Live updates: Douglas wins closely watched GOP Ky. Senate primary against Cooperrider

A closely watched state legislative race in Lexington’s conservative southwestern suburbs went to the brand-new incumbent, state Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville.

In the Republican primary, Douglas, who just finished his first legislative session in Frankfort, turned back a strong challenge from Lexington coffee shop owner Andrew Cooperrider, who made a name for himself by defying public health restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both men campaigned as staunch conservatives who would oppose Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, although many Republican lawmakers in Frankfort seemed more comfortable with Douglas and supported his campaign. Cooperrider described himself as a “firebrand” battling the establishment.

Douglas won a special election last year to replace the late Tom Buford, the longtime state senator from Jessamine County. He will face Democrat Chuck Eddy in November.

Read more on the Douglas-Cooperrider race here.

Lexington voters oust county attorney, keep mayor

In Fayette County, Democratic voters ousted the longtime county attorney, Larry Roberts, and replaced him with Angela Evans, a former public defender and Urban County Councilwoman. There is no Republican candidate in the race, so Evans will be unopposed in November.

Much of that campaign focused on Roberts’ decision to prosecute people who participated in the 2020 civil-rights protests in downtown Lexington after the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor in Louisville.

Lexington voters also overwhelmingly supported a second term in office for nonpartisan Mayor Linda Gorton. Her rivals David Kloiber and Adrian Wallace won 14.01 and 13.1 percent, respectively, based on unofficial results. Gorton will face the runner-up this fall.

And Democratic voters stuck with longtime Fayette County Sheriff Kathy Witt in her contested primary.

Lexington-based state legislative races saw Democrat Chad Aull win in House District 79 and Democrat Lindsey Burke prevail in House District 75. There are no Republican candidates in those districts.

Click here for more on Lexington-Fayette County races.

Click here for more on state legislative races.

It’s Rand Paul v. Charles Booker for the U.S. Senate

With little suspense on Tuesday, the real fight will come this fall for the Kentucky U.S. Senate race pitting Republican incumbent Rand Paul and Democratic challenger Charles Booker.

The Associated Press felt comfortable calling Paul and Booker’s respective primary victories early Tuesday evening given how far ahead the men were in their contested fields.

Paul has been Kentucky’s junior senator since 2011. Booker is a former state legislator from Louisville.

Read more here.

Cooperrider fights with county clerk

Andrew Cooperrider, the Lexington coffee shop owner who made his reputation fighting public health restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, had one more scrap in him Tuesday during the final hours of the Republican primary for the Kentucky state Senate.

U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves entered an order Tuesday afternoon stating that Cooperrider and Fayette County Clerk Don Blevins Jr. quickly reached a deal to allow Cooperrider’s campaign to keep advocating for the candidate up to 100 feet from polling place doors.

Cooperrider, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, earlier said that he and his volunteers were unfairly targeted by Blevins and poll workers for performing legal campaign activities near the polls.

Kentucky statute and case law holds that campaigns are not allowed to electioneer “within a distance of one hundred (100) feet of any entrance to a building in which voting is conducted.”

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/election/article261538482.html

Follow Herald-Leader live updates tonight

Follow along as Herald-Leader reporters John Cheves, Austin Horn and Beth Musgrave bring the latest news and updates from today’s primary election.

We’ll have news from races in Lexington, Central Kentucky and around the Bluegrass State.

Officials with Fayette County Clerk’s office say the first batch of results will be released around 6:30 p.m.

You can find Lexington-Fayette County election results here throughout the night as they’re available: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/election/article261480652.html

State legislative races will be here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/election/article261427362.html

And federal races will be here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/election/article261498957.htm

This story was originally published May 17, 2022 at 5:50 PM.