2015 Kentucky Secretary of State election

See also: 2015 Kentucky elections

The 2015 Kentucky Secretary of State election was held on November 3, 2015, to elect the Secretary of State of Kentucky. Primary elections were held on May 19, 2015. Incumbent Democratic Secretary Alison Lundergan Grimes narrowly won re-election to a second term against Republican nominee Steve Knipper.

2015 Kentucky Secretary of State election

← 2011 November 3, 2015 2019 →

Nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes Steve Knipper Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 493,204 470,894 Percentage 51.2% 48.8%

County results Congressional district results State house district results County results Lundergan Grimes:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Knipper:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Secretary of State before election Alison Lundergan Grimes Democratic Elected Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Alison Lundergan Grimes, incumbent Secretary of State^[1][2]

Eliminated in primary

• Charles Lovett, candidate for Jefferson County Justice of the Peace in 2010^[3]

Declined

• Colmon Elridge, aide to Governor Steve Beshear and former Executive Vice President of Young Democrats of America^[4]
• David O'Neill, Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator^[5]

Results

Primary results by county:

  Lundergan Grimes

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

Democratic primary results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alison Lundergan Grimes (incumbent)	131,654	73.24%
	Democratic	Charles Lovett	48,096	26.76%
Total votes			179,750	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Steve Knipper, former Erlanger city councilor^[7]

Withdrawn

• Michael Pitzer, business consultant^[8]

Declined

• Michael Adams, attorney and general counsel for the Republican Governors Association^[9]
• Matt Bevin, businessman and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014 (ran for governor)^[3]
• Ken Fleming, former Louisville Metro Council member^[10]
• Damon Thayer, Majority Leader of the Kentucky Senate^[11]

General election

Endorsements

Alison Lundergan Grimes (D)

• The Courier-Journal^[12]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Alison Lundergan Grimes (D)	Steve Knipper (R)	Undecided
SurveyUSA[13]	October 23–26, 2015	798	± 3.5%	50%	37%	12%
WKU Social Science Research Center[14]	October 19–25, 2015	770	± 3.5%	46%	35%	19%
Mason-Dixon Polling & Research[15]	October 6–8, 2015	625	± 4.0%	47%	45%	8%
SurveyUSA[16]	September 22–27, 2015	701	± 3.8%	46%	38%	15%
SurveyUSA/Bluegrass Poll[17]	July 22–28, 2015	685	± 3.8%	46%	40%	12%
Public Policy Polling[18]	June 18–21, 2015	1,108	± 2.9%	42%	47%	12%
Gravis Marketing[19]	January 5–6, 2015	608	± 4.0%	47%	46%	7%

Results

2015 Kentucky Secretary of State election^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Alison Lundergan Grimes (incumbent)	493,204	51.16%	–9.47
	Republican	Steve Knipper	470,894	48.84%	+9.47
Total votes			964,098	100.00%
	Democratic hold

By congressional district

Lundergan Grimes won two of six congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican.^[21]

District	Lundergan Grimes	Knipper	Representative
1st	47%	53%	Ed Whitfield
2nd	48%	52%	Brett Guthrie
3rd	64%	36%	John Yarmuth
4th	43%	57%	Thomas Massie
5th	43%	57%	Hal Rogers
6th	58%	42%	Andy Barr