Democrats and Republicans endorse competing candidates in Kentucky’s nonpartisan Supreme Court election

By

Ellen Morrissey

Welcome to the Friday, Oct. 25, Brew. 

By: Mercedes Yanora

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Democrats and Republicans endorse competing candidates in Kentucky’s nonpartisan Supreme Court election
  2. 50 states in 25 days – Michigan and Maryland 
  3. Did you know that nine states require lawmakers to pass constitutional amendments in two consecutive legislative sessions before they can go before voters?

Democrats and Republicans endorse competing candidates in Kentucky’s nonpartisan Supreme Court election 

In Tuesday’s edition of the Brew, we previewed the elected state supreme court seats on the ballot this year. Today, we’ll look at one such election in Kentucky.

Pamela R. Goodwine and Erin Izzo are running in the general election for the Kentucky Supreme Court 5th District on Nov. 5. Kentucky is one of 13 states that selects state supreme court judges in nonpartisan elections. 

Goodwine and Izzo are running to replace retiring incumbent Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter. The winner will not replace VanMeter as chief justice, however. The court selected Justice Debra Hembree Lambert as chief justice on Sept. 23, 2024. Hembree Lambert will formally take office on Jan. 6, 2025.

Kentucky’s seven-justice Supreme Court is officially nonpartisan. However, Democrats and Republicans have both endorsed and donated to opposing candidates. Governor Andy Beshear (D) endorsed Goodwine and former Govs. Steve Beshear (D) and Paul Patton (D) donated to her campaign. The Clark County Republican Party endorsed Izzo and local Republican groups in Fayette and Madison counties donated to her campaign.

According to Bolts, “While Kentucky is now staunchly red, its judicial elections are nonpartisan, and the court’s politics can be difficult to decipher. … [W]ith Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter—a Republican even if he ran for judge without a party label—retiring and leaving an open seat on the ballot … [t]he race to replace him could shift the court one step to the left.” 

Goodwine, a judge for the Kentucky Court of Appeals 5th Appellate District, said, “I have been a registered independent since I became a judge and I am known for continually displaying a strong work ethic along with honesty and integrity to ensure justice for all. … I have staunch supporters from all parties and welcome and accept invitations from all parties to participate in their events.” Izzo, a partner at Lexington law firm Landrum & Shouse, said she was also open to appearing before groups that lean left, right, or are neutral, and that it “‘would be dangerous for Kentucky’ to open up judicial races to more partisanship in the future.”

Writing in Sabato’s Crystal Ball, Louis Jacobson said Kentucky is one of five states—the other four being Michigan, Ohio, Montana, and North Carolina—to “have competitive supreme court elections this year with results that could shift the court’s ideological balance, at least to a degree.”

In an interview with the Kentucky Lantern, both candidates talked about their experience, motivations for running, and judicial philosophy. Having served on an intermediate appellate, circuit, and district court, Goodwine said, “Upon election to the Kentucky Supreme Court, I will be the first woman and only the fifth person in history to serve at all levels of the judiciary in Kentucky. And I pledge to bring … not only the legal expertise, work ethic, preparedness and passion for the law … but also a commitment to approaching each case with a dedication to the rule of law and justice for all.” She also said that the Supreme Court was “‘the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution, laws and rulings’ … and renders rulings with binding legal precedents.”

Izzo said her 19 years of work on litigation, arbitration, and mediation qualified her to serve on the Supreme Court and that “[a]s an arbitrator, we do a lot of the same things that judges do. We look at cases. We have attorneys come before us. I hear arguments. I make decisions. I hear evidence. I preside over trials.” She also described herself as a constitutionalist: “If there’s something there that might be better socially, or might (be) something that I disagree with, it’s not my place to change. I look at how things are, what the intention of the founding fathers were with our Constitution, and that kind of carries over to what legislative intent was when a law was adopted.”

Kentucky has a divided government, with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled Legislature. Heading into the 2024 elections, Kentucky is one of four states with a governor of one party and a veto-proof state legislative majority of the opposing party. In Kentucky, the Legislature needs only a simple majority to override the governor’s veto.

Thirty-three states are holding state supreme court elections this year. In total, 82 of the 158 elected state supreme court seats, or 52%, are up for election. Of these seats, nonpartisan justices hold 61, Republican justices hold 15, and Democratic justices hold six.

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50 states in 25 days – Michigan and Maryland 

Continuing our 50 states in 25 days coverage, today, we will look at what’s on the ballot in Michigan and Maryland. Yesterday, we gave our readers a sample of what to expect in Florida and South Carolina. With five business days between now and the final Friday before the election, let’s continue looking into what’s on the ballot across the nation.

Michigan

Let’s start with a look at some key dates and deadlines in Michigan.

  • The deadline for registering in person, by mail, or online was Oct. 21. Early voting begins Oct. 26 and ends on Nov. 3. 
  • All polls open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (local time). Everyone who is in line when the polls close must be allowed to vote. Voters can find polling locations here.
    • We’ve listed Michigan’s time zone as “local time” because most of the state observes Eastern Time, while several counties observe Central Time.
    • Michigan is one of 15 states with more than one time zone. 

What’s on the ballot? 

  • Michigan voters will elect one U.S. Senator and 13 U.S. Representatives. Three incumbents, including Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D), did not run for re-election.
  • All 110 seats in the state House are up for election. There are eight open seats in the state House. There are no elections for the state Senate this year. 
  • There are eight state executive offices on the ballot—two University of Michigan Board of  Regents seats, two Michigan State University Board of Trustees seats, two Wayne State University Board of Governors seats, and two State Board of Education seats.
  • There are two Michigan Supreme Court seats and nine intermediate appellate court seats up for election.
  • Four Ann Arbor Public Schools school board seats, two Dearborn Public Schools school board seats, and three Detroit Public Schools Community District school board seats are up for election. Ballotpedia covered all other school board elections in Michigan, including those outside of our regular coverage scope. Click here to view other school board elections.
  • Voters in Lansing will also vote for prosecuting attorney. Wayne County is holding elections for county clerk, prosecutor, register of deeds, sheriff, treasurer, county commission, community college board, circuit court judges, district court judges, and probate court judges.
  • Michigan is one of 26 states where we are expanding our local election coverage beyond the nation’s biggest cities, school districts, and state capitals. Including those mentioned above, Ballotpedia is covering 7,968 races featuring 13,827 candidates for offices such as local councils and other county-level positions.

Maryland

Next is Maryland. 

  • The deadline for registering by mail or online was Oct. 15. For in-person registration, the deadline is Nov. 5. Early voting began Oct. 24 and ends on Oct. 31. 
  • All polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Everyone who is in line when the polls close must be allowed to vote. Voters can find polling locations here.

What’s on the ballot? 

Want to learn more about the elections you’ll be voting in this year? Click here to use our Sample Ballot Lookup tool!

The information above is just a small snippet of the detailed information on Ballotpedia for each state. You can check out our deep dive into Michigan’s 2024 elections here and Maryland’s 2024 elections here.

Also, make sure to check back to our hub page, linked below, for future installments of the series.

Keep reading 

Did you know that nine states require lawmakers to pass constitutional amendments in two consecutive legislative sessions before they can go before voters? Those states are Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

In Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, lawmakers can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot during either one or two sessions, depending on the size of the vote and other factors. 

Delaware is unique among states in that constitutional amendments do not require voter approval. 
Click here to learn more about two-session requirements for legislatively referred constitutional amendments.