District | Lundergan Grimes | Knipper | Representative |
| 1st | 47% | 53% | Ed Whitfield |
| 2nd | 48% | 52% | Brett Guthrie |
| 3rd | 64% | 36% | John Yarmuth |
| 4th | 43% | 57% | Thomas Massie |
| 5th | 43% | 57% | Hal Rogers |
| 6th | 58% | 42% | Andy Barr |