What to watch in the Kentucky state Senate primary elections
There’s a fair amount of political intrigue in this month’s primary elections for the Kentucky Senate. Thrown into the mix is a special election for the Senate.
With the retirement of former Democratic Gov. Julian Carroll after 15 years in the Senate, five Republicans have stepped forward in the Senate’s 7th District to run in the GOP primary. They are fighting to earn the right to face Democrat Joe Graviss in November’s general election.
The race to replace Carroll got more interesting at the end of May when another Carroll entered the fray as an independent — Kenny Carroll, the son of the outgoing Carroll who pledged his allegiance last year to Graviss.
In other Senate primary races this month, two Republican incumbents face primary challengers, two Democrats are running in hopes of ousting a freshman Republican senator from an Eastern Kentucky district that had been deep blue politically, four Democrats want to replace retiring longtime Democratic state Sen. Perry Clark and there’s a special election to fill the remainder of the term of Republican Ernie Harris of Crestwood, who retired in April.
Half — or 19 — of the Kentucky Senate’s district are up for election this year for four-year terms. Those are ones in odd-numbered districts. Republicans control 29 of the Senate seats while Democrats hold nine.
Eight of the 19 primary races feature incumbents who are unopposed in both June’s primary and November’s general elections. They definitely will be back for the 2021 General Assembly.
The four Democratic incumbents with no opposition are Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey of Louisville, Denise Harper Angel of Louisville, Gerald Neal of Louisville and Reggie Thomas of Lexington. The four Republicans are Senate President Robert Stivers of Manchester, Steve Meredith of Leitchfield, Steve West of Paris and Whitney Westerfield of Hopkinsville.
The primary elections are June 23 to select party nominees for November’s general election. Kentuckians are being urged to vote by mailed-in absentee ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The special election is also scheduled for June 23.
Here’s a closer look at five situations to watch in this year’s Kentucky Senate races.
Several want Julian Carroll’s Senate seat, including his son
For years, Julian Carroll, 89, has been a fixture in the state Capitol.
He served five terms in the state House, beginning in 1962, and was House speaker from 1968-1970. From 1971-1974, Carroll was lieutenant governor and governor from 1974 to 1979. He joined the state Senate in 2005 and decided not to run again this year.
His Senate district includes all or parts of Franklin, Anderson, Gallatin, Owen and Woodford Counties.
Five Republicans are running in this month’s GOP primary to wrest the 7th District seat from Democratic control. They are Cleaver Kirk Crawford of Lawrenceburg, who works in customer service; business executive Katie Howard of Lawrenceburg; Adrienne E. Southworth of Lawrenceburg, who was deputy chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton before a controversial firing by Gov. Matt Bevin; certified real estate appraiser Calen Studler of Frankfort; and salon owner Linda Thompson of Frankfort, who is president of Franklin County Republican Women.
Graviss, a former McDonald’s franchisee who was elected to the state House in 2018 from Versailles, is the only candidate in the Democratic primary for the 7th District. He was endorsed last year by Sen. Carroll. They have been close for years.
On May 29, Kenny Carroll, the senator’s son, registered as an independent candidate for the fall’s general election.
The younger Carroll is president and chief executive office for Advanced Manufacturing Professionals, which tries to help Kentucky be the hub for engineering and advanced manufacturing in the United States.
Kenny Carroll changed from the Democratic Party to be an independent six years ago. “I was concerned how polarizing the parties had become,” he said.
Carroll said his father told him he had to maintain his endorsement for Graviss. “My dad is a man of his word,” said Kenny Carroll.
Sen. Carroll said he called up Graviss within five minutes after his son informed him of his independent candidacy “and I told Joe nothing had changed.”
Carroll said he backs Graviss but does not plan on making any public appearances for Graviss out of respect for his family.
Graviss said Kenny Carroll’s candidacy is “fine with me. I’m glad to see more people involved in the political process. I hope Kenny will stay involved in making the political process better when this race is over.”
Two Republican incumbents have primary opposition
Republican Albert Robinson of London, who is self-employed, has accumulated many years in the state legislature — in the House from 1972-1984 and 1987-1988 and in the Senate from 1994-2004 and 2013 to the present. His 21st District includes Bath, Estill, Jackson, Laurel, Menifee and Powell counties.
Republican Rick Girdler, a Somerset insurance agent, has only been in the Senate since 2017. He represents the 15th District of Pulaski, Boyle and Lincoln counties.
Robinson and Girdler have opposition this month in their GOP primary elections. Neither district has a Democratic candidate.
In the 21st, Robinson is being challenged by Kay Hensley, a farmer and attorney, and attorney Brandon Jackson Storm, both of London.
Girdler faces Methodist evangelist Larry Nichols of Eubank.
Four years ago, Girdler defeated Nichols’ son, optometrist Josh Nichols of Somerset, to win the district seat.
Two Democrats seek seat held by freshman Republican in Eastern Kentucky
In March 2019, Pikeville attorney Phillip Wheeler gained for Republicans an Eastern Kentucky Senate seat that Democrats held for 50 years.
Wheeler won a special election by slightly more than 500 votes to replace Democrat Ray Jones, who left the Senate after 18 years to become Pike County’s judge-executive.
This month, two Democrats are vying in the 31st Senate District’s party primary to take on Wheeler in November.
They are attorney Glenn Martin Hammond of Pikeville and former teacher and community and economic development advocate Scott Sykes of Elkhorn City. The district includes Pike, Elliott, Martin, Morgan and Lawrence counties.
Some Democrats see this as a bellwether district for the fall’s election. Can Democrats win back this seat that had been deep blue politically with Republican President Donald Trump and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the fall ballot?
Trump showed his strength four years ago in Pike County, winning the county by 80 percent of the vote over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The Kentucky Democratic Party has been after Wheeler this year.
In February, the party called on Wheeler to resign after he showed a crowd of voters a picture of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear with a group of drag queens in the Capitol at a LGBTQ rally and said Beshear was “trying to convince our children this is the right way to live.”
The Democratic Party said Wheeler has a “history of bigoted attitudes,” referencing a Facebook post Wheeler made in January that used a racist term in reference to the governor of Virginia.
Wheeler said he would not resign and stood by what he said.
Jefferson County seat draws a crowded field
Democrat Perry Clark has been in the state legislature since 1995 — 11 years in the House and the last 15 in the Senate.
His decision not to seek re-election this year in the 37th Senate District in southern Jefferson County has drawn four Democratic candidates to try to replace him.
Since no Republicans or other candidates filed for the seat, the winner of the Democratic primary will become the next senator.
The four in the Democratic primary are attorney and small business owner Katie Brophy; licensed professional engineer and Kentucky National Guard major Garrett A. Dean; businessman, computer programmer and Sullivan University faculty member Di Tran; and attorney and Louisville City Council member since 2011 David Yates.
One special Senate election will be held
On April 15, Republican Sen. Ernie Harris of Oldham County retired after 25 years in the Senate, garnering recognition as the chamber’s Transportation Committee chair.
Party officials in the 26th Senate District that includes Oldham County and northeastern Jefferson County have chosen their candidates for a special election June 23 to fill the remainder of Harris’ term, which runs through the end of 2021.
They are Democrat Karen Berg and Republican Bill Ferko.
Berg, a diagnostic radiologist, was the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat in 2018. She lost to Harris in the general election that year by about 3,000 votes.
Ferko, former chair of the Oldham County Republican Party, lost a bid in 2018 for the Oldham County Fiscal Court.
It is considered a competitive race. Democrat Andy Beshear carried the district last year in his winning race for governor over Republican Matt Bevin.
