Last minute write-in candidate could replace late Eastern Kentucky Sen. Johnnie Turner
With the death of late Johnnie L. Turner, R-Harlan, comes a vacancy in his Eastern Kentucky State Senate seat.
The next term could be filled by a last-minute addition, as write-in candidates are still eligible for the seat if they register by this Friday.
The other name appearing alongside Turner on the ballot — David Suhr, an independent candidate from Middlesboro who withdrew from the race Oct. 15 due to his active military status — is also ineligible.
But assuming one or more write-in candidates file for the office, whoever gets the most voters in Bell, Floyd, Harlan, Knott and Letcher counties to pencil their name in will represent Senate District 29, according to Secretary of State Michael Adams’ spokesperson Michon Lindstrom.
Lindstrom said that an unlimited number of write-in candidates could file. As long as one person files, a write-in candidate would win the seat.
The four-year term begins January 2025.
Voting is already under way in Kentucky. The portal for Kentuckians to request an absentee ballot closed Tuesday night, and excused, in-person absentee voting has begun.
Lindstrom said that Beshear could call for a special election, but likely only for the current term ending this year.
Stivers would be able to call for a special election once next year’s legislative session begins Jan. 7 if a vacancy still exists and no write-in candidate files.
The Eastern Kentucky Republican won his Senate seat in a closely watched 2020 general election battle.
He defeated longtime former Democratic senator Johnny Ray Turner of Prestonsburg by almost eight percentage points. The race drew additional coverage because of the candidates’ near-identical names.
Senate District 29 still includes Johnny Ray Turner’s native Floyd County; he did not respond to a request for comment on whether he was considering running for the seat as a write-in candidate.
In a 2022 Herald-Leader story covering Eastern Kentucky Democrats’ dwindling influence in the state, Johnny Ray Turner said that “politics is about timing.”
“Johnnie Turner from Harlan picked the right time with Trump on the ballot and with the same name with the first position on the ballot. There were a lot of things stacked against me,” Johnny Ray Turner said at the time.
Johnnie L. Turner recently defeated Randy Thompson, a former judge-executive in Knott County, in the GOP primary this year. Thompson got 31% of the vote to Turner’s 62%. Shawn Gilley also ran and got 7%.
Republicans currently hold a strong advantage over Democrats in the Senate and, as a result, control the flow of legislation. Following Turner’s death, they number 30 to the Democrats’ seven members.
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 12:41 PM.
