2015 Kentucky elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Kentucky on November 3, 2015. All of Kentucky's executive officers were up for election. Primary elections were held on May 19, 2015.

2015 Kentucky elections

← 2014 2016 →

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Main article: 2015 Kentucky gubernatorial election

Incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Beshear was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office.

In Kentucky, gubernatorial candidates pick their own running mates and they are elected on shared tickets in both the primary and general elections.

The candidates for the Democratic nomination were Attorney General of Kentucky Jack Conway and his running mate State Representative Sannie Overly;^[1] and retired engineer and 2014 Congressional candidate Geoff Young and his running mate Jonathan Masters.^[2] Conway and Overly easily defeated Young and Masters in the primary election for the Democratic Party nomination.^[3]

For the Republicans, businessman and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 Matt Bevin ran on a ticket with Tea Party activist and 2014 State House candidate Jenean Hampton;^[4] Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky James Comer ran on a ticket with State Senator Christian McDaniel;^[5][6] former Louisville Metro Councilman and nominee for Mayor of Louisville in 2010 Hal Heiner ran on a ticket with former Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman and nominee for Kentucky State Treasurer in 2011 KC Crosbie;^[7][8] and former Associate Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court Will T. Scott ran on a ticket with former Menifee County Sheriff Rodney Coffey.^[9][10] Bevin held an 83-vote lead over Comer in the primary election, with both Heiner and Scott conceding. The Associated Press, referring to the race between Bevin and Comer a "virtual tie", did not call the race in favor of either candidate. In addition, Comer refused to concede and stated that he would ask for a recanvass.^[11] The request for recanvass was filed with the Kentucky Secretary of State's office on May 20, 2015, with Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes ordering the recanvass to occur at 9:00 a.m. local time on May 28, 2015.^[12][13] Upon completion of the recanvass, Grimes announced that Bevin remained 83 votes ahead of Comer. Grimes also stated that should Comer want a full recount, it would require a court order from the Franklin Circuit Court.^[14] On May 29, Comer announced he would not request a recount and conceded the nomination to Bevin.^[15]

Results

Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2015^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Bevin/Jenean Hampton	511,771	52.5
	Democratic	Jack Conway/Sannie Overly	426,827	43.8
	Independent	Drew Curtis/Heather Curtis	35,627	3.7
Total votes			974,225	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

Secretary of State

Main article: 2015 Kentucky Secretary of State election

Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes was eligible to run for re-election to a second term in office. She had considered running for Governor of Kentucky or for Attorney General of Kentucky.^[17][18][19] She decided to seek re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Charles Lovett, candidate for Jefferson County Justice of the Peace in 2010^[20]
• Alison Lundergan Grimes, incumbent Secretary of State and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014^[21]

Declined

• Colmon Elridge, aide to Governor Steve Beshear and former Executive Vice President of Young Democrats of America^[22]
• David O'Neill, Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator^[23]

Results

Primary results by county:

  Lundergan Grimes

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

Democratic primary results^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alison Lundergan Grimes (incumbent)	131,640	73.25
	Democratic	Charles Lovett	48,083	26.75
Total votes			179,723	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Steve Knipper, former Erlanger City Councilman^[25]

Withdrew

• Michael Pitzer, candidate for the State House in 2008^[20]

Declined

• Michael Adams, attorney and general counsel for the Republican Governors Association^[23][26]
• Matt Bevin, businessman and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014 (ran for Governor)^[4][20][27]
• Ken Fleming, former Louisville Metro Council member^[28]
• Damon Thayer, Majority Leader of the Kentucky Senate^[29]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Alison Lundergan Grimes (D)	Steve Knipper (R)	Other	Undecided
SurveyUSA[30]	October 23–26, 2015	798	± 3.5%	50%	37%	—	12%
WKU[31]	October 19–25, 2015	770	± 3.5%	46%	35%	—	19%
SurveyUSA[32]	September 22–27, 2015	701	± 3.8%	46%	38%	—	15%
SurveyUSA[33]	July 22–28, 2015	685	± 3.8%	46%	40%	—	12%
Public Policy Polling[34]	June 18–21, 2015	1,108	± 2.9%	42%	47%	—	12%
Gravis Marketing[35]	January 5–6, 2015	608	± 4%	47%	46%	—	7%

Results

Kentucky Secretary of State election, 2015

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alison Lundergan Grimes (incumbent)	493,598	51.2
	Republican	Steve Knipper	471,209	48.8
Total votes			964,807	100.0
	Democratic hold

Attorney General

Main article: 2015 Kentucky Attorney General election

Incumbent Democratic attorney general Jack Conway was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. He instead ran for governor. The candidate that would go on to be elected Attorney General was Andy Beshear, the son of retiring governor Steve Beshear.

Beshear defeated Republican Whitney Westerfield by a margin of 0.2 percent, getting 50.1% of the vote to Westerfield's 49.9%.^[36][37] The margin was approximately 2,000 votes.^[38]

Auditor of Public Accounts

2015 Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts election

← 2011 November 3, 2015 2019 →

Nominee Mike Harmon Adam Edelen Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 486,741 450,316 Percentage 51.9% 48.1%

County results Congressional district results Harmon:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Edelen:      50–60%      60–70%

Auditor before election Adam Edelen Democratic Elected Auditor Mike Harmon Republican

Incumbent Democratic state auditor Adam Edelen had considered running for governor in 2015, even lining up a running mate, but ultimately declined to do so. He instead ran for re-election to a second term in office.^[39]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Adam Edelen, incumbent State Auditor^[39]

Declined

• Chris Tobe, CFA, writer, former trustee of the Kentucky Retirement Systems and former staffer to State Auditor Ed Hatchett^[23]

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Mike Harmon, State Representative and candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky in 2011^[40]

Declined

• Damon Thayer, Majority Leader of the Kentucky Senate^[29]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Adam Edelen (D)	Mike Harmon (R)	Other	Undecided
SurveyUSA[30]	October 23–26, 2015	798	± 3.5%	42%	34%	—	22%
WKU[31]	October 19–25, 2015	770	± 3.5%	40%	35%	—	25%
SurveyUSA[32]	September 22–27, 2015	701	± 3.8%	35%	33%	—	27%
SurveyUSA[33]	July 22–28, 2015	685	± 3.8%	35%	31%	—	30%
Public Policy Polling[34]	June 18–21, 2015	1,108	± 2.9%	33%	39%	—	27%

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Adam Edelen (D)	John Kemper (R)	Other	Undecided
Gravis Marketing[35]	January 5–6, 2015	608	± 4%	30%	38%	—	32%

Results

Kentucky State Auditor election, 2015^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Harmon	486,741	51.9
	Democratic	Adam Edelen (incumbent)	450,316	48.1
Total votes			937,057	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

State Treasurer

2015 Kentucky State Treasurer election

← 2011 November 3, 2015 2019 →

Nominee Allison Ball Rick Nelson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 571,455 372,416 Percentage 60.6% 39.4%

County results Congressional district results State house district results Ball:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Nelson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

State Auitor before election Todd Hollenbach Democratic Elected State Auitor Allison Ball Republican

Incumbent Democratic State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. He had said that he may run for another office in 2015, but did not specify which, and eventually declined to run for another statewide office.^[23] He instead successfully ran for an open seat on the Jefferson County District Court, defeating 20 other candidates.^[41]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Neville Blakemore, Executive Chairman of Great Northern Building Products and nominee for Louisville Metro Council in 2006^[42]
• Jim Glenn, State Representative and candidate for State Auditor in 2003^[43]
• Daniel Grossberg, Jefferson County Commissioner and President of the Louisville Young Democrats^[42]
• Richard Henderson, former State Representative and former Mayor of Jeffersonville^[44]
• Rick Nelson, state representative^[45]

Declined

• Colmon Elridge, aide to Governor Steve Beshear and former Executive Vice President of Young Democrats of America^[22][46][47]
• Dee Dee Ford-Keene, businesswoman and former President of the Democratic Women's Club of Kentucky^[23][48][49]
• Chris Tobe, CFA, writer, former trustee of the Kentucky Retirement Systems and former staffer to State Auditor Ed Hatchett^[23][48]

Results

Democratic primary results^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rick Nelson	44,397	27.17
	Democratic	Neville Blakemore	36,663	22.44
	Democratic	Richard Henderson	32,914	20.14
	Democratic	Jim Glenn	31,146	19.06
	Democratic	Daniel B. Grossberg	18,284	11.19
Total votes			163,404	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Allison Ball, attorney ^[50]
• Kenny Imes, state representative^[51]
• Jon Larson, former Fayette County Judge/Executive, candidate for Attorney General in 2007 and nominee for Kentucky's 6th congressional district in 2008^[52]

Results

Republican primary results^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Allison Ball	84,516	46.88
	Republican	Jon Larson	55,712	30.91
	Republican	Kenny Imes	40,039	22.21
Total votes			180,267	100.0

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rick Nelson (D)	Allison Ball (R)	Other	Undecided
SurveyUSA[30]	October 23–26, 2015	798	± 3.5%	35%	37%	—	25%
WKU[31]	October 19–25, 2015	770	± 3.5%	32%	37%	—	31%
SurveyUSA[32]	September 22–27, 2015	701	± 3.8%	33%	35%	—	28%
SurveyUSA[33]	July 22–28, 2015	685	± 3.8%	36%	33%	—	29%
Public Policy Polling[34]	June 18–21, 2015	1,108	± 2.9%	32%	41%	—	26%
Gravis Marketing[35]	January 5–6, 2015	608	± 4%	32%	34%	—	35%

Results

Kentucky State Treasurer election, 2015^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Allison Ball	571,455	60.6
	Democratic	Rick Nelson	372,416	39.4
Total votes			943,871	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

Commissioner of Agriculture

2015 Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture election

← 2011 November 3, 2015 2019 →

Nominee Ryan Quarles Jean-Marie Lawson Spann Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 563,383 374,402 Percentage 60.1% 39.9%

County results Congressional district results Quarles:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Spann:      50–60%

Agriculture Commissioner before election Ryan Quarles Republican Elected Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles Republican

Incumbent Republican Agriculture Commissioner James Comer did not run for re-election to a second term in office. He instead ran for governor, and was defeated by Matt Bevin in the Republican primary.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Jean-Marie Lawson Spann, businesswoman, radio host and agriculture activist^[53][54]

Declined

• Dennis Parrett, state senator^[55][56]

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Richard Heath, state representative^[43]
• Ryan Quarles, state representative^[57][58]

Declined

• James Comer, incumbent Agriculture Commissioner^[6]
• Paul Hornback, state senator^[23][57][59]
• Damon Thayer, Majority Leader of the Kentucky Senate^[29][60]

Results

Republican primary results^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ryan Quarles	92,700	50.39
	Republican	Richard Heath	91,273	49.61
Total votes			183,973	100.0

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ryan Quarles (R)	Jean-Marie Lawson Spann (D)	Other	Undecided
SurveyUSA[30]	October 23–26, 2015	798	± 3.5%	40%	33%	—	24%
WKU[31]	October 19–25, 2015	770	± 3.5%	37%	30%	—	33%
SurveyUSA[32]	September 22–27, 2015	701	± 3.8%	34%	31%	—	29%
SurveyUSA[33]	July 22–28, 2015	685	± 3.8%	33%	32%	—	30%
Gravis Marketing[35]	January 5–6, 2015	608	± 4%	39%	31%	—	30%

Results

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner election, 2015

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ryan Quarles	563,383	60.1
	Democratic	Jean-Marie Lawson Spann	374,402	39.9
Total votes			937,785	100.0
	Republican hold

Kentucky Supreme Court

Districts of the Supreme Court from 1991 to 2022.

District 7

Results by county:

  Wright

•   50–60%
•   80–90%

  Stumbo

•   50–60%

A non-partisan special election was held along with the May 19, 2015 primary elections to fill the 7th district seat of the Kentucky Supreme Court.^[61] The seat was vacated when Justice Will T. Scott resigned to run for governor.^[62] The winner of the election was elected to serve the remainder of Scott's term, with the seat coming up for re-election next in 2020.

Candidates

Declared

• Janet Stumbo, Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge and former Kentucky Supreme Court Justice^[63]
• Sam Wright, Kentucky Circuit Court Judge^[63]

Withdrew

• John Lewis, Elliott County Attorney^[63]

Results

General election results^[64]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Sam Wright	40,676	51.85%
	Independent	Janet Stumbo	37,772	48.15%
Total votes			78,448	100%