Lexington voters will select at least 3 new faces for the Kentucky House. Maybe more?
Lexington voters will elect at least three new faces in the Nov. 3 general election for the 10-member Fayette County delegation to the Kentucky House of Representatives.
There could be more. Several other House races in the state’s second most populous county are being contested.
The three open seats are the result of a Republican and a Democratic incumbent deciding not to seek-re-election and a Democratic incumbent running instead for the state Senate.
Three Kentucky House districts entirely in Fayette County are up for grabs in this fall’s election while four others that include part of Fayette County also are being contested.
Meanwhile, three Democratic state representatives from Fayette County are assured to be back for the next two years. They have no opposition in the general election.
Here’s a look at the 10 state House races involving Fayette County.
Competitive race to replace veteran Republican Stan Lee
Stan Lee, one of the most conservative members in the Kentucky House of Representatives, has represented the people of the 45th House District in southwestern Fayette County since 2001. It is closely split along major party lines, with Democrats holding a slight advantage — 18,612 Democrats to 18,302 Republicans.
Lee, a lawyer, decided not to seek re-election this year. He narrowly won reelection in 2018 by just 539 votes against Lexington attorney Josh Hicks, who is now running for U.S. Congress against Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington.
The party nominees in this fall’s general election to replace Lee are Democrat Shirley Flynn Mitchell and Republican Killian Timoney. Both are making their first bid for public office.
Flynn is senior manager of customer experience at Valvoline Inc. and is a Navy veteran and former civil engineer corps officer. Timoney is plant operations director for Fayette County Public Schools and a former public school teacher and assistant principal in Fayette and Jefferson counties.
Timoney said Lee has had no involvement in the race. Timoney had filed to challenge Lee in this year’s primary election before Lee bowed out.
The fall race between Mitchell and Timoney has been civil.
“I haven’t seen any animosity,” said Mitchell. “I think both of us are nice people.”
“I compliment Shirley on this race,” said Timoney. “It has been civil with a lively discussion, as it should be.”
Mitchell said voters in the 45th should pick her because of her experiences as a veteran, business leader in managing construction projects, volunteer in several organizations, and working mother.
She said her primary focus as a legislator would be on education and the state budget.
Timoney said the district’s voters should go with him because his years as a government studies teacher have prepared him for politics.
“As a teacher, I consider myself a public servant. I’ve worked with a variety of students and have learned about critical points of view,” he said. “I will always be an educator and I think I’m ready now to bring a lot to politics.”
Timoney said he would concentrate on education, helping small businesses and fiscal responsibility.
In the only Fayette County House race with an open seat, the two party nominees, like most candidates this year in the coronavirus pandemic, are leaning heavily on social media to campaign.
Conservative backed by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie seeks to oust incumbent
In 2018, Democrat Cherlynn Stevenson narrowly won the race for the 88th House District, which lies in southeastern Fayette County. The district had been in Republican hands for years and the GOP holds a slight advantage in voter registration — 21,177 Republicans to 20,617 Democrats.
Stevenson, a non-profit event planner, prevailed on strong backing from teachers and her experience in serving and leading associations like the ACS Lexington Leadership Council, Rotary Club of Lexington, The Toy Chest, CASA of Lexington, American Heart Association, The Hope Center, Habitat for Humanity and the American Cancer Society. For the cancer society, she has helped raise more than $2 million in funds.
Aaron Yates, a marketing and communications specialist who worked for U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s successful campaign in 2010 and claims the support this year of U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Lewis County and state Rep. Savannah Maddox of Dry Ridge, is trying to defeat Stevenson.
Making his first bid for public office, Yates is a co-founder and operations director for Rearden Strategic, a Denver-based consulting company that specializes in political consulting, lobbying, marketing and public relations. He also is a contractor for the National Association for Gun Rights.
Yates is telling voters of the 88th District that Stevenson “doesn’t represent their values.” On his website, he calls her “a far-left extremist.”
Asked what district values Stevenson does not hold, Yates noted she helped sponsor an unsuccessful bill this year in the state legislature that would prohibit discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity.
“The district is way more conservative than she is,” said Yates. “I’m the candidate for family values.”
Stevenson said she “totally” disagrees with Yates’ assertions.
“I am right on with the district,” she said. “They are talking about the rising costs of health care, the cost of living, strong public schools, rebuilding infrastructure and rebounding after COVID-19.”
“They know I am dedicated in working for their values,“ she said.
Veteran Democratic incumbent faces former county judge
Democrat Susan Westrom, a Realtor and artist, has represented the 79th House district since 1998. It lies in the south-central part of Fayette County. Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans in the district — 21,347 to 12,453.
Challenging Westrom this year is Republican Jon Larson, a former Fayette County judge-executive. He also has run unsuccessfully for state treasurer and Urban County Council.
Four state House races are partially in Fayette County
Democratic incumbent Joe Graviss of Versailles of the 56th House District decided to run this year for the state Senate instead of the House.
The district includes Woodford and parts of Franklin and Fayette counties. It has 18,965 registered Democrats and 13,484 registered Repubicans.
This fall’s nominees for the district are Democrat Lamar Allen of Lexington, a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math ) educator at Yates Elementary and Republican Dan Fister of Versailles, a farmer, property manager and retired general contractor.
In the 39th District that includes parts of Jessamine and Fayette counties, Democrat Russ Meyer, who has represented the district since 2015, did not seek re-election.
Vying for the seat this fall are Democrat Carolyn Dupont, an educator at Eastern Kentucky University, and Republican Matt Lockett, a financial advisor and charman of the Jessamine County Republican Party.
The district has 16,980 Republicans and 15,802 Democrats.
In the 62nd District that includes Owen and parts of Scott and Fayette counties, Republican incumbent Phil Pratt, who owns a lawn and landscape business, faces Democrat David Mayo, an IT systems administrator at AppHarvest.
Republicans hold a slight advantage in voter registration in the district —18,284 Republicans to 18,202 Democrats.
Republican incumbent Matt Koch of Paris faces Democrat Todd Neace of Owingsville in the race for 72nd House District. It includes Bath, Bourbon, Nicholas and part of Fayette counties.
All the counties in the district except for Fayette went heavily for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. It has 20,346 Democrats to 10,405 Republicans.
Koch, who was in the Marines, is co-owner of Shawan Place, a horse farm. He was elected to the House in 2018. Neace is principal of Bath County Middle School.
Three unopposed House incumbents in Fayette County
Three Democratic House incumbents in Fayette County have no opposition in the general election.
They are Kelly Flood in the 75th District, which includes most of downtown Lexington; Ruth Ann Palumbo in the 76th District, which is in the central eastern part of the county; and George Brown Jr. in the 77th, which is in the north-central part of the county.
This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 10:16 AM.
