# 2019 Kentucky elections

"none" is preferred when the title is already sufficiently detailed; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Elections in Kentucky :
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2026 :
State government
State elections
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Gubernatorial elections
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State Treasurer elections
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Agriculture Commissioner elections
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Ballot measures
2004Amendment 1
2022Amendment 2
2024Amendment 2 :
Lexington
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vte :
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Kentucky on November 5, 2019, with all executive offices in the state up for election. Primary elections were held on May 21, 2019.

## Governor and Lieutenant Governor

The 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. The Democratic nominee, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, defeated Republican incumbent Matt Bevin by a margin of just over 5,000 votes, or 0.37%. It was the closest gubernatorial election in Kentucky since 1899 by total votes, and the closest ever by percentage.
Bevin won 97 counties, while Beshear won only 23 counties. Beshear carried only two of the state's six congressional districts, but those districts were the state's two most urbanized, the Louisville-based 3rd and the Lexington-based 6th.
Bevin conceded on November 14, after a recanvass took place that day that did not change the vote count. Libertarian John Hicks also qualified for the ballot and received 2% of the vote. Statewide turnout was just over 42%, much higher than for the 2015 gubernatorial election. The result was a major swing from 2016, when Donald Trump won the state by 30 points and Republicans gained a supermajority in both chambers of the Kentucky General Assembly.
Results
Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2019 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Andy Beshear | 709,890 | 49.20% | +5.37% |
| | Republican | Matt Bevin (incumbent) | 704,754 | 48.83% | −3.68% |
| | Libertarian | John Hicks | 28,433 | 1.97% | N/A |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 46 | 0.00% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,443,123 | 100.0% | N/A |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |

## Attorney General

The 2019 Kentucky Attorney General election was conducted on November 5. Primary elections occurred on May 21, 2019. The general election was held on November 5, 2019. Incumbent Democratic attorney general Andy Beshear declined to seek reelection to a second term to successfully run for Governor. Republican Daniel Cameron defeated Democrat Greg Stumbo. He became the first Republican attorney general of Kentucky since 1948, and the state's first black attorney general.
Results
Kentucky Attorney General election, 2019 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Daniel Cameron | 823,346 | 57.75% | +7.86% |
| | Democratic | Greg Stumbo | 602,272 | 42.25% | −7.86% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,425,618 | 100.0% | |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |

## Secretary of State

Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits. This was the only statewide race in Kentucky in 2019 besides the gubernatorial election in which the Democratic candidate came close to winning and the only non-gubernatorial statewide election in KY, LA or MS where the Democrat achieved more than 45% of the vote in 2019.

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates

* Jason Belcher, U.S. Air Force veteran and writer
* Jason Griffith, teacher and businessman
* Heather French Henry, former Commissioner of Veterans Affairs of Kentucky and former Miss America
* Geoff Sebesta, comic book artist

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Heather French Henry | 263,419 | 71.0 |
| | Democratic | Jason Belcher | 47,923 | 12.9 |
| | Democratic | Jason Griffith | 47,655 | 12.8 |
| | Democratic | Geoff Sebesta | 12,088 | 3.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 371,085 | 100.0 |

### Republican primary
#### Candidates

* Michael Adams, general counsel for the Republican Governors Association and former Mitch McConnell aide
* Andrew English, former general counsel for the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet and U.S. Navy veteran
* Stephen Knipper, cyber security expert, former Erlanger city councilman, and nominee for secretary of state in 2015
* Carl Nett, former counterintelligence officer

#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Michael Adams | Andrew English | Stephen Knipper | Carl Nett | Undecided |
| Cygnal | May 10–12, 2019 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 11% | 10% | 7% | 5% | 68% |

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Michael Adams | 94,404 | 41.3 |
| | Republican | Andrew English | 62,677 | 27.4 |
| | Republican | Stephen Knipper | 41,367 | 18.1 |
| | Republican | Carl Nett | 30,340 | 13.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 228,788 | 100.0 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Heather French Henry (D) | Michael Adams (R) | Undecided |
| Clarity Campaign Labs (D) | August 12–13, 2019 | 792 | ± 3.3% | 52% | 37% | 9% |

#### Results

Kentucky Secretary of State election, 2019 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Michael Adams | 746,629 | 52.3 |
| | Democratic | Heather French Henry | 682,096 | 47.7 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,428,725 | 100.0 |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |

## State Auditor
### Republican primary
#### Candidates

* Mike Harmon, incumbent State Auditor of Kentucky

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates

* Kelsey Hayes Coots, teacher
* Sheri Donahue, former U.S. Navy engineer
* Chris Tobe, pension consultant

#### Withdrew

* Drew Curtis, founder of Fark and independent candidate for governor in 2015

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Sheri Donahue | 134,952 | 46.7 |
| | Democratic | Kelsey Hayes Coots | 95,685 | 33.1 |
| | Democratic | Chris Tobe | 58,548 | 20.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 289,185 | 100.0 |

### General election
#### Results

Kentucky State Auditor election, 2019 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Mike Harmon (incumbent) | 779,730 | 55.7 |
| | Democratic | Sheri Donahue | 574,820 | 41.0 |
| | Libertarian | Kyle Hugenberg | 46,563 | 3.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,401,113 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## State Treasurer
### Republican primary
#### Candidates

* Allison Ball, incumbent State Treasurer of Kentucky

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates

* Michael Bowman, bank manager and former Louisville Metro Council staffer
* Josh Mers, insurance agent and treasurer for the Lexington Human Rights Commission

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Michael Bowman | 218,174 | 66.4 |
| | Democratic | Josh Mers | 110,349 | 33.6 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 328,523 | 100.0 |

### General election
#### Results

Kentucky State Treasurer election, 2019 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Allison Ball (incumbent) | 856,150 | 60.7 |
| | Democratic | Michael Bowman | 555,259 | 39.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,411,409 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## Agriculture Commissioner
### Republican primary
#### Candidates

* Bill Polyniak, farmer and hemp businessman
* Ryan Quarles, incumbent Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky

#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Bill Polyniak | Ryan Quarles | Undecided |
| Cygnal | May 10–12, 2019 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 8% | 35% | 58% |

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Ryan Quarles (incumbent) | 193,994 | 82.2 |
| | Republican | Bill Polyniak | 41,971 | 17.8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 235,965 | 100.0 |

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates

* Robert Haley Conway, district supervisor of the Scott County Soil and Water Conservation Board and former chair of the Scott County Board of Education
* Joe Trigg, Glasgow city councilman

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Robert Haley Conway | 202,894 | 60.2 |
| | Democratic | Joe Trigg | 134,009 | 39.8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 336,903 | 100.0 |

### General election
#### Results

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner election, 2019 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Ryan Quarles (incumbent) | 821,414 | 58.2 |
| | Democratic | Robert Conway | 545,099 | 38.6 |
| | Libertarian | Joshua Gilpin | 44,596 | 3.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,411,409 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## Judiciary
### Kentucky Supreme Court
#### Candidates

* Christopher Shea Nickell, Kentucky Court of Appeals judge for the 1st Appellate District, Division 1
* Whitney Westerfield, member of the Kentucky Senate for the 3rd District and candidate for attorney general in 2015

#### Results

Both candidates were registered Republicans, but the election was conducted under a non-partisan format.
Kentucky Supreme Court District 1 special election, 2019 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Christopher Shea Nickell | 71,991 | 57.4 |
| | Nonpartisan | Whitney Westerfield | 53,633 | 42.6 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 125,624 | 100.0 |

### Court of Appeals

Kentucky Court of Appeals 3rd Division 1 special election, 2019 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Jacqueline Caldwell | 62,851 | 53.7 |
| | Nonpartisan | Michael Caperton | 54,098 | 46.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 116,949 | 100.0 |