Five election night takeaways: Trump still rules KY GOP, ads work & more
If you were expecting drama on election night in Kentucky, you might have come away disappointed.
Instead, you got a stark reminder of two established principles: President Donald Trump rules the Republican Party, and television advertisements matter.
In all high-profile races, the GOP candidate with the endorsement of Trump, or the candidate of either party with a greater volume of ads on television, came away with their party’s nomination.
Trump’s picks of Rep. Andy Barr for U.S. Senate, Ralph Alvarado for the 6th Congressional District and Ed Gallrein in the Northern Kentucky-based 4th Congressional District all sailed to relatively easy wins.
On the local and state level, some incumbents withstood strong challengers, while others — including a high number of county judge-executives — fell.
Trump trumps the GOP field
Pay no mind to Trump’s slipping national approval rating, which is about 37% in some polls. In GOP primaries, his support is as good as gold in Kentucky.
Despite running against a candidate who had twice been on the statewide ballot, Barr glided to a 29 percentage point victory over Cameron.
With a few exceptions in Cameron’s home counties of Hardin and Oldham, as well as two adjacent counties Trimble and Larue, it was a clean sweep for Barr.
Jake Staton, longtime Clinton County Circuit Court Clerk, told the Herald-Leader at Barr’s victory party that he believes Barr would have won without Trump’s intervention. But his early May endorsement turned an “8 to 10 point” win to what it became.
“Trump wants to win. I think his endorsement was a little late, but I think it made the difference in the margin,” Staton said.
In Alvarado’s win, there was no suspense. Against Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester, a capable political communicator who also raised a decent sum of money, Alvarado won by 31 points.
Gallrein’s victory was quick too. After all the hubbub, with tons of influencers and major national media outlets flocking to the district, he notched a 10-point victory, winning in all counties except Massie’s home county of Lewis and the adjacent Mason County.
Ads work
As it turns out, getting your name out on television as a candidate helps.
In no race was that on display more than in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District Democratic primary, where new-to-politics candidate Zach Dembo beat former state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson by 9 percentage points.
Dembo was by far the candidate with the greatest presence on television, emphasizing in ads his background as a former federal prosecutor who resigned over concerns about alleged corruption within the Trump-led Department of Justice.
Stevenson put an emphasis on her robust network of volunteers, who she said knocked thousands of doors on her behalf. She was also endorsed by Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, while Dembo had the backing of both the last Democrat to hold the office, Ben Chandler, and the Herald-Leader’s editorial board.
Dembo raised the most money in the field — which included Stevenson as well as former businesswoman Erin Petrey and former Lexington city council member David Kloiber — a factor that allowed him to get an advantage on air.
The same was true of Alvarado and Barr, who were on local broadcast television the most of any candidate in their race, by far. Barr’s closest competition, Daniel Cameron, was only on television sparingly compared to Barr, who fielded a months-long television campaign.
Commentary on exhaustion towards Barr’s ad campaign — particularly from liberals and moderates tired of hearing about Trump — proliferated. But it didn’t show up in the GOP primary ballot box.
In the 4th Congressional District, Gallrein and groups supporting him also had the edge in ad volume, though Massie’s grassroots network of small donors allowed him to come close to Gallrein’s total.
State Senate District 6
Democratic candidate Christian Furman won the nomination for state Senate District 6 in a landslide against Chaz Stoess.
Furman will advance to the general election and face incumbent Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, making it the first time Tichenor will face a Democratic challenger in a race. Tichenor did not have a challenger in the GOP primary.
Furman, a geriatric and palliative care physician, campaigned on advocating for pre-K for all, fully funding public education and protecting the environment. She has previous experience in politics. Furman was elected to the Prospect City Council in 2024 and previously served as a Congressional Aging and Policy fellow in Washington, D.C.
Furman said she decided to run to improve the life and health of Kentuckians.
She also criticized Tichenor, calling her “unfit” to serve in office and saying she pushes for divisive policies. During her first term, Tichenor quickly garnered attention and became a prominent figure in the Senate Republican Caucus by rising to vice chair of the Senate Education Committee.
She is at the forefront of the “Liberty” movement in Kentucky, filing legislation focused on cultural issues, including banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in K-12 public schools during this year’s session and restricting access to drag shows in 2024. Neither bill ultimately became law.
Judge-executive exodus?
Outside of Jefferson County and Fayette County, judge-executives are generally the most powerful elected officials in local communities — both from a practical and political standpoint.
So, why did so many of them drop like flies in primary battles Tuesday night?
That’s a question many in communities across Kentucky will be asking themselves.
Judge-executives in the following counties, most of them Republican, lost: Adair, Bell, Boone, Breckinridge, Breathitt, Caldwell, Campbell, Estill, Fulton, Green, Henderson, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Madison, Monroe and Morgan.
State Senate District 30
Incumbent state Sen. Brandon Smith defeated GOP challenger state Rep. Bill Wesley, R-Ravenna, to continue representing Eastern Kentucky. Smith has represented state Senate District 30 since 2008 and has positioned himself as a leader in energy policy, rising up to chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee.
During Smith’s reelection campaign, he prioritized addressing recent power rate hikes in Eastern Kentucky and increasing affordable housing. Smith also had the backing of the Senate Republican Caucus.
Wesley has represented state House District 71 since 2021 and is the vice-chair of the House Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee. He campaigned on improving the district’s water sewage infrastructure and supporting veterans.
Wesley had also become known for being at the forefront of Frankfort’s “culture wars.”
He filed a bill this session which would ban people from using bathrooms in public buildings that don’t align with their sex assigned at birth which was a response to a 2025 confrontation. Wesley had summoned police on Carma Bell Marshall, a drag queen who is transgender, for using a women’s restroom on the Capitol’s first floor.
The bill didn’t make significant movement.
