South Lexington Democrats select nominee for special election on November ballot
Area Democrats have selected Adrielle Camuel to be their nominee in the special election to replace the late representative Lamin Swann.
Camuel’s selection coming out of the Democratic nominating committee Thursday night pits her against Kyle Whalen, the Republican who ran for the seat in 2022.
Whalen is a construction entrepreneur who ran and lost by about eight percentage points against Swann. Whalen officially filed to run again earlier this month. In 2022, Whalen ran on a platform focusing on limited government and raising Kentucky’s workforce participation rate, among other things.
The general election between Camuel and Whalen will take place on Nov. 7, the same day as voters statewide will make their choice in statewide elections, including Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s re-election bid against GOP nominee Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
Camuel beat out Emma Curtis, among others, for the Democratic nomination.
Curtis publicly announced her bid nearly a month prior to the committee selection on Thursday. Curtis could have been the first openly transgender nominee for state representative in Kentucky.
Curtis had garnered the endorsement of Swann’s mother and his campaign team, as well as other public backing, including some state representatives. A crowd of Curtis supporters gathered outside the Fayette County Democratic Party headquarters on the night of the committee’s selection.
Chris Couch, who ran and lost in House District 75 last year, also applied for the nomination.
Camuel, an administrative assistant at Fayette County Public Schools, has been involved in local Democratic politics in Fayette County for several years. As a member of a Democratic Precinct Committee in House District 93, Camuel was a member of the nominating committee. She recused herself from voting.
“I’d like to thank the members of the Fayette County Democratic Party and the nominating committee for the honor of being chosen to represent our party in the special election for the 93rd District,” Camuel tweeted.
Whalen, in a statement, said that he would work to give district residents a “seat at the table.”
“The people of Lexington deserve a seat at the table in Frankfort. I’m running so every local family has the opportunity to prosper on their own. We must make it easier to work, easier to learn, easier to build, easier to own a home and safer to live in this great Commonwealth,” Whalen said.
Curtis released a statement reacting to the nominating committee’s selection, urging her supporters to vote for Camuel over Whalen. She also stated that her team had raised $10,000 in campaign funds in the weeks between her late Spring announcement and Camuel’s selection.
Curtis also stated that she was “not finished in politics.”
“I encourage all of my supporters to vote for the Democratic nominee this November. But I also ask all of you to join me in carrying forward the torch that Lamin Swann lit for us by doing the work to fight for a Kentucky where our politics actually represent our people. I’m not finished in politics—and neither is the movement we’ve built,” Curtis wrote.
House Democratic Leadership released a statement congratulating Camuel, saying that she will build on Swann’s “considerable legacy.”
“We want to congratulate Adrielle Camuel for being chosen as the Democratic nominee for the 93rd House District and look forward to campaigning with her in the months ahead as we prepare to win November’s special election. Those of us who knew and served with Lamin miss him dearly, but we have no doubt that Adrielle will build on his considerable legacy and become an outstanding member of Fayette County’s legislative delegation,” Democratic House Leadership said in the statement.
House District 93 is a rare Democratic stronghold on a state House map that most recently produced an 80-20 majority for the GOP. In 2020, the district swung for Democratic President Joe Biden by 17 points over former GOP president Donald Trump, according to election website CNAlysis.
This story was originally published June 30, 2023 at 9:26 AM.
