Live updates: Get the latest on Kentucky election race results
As some races remain unresolved Wednesday following Tuesday’s voting, find all the latest election results updates here.
Lexington still has 7,200 ballots left to be counted
Thanks to a long voting line at the Tates Creek library, a dead scanning machine and a large number of absentee ballots, Fayette County still had about 7,200 ballots to count as of Wednesday afternoon, according to County Clerk Don Blevins.
The line at Tates Creek was about 185 people long when the polls reached the cut-off time of 6 p.m. The last person in line didn’t cast their ballot until about 8 p.m., and the Tates Creek ballots didn’t get delivered to the county clerk’s office until about 10 p.m., Blevins said. The county also had to deal with a ballot scanner that died, Blevins said, which contributed to about 3,000 of the ballots still left to be counted.
The other 4,200 uncounted ballots are comprised of absentee ballots that were mailed or dropped in ballot boxes on Election Day, Blevins said.
Those ballots have left Lexington Urban County Council races undecided, and Blevins said a few additional mail-in absentee ballots may come in through Friday.
Biden wins Wisconsin, presidency still hangs in balance
Democratic nominee Joe Biden has won Wisconsin, according to the Associated Press. The battleground state would award him 10 electoral votes. President Donald Trump quickly requested a recount.
Biden and Trump were still battling in several other states as of Wednesday afternoon. Neither candidate had reached 270 electoral votes yet.
It was still unclear as of Wednesday afternoon when the winner of the presidency would be determined. The time needed to count votes for the 2020 General Election has been much longer than in other recent elections because of expanded absentee voting and early voting in many states.
Rabbit Hash elects a dog as its new “mayor”
Rabbit Hash continued a longstanding tradition by electing a dog as its mayor. This year’s winner, a French bulldog named Wilbur, received a record 13,143 votes, according to the Rabbit Hash Historical Society. The “votes” required a $1 donation to the city’s historical society. The election raised $22,985 for the historical society this year.
The tradition to elect an animal as mayor has been going on since the late 1990s, according to WLWT. His main role will be to help raise money for the historical society and other causes such as breast cancer and mental health, WLWT reported.
Wilbur has a Facebook page for his campaign.
Post-election law complaints roll in to Kentucky attorney general
As of noon Wednesday, the attorney general’s office had received 15 complaints about potential election law violations after polls closed on Tuesday. The total number of complaints in the 2020 election cycle was 376, according to the attorney general’s office.
There were 250 complaints called in before Election Day and another 111 complaints on Election Day, according to the attorney general’s office.
The lone complaint from Fayette County was a complaint about electioneering, according to the attorney general’s office.
The attorney general’s election hotline received more than 350 legal complaints regarding the 2020 election by 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to the attorney general’s office. There were 250 called in prior to Election Day and 111 called in on Election Day, according to the attorney general’s office. But 78 of those 361 total calls were from out of state or were not from a specific county.
Thirty-five of those calls were from Fayette County — 26 before Election Day and nine on Election Day.
Alcohol a clear winner in Jessamine County
Jessamine County voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of allowing alcohol sales within the county, according to unofficial results. The vote will not apply to the city of Wilmore, which is still dry. But the decision could be good for Lexington residents who are near the county line.
The Bellerive Plaza, just over the Fayette County line on Harrodsburg Road, is in Jessamine County. That means Kroger and other restaurants — or potential restaurants —in that shopping plaza will be able to sell or serve alcohol by the glass.
Voters in the city of Stanford also voted to allow the sale of alcohol within the city, according to preliminary results.
Republicans gain an even tighter grip on Kentucky legislature
The supermajority held by the GOP in Kentucky’s Senate and House of Representatives was expected to grow more after all votes were tallied.
House Speaker David Osborne said Republicans might have picked up an extra 10 seats, bringing their ranks to 70 out of 100 members. Senate President Robert Stivers said as many as 30 of the state’s 38 Senate seats might be held by Republicans.
In Fayette County, where about 8,000 absentee votes have not yet been counted, the races for the 88th and 45th House Districts were too close to call.
Republican Killian Timoney led Democrat Shirley Flynn Mitchell in the 45th District race by less than 1,000 votes as of Tuesday night, according to the State Board of Elections. The seat has long been held by Republican Stan Lee.
Democratic nominee Cherlynn Stevenson led her Republican opponent Aaron Yates by less than 500 votes in the race for the 88th district as of Tuesday night, according to the State Board of Elections. Stevenson was among the few Democratic state House candidates who led her race by the end of the night.
See who won Kentucky’s state legislative races here.
Circuit judge wins spot on Kentucky Supreme Court
Circuit Judge Robert “Bob” Conley, who serves Greenup and Lewis counties, earned a spot on the Kentucky Supreme Court Tuesday.
He will serve as the justice for the 7th District after being elected in a nonpartisan race against Rep. Chris Harris, whose House district includes Martin and Pike counties.
Three Fayette County council races too close to call
Fayette County Clerk Don Blevins said about 8,000 absentee ballots are left to be processed this week, and more may arrive by mail. In the meantime, contenders for three spots on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council will have to wait to find out who won.
On Tuesday night, Hannah LeGris was leading Jessica Mohler by 182 votes in the race for the 3rd District council seat formerly held by the late Councilman Jake Gibbs, who died unexpectedly last spring. That district covers much of the downtown and neighborhoods around the University of Kentucky.
Liz Sheehan, a senior lecturer at the University of Kentucky, was leading incumbent Councilman Bill Farmer in the 5th District race by just 16 votes according to Tuesday night’s unofficial results. The district includes the neighborhoods in Chevy Chase..
In the 8th District, incumbent Councilman Fred Brown had 4,735 votes to Christian Motley’s 4,240 in the unofficial tally Tuesday night.
Former teacher, principal join Fayette County school board
Two new faces will join the board of the Fayette County Public Schools in January.
Former Paul Laurence Dunbar High School teacher Amanda “Amy” Green on Tuesday took the District 5 seat previously held by Daryl Love, who decided not to run for re-election. Arnold Farr and Amy Beasley came in second and third, respectively.
Former Bryan Station Middle School principal Tom Jones ran unopposed for the District 3 seat held by Ray Daniels, who also chose not to run for re-election.
Christy Morris ran unopposed to retain her seat in District 1.
First-time candidate snags vacant Lexington council seat
Unofficial results show real estate agent and political newcomer Whitney Baxter as the top vote-getter in a race against former Lexington councilman Willy Fogle for a vacant seat on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council.
They were vying for the 9th District seat previously held by Jennifer Mossotti. The district covers part of south Lexington in the area around Reynolds Road.
Fogle, an insurance agent, held the 7th District seat from 1994 to 2002.
Marsy’s Law passes, Constitutional amendment on judges’ terms fails
Voters approved an amendment to the Kentucky Constitution giving greater rights to crime victims, but another amendment that would have extended the terms for district judges failed.
The victims’ rights amendment, Marsy’s Law, gives victims the right to be heard in court, to confer with prosecutors and to be notified about court proceedings, among other protections. The amendment passed in 2018, but the Kentucky Supreme Court later ruled that the language on the ballot was not detailed enough, so the entire amendment was printed on ballots this year. Again, voters approved it.
A second constitutional amendment presented to Kentucky voters did not pass. It would have extended the terms for district judges from four years to eight, and it would have extended the terms served by commonwealth’s attorneys by two years, having them serve eight-year terms as well.
Andy Barr wins fifth term in House of Representatives
Central Kentucky voters again chose Rep. Andy Barr for the 6th District. Barr, a Republican, defeated Democrat Josh Hicks, a Lexington attorney.
“Over the past year an a half, I have been privileged to be a part of a movement that was about so much more than just me, o just my ideas,” Hicks said in a concession statement. “This has been a campaign of, and by, and for regular folks, and I am humbled to have been a part of it.”
Kentucky congressmen re-elected
Four other Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives were re-elected, as was a Democratic incumbent from Louisville.
In Western Kentucky, Congressman Brett Guthrie held onto his 2nd District seat. It was the second time Guthrie ran opposed by Democrat Hank Linderman.
Rep. Hal Rogers, who has held the 5th congressional district seat representing southeastern Kentucky for nearly 40 years, won another term, the Associated Press reported. He was opposed by Democrat Matthew Ryan.
Congressman Thomas Massie won a fifth term in a race against Alexandra Owensby, the Courier-Journal reported. The 4th District covers Northern Kentucky.
Rep. James Comer, who represents the 1st congressional district, defeated Democratic challenger James Rhodes. The AP called the race soon after the polls closed in Western Kentucky, WFPL reported.
And 3rd District Rep. John Yarmuth, a Democrat, successfully defended his Louisville seat against Rhonda Palazzo, the AP reported.
McConnell defeats McGrath to retain Senate seat
Republican Mitch McConnell held onto his seat in the U.S. Senate, besting challenger Amy McGrath, who had argued that 36 years was long enough.
“I never would have imagined that Kentuckians would make me the longest serving senator in Kentucky history,” McConnell said in a victory speech celebrating his seventh term. ”Tonight, Kentuckians said we’re keeping our front row seat in the Senate.”
McGrath delivered a videotaped concession speech in which she thanked supporters, saying “we stood up with our vote and with our voices and demanded that government again work for us.”
“Although we didn’t get the result we wanted, the energy and optimism I saw in every corner of the state gives me so much hope for the future of our great Commonwealth,” she said. “Today, it is my sincere hope that our country can start to heal after these ugly and divisive four years. ...Hope over fear. Country over party. People over politics. U.S. over B.S.”
Fayette County absentee vote totals
Democrats easily took the most votes among Fayette County voters who mailed in ballots before Election Day.
Amy McGrath got 71.85 percent of the votes for U.S. Senate in Fayette County’s early mail-in voting, with 60,092 votes. Incumbent Mitch McConnell took 26.17 percent, or 21,889 votes, according to the Fayette County clerk’s office.
In the U.S. House of Representatives race for the 6th Congressional District, Josh Hicks got 65.75 percent of the vote, with 55,015 votes, while incumbent Andy Barr received 33.02 percent, or 27,628 votes.
In the race for president, Joe Biden won 73.49 percent of Fayette County’s early mail-in votes, while Donald Trump received 24.74 percent, or 20,622 votes.
These vote totals do not include people who voted in person before Election Day or votes cast on Tuesday.
Trump wins Kentucky
Donald Trump has won Kentucky’s eight electoral votes, the Associated Press reported just after 7 p.m.
Where to get Kentucky election results for U.S. Senate, House and presidential races
Find out how Kentucky voted in the races between Donald Trump and Joe Biden for president, Mitch McConnell and Amy McGrath for Senate and Andy Barr and Josh Hicks for representative and more.
Vote counts by county for president, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives
This map allows users to see how Kentucky counties voted in the races for president, House and Senate.
Vote totals for state Senate, constitutional amendments
Totals for 11 contested Kentucky Senate races and two constitutional amendments that were on the ballot can be found here.
Results for Kentucky House of Representatives
More than 60 seats in the state House were up for grabs on Election Day. Find out how Kentuckians voted.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 6:32 PM.
