The statewide primary election for Kentucky was held on May 16, 2023. Candidates competed to advance to the general election scheduled for Nov. 7, 2023. An exception to this was the special general election for Kentucky State Senate District 28, which was the final race stage.
Candidates ran in elections for governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor of public accounts, and commissioner of agriculture.
Daniel Cameron defeated Ryan Quarles, Kelly Craft, and nine other candidates in the Republican primary for governor. Cameron received 47% of the vote to Quarles’ 22% and Craft’s 18%. Incumbent Andy Beshear defeated Geoff Young and Peppy Martin in the Democratic primary with 91% of the vote to Young’s 5% and Martin’s 4%.
Incumbent Michael Adams defeated Stephen L. Knipper and Allen Maricle in the Republican primary for secretary of state with 64% of the vote. The Democratic primary was cancelled, and Charles Wheatley advanced to the general.
Mark Metcalf defeated Andrew Cooperrider and OJ Oleka in the Republican primary for treasurer with 51% of the vote. The Democratic primary was cancelled, and Michael Bowman advanced to the general.
Allison Ball defeated Derek Leonard Petteys in the Republican primary for auditor of public accounts with 72% of the vote. The Democratic primary was cancelled, and Kimberley Reeder advanced to the general.
Jonathan Shell defeated Richard Heath in the Republican primary for commissioner of agriculture with 57% of the vote, while Sierra Enlow defeated Mikael Malone in the Democratic primary with 58% of the vote.
Greg Elkins (R) defeated Robert Sainte (D) and Richard Henderson (Independent) with 50% of the vote in a special election for Kentucky State Senate District 28.
Kentucky’s primary was the 5th statewide primary to take place in the 2023 election cycle. The next primary is on June 6 in New Jersey.
Daniel Cameron defeated Ryan Quarles, Kelly Craft, and nine other candidates in the Republican primary for governor of Kentucky on May 16. Cameron will face incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear (D) in the general election on Nov. 7.
Cameron received 47% of the vote to Quarles’ 22% and Craft’s 18%. The three led in polling and media attention throughout the race.
Ahead of the primary, the Associated Press’ Bruce Schreiner wrote that “[t]he top contenders often sound[ed] alike on core GOP issues. They support gun rights, oppose abortion and demand more parental input in school policies.”
Cameron was first elected attorney general in 2019, when he defeated Gregory Stumbo (D) 58% to 42%. Cameron previously worked as a law clerk and legal counsel to U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R). President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Cameron in June 2022. Following the endorsement, Cameron said, “With President Trump’s support, we are more ready than ever to take on the Beshear-Biden agenda that is failing our families and doesn’t reflect the values of our 120 counties.”
Quarles, a former state representative, has served as Kentucky’s Commissioner of Agriculture since 2016. In a statement on his campaign website, Quarles said, “Kentucky deserves a Governor who knows what a hard day’s work looks like. Whether it was getting mud on my boots at the farm or teaching our next generations, I believe I will be that Governor.” Quarles had the endorsements of four state senators, 22 state representatives, and other local state officials.
Craft served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under Trump from 2019 to 2021 and as U.S. Ambassador to Canada from 2017 to 2019. In a campaign ad, Kelly said, “I’m unapologetic about being pro-life, defending our veterans, and defending our second amendment.” U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R), and Vivek Ramaswamy endorsed Craft.
Heading into the primary, Vox’ Ben Jacobs wrote that Cameron’s key advantage was Trump’s endorsement. “The former president issued an endorsement of Cameron in 2022 which the state attorney general has heavily touted in recent weeks,” Jacobs wrote.
“In contrast,” wrote Jacobs, “Craft’s biggest advantage is her personal wealth. Her husband Joe Craft is a billionaire coal mogul. She has loaned her campaign almost $10 million this year and her husband has spent $1.5 million to fund the superPAC that supports her.”
Quarles, according to The New York Times’ Nick Corasaniti, “has aggressively campaigned in rural stretches of the state, racking up more than 235 endorsements from local officials, including county judges, mayors and magistrates.”
The outcome of the general election will determine the state’s trifecta status for at least the next year (with legislative elections scheduled for 2024). The state currently has a divided government: Democrats control the governorship, and Republicans control both legislative chambers. The Cook Political Report rates the general election Lean D.
The lieutenant governor is also up for election. In Kentucky, gubernatorial and lieutenant governor candidates run as a ticket. Gubernatorial candidates have until Aug. 8 to designate a running mate.
Kentucky—alongside Kansas, Louisiana, and North Carolina—was one of four states with a Democratic governor that President Donald Trump (R) won in 2020. That year, Trump defeated Joe Biden (D) 62% to 36% in the state. The last Democratic presidential nominee to carry the state was former President Bill Clinton in 1996.
At the state level, Democratic governors had led Kentucky for 64 of the past 76 years. The state had elected three Republican governors since World War II, each serving single terms from 1967 to 1971, 2003 to 2007, and 2015 to 2019.
Jacob Clark, David Cooper, Bob DeVore, Eric Deters, Mike Harmon, Alan Keck, Dennis Ray Ormerod, Johnny Ray Rice, and Robbie Smith also ran in the primary.
Kentucky also held elections for Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, and Commissioner of Agriculture on Tuesday, as well as a special election for State Senate District 28.
Incumbent Michael Adams defeated two candidates—2015 Republican nominee Stephen Knipper and former state Rep. Allen Maricle—in the Republican primary for Kentucky secretary of state on May 16. Adams faces former state Rep. Charles Wheatley—the only candidate who ran for the Democratic nomination—in the general election on Nov. 7.
Adams was elected secretary of state in 2019, defeating Heather French Henry (D), 52% to 48%. He succeeded Alison Lundergan Grimes (D), who served two terms in the position from 2012 to 2020. Grimes was unable to run in 2019 due to term limits. Before Adams, the previous Republican secretary of state was Trey Grayson (R), who served from 2005 until 2012.
According to the state’s official website, the secretary of state is “responsible for business registration, preservation of state records, state election management, and other administrative, fiscal and personnel tasks.”
Adams received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville and a law degree from Harvard University. He previously worked in Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s (R) administration, in the U.S. attorney general’s office during George W. Bush’s (R) presidency, and as an attorney specializing in election law. He served on the Kentucky State Board of Elections from 2016 to 2020. Adams stated why he was running on his website: “We’ve done more in 3 years to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat than our predecessors were able to do in 200 years…I do not take this race for granted, nor should anyone who wants fair, free, accessible and secure elections.”
Knipper is the chief of staff for Kentucky Lieutenant Govenor Jenean Hampton (R). He was the Republican nominee for secretary of state in 2015, losing to Lundergan Grimes (D) in the general election, 51% to 49%, and he finished third in the Republican primary for the office in 2019. Knipper received a bachelor’s degree from Northern Kentucky University and previously worked as a business analyst and project manager for The Cincinnati Insurance Companies and Catholic Health Initiatives. He said he ran because “The election concerns I have had for nearly a decade are now recurring national news. The election topic is not going away this time, so I am dedicating myself once again to address it.”
Maricle is a political and broadcast television consultant and served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. Maricle received a bachelor’s degree from Sullivan University and previously worked as a sales manager for a magazine and several local television stations. Maricle said that he would “bring his extensive knowledge of elections and campaign finance to the forefront, and will work tirelessly to ensure that all citizens have the opportunity to participate in the democratic process.
Adams supported changes to Kentucky’s voting procedures during the coronavirus pandemic. Zach Montellaro of Politico wrote, “Kentucky earned measured praise from voting rights advocates for how it largely sidestepped the missing ballots, long lines and other problems faced by many states amid coronavirus. The Democratic governor and Republican secretary of state reached bipartisan agreement on a massive expansion of absentee voting, leading to the highest primary turnout in Kentucky since the hard-fought 2008 presidential primary.”
Adams also supported election administration legislation that Kentucky’s Republican-controlled General Assembly passed in 2021 and that Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signed into law. “House Bill 564…creates additional in-person voting days, adds protections for poll workers, and codifies our existing policy of not connecting the voting machines to the internet.” “Senate Bill 216…doubling the number of counties subject to post-election audit, moving up the full transition to paper ballots, and placing voting machines under video surveillance when not being used.”
Jane Timm of NBC News wrote that Knipper stated in 2021 that “Donald Trump won the 2020 election and that he personally saw hackers manipulate U.S. election results online.” Timm also said Knipper “criticized the supercenters and early voting codified in the 2021 law and fought against the use of electronic voting machines.
Maricle believed there was fraud in Kentucky’s 2022 general election and said he would make the following changes to the state’s voting processes: “Clean up the voter rolls. Eliminate the ERIC system…look into the voter machine process and give counties more options to choose from. Give back local control to the county clerk’s. Create an office called Election Integrity Task force to look into every election complaint and give prompt answers to the public.”
The state’s membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) was also an issue in the campaign. According to Timm, Adams “doesn’t want to remove the state from ERIC…[and] said ERIC is a helpful tool in election administration.” Both Knipper and Maricle have said that Kentucky should withdraw from ERIC.
The Kentucky Supreme Court issued 19 opinions from April 24-30. As of April 30, the court issued 62 opinions in 2023 — 14 fewer than this point a year ago. Three of the 19 opinions are below:
City of Pikevill v. Ky. Concealed Carry Coalition, Inc., where the court “reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing a summary judgment granted by the circuit court dismissing the claims brought by Kentucky Concealed Carry Coalition (KC3)…holding that KC3 lacked standing to bring this action.”
Leavell v. Commonwealth, where the court “affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of one count each of murder, receiving stolen property – firearm, and tampering with physical evidence, holding that Appellant was not entitled to relief on her claims of error.”
From April 24-30, state supreme courts issued 172 opinions nationally. The West Virginia Supreme Court issued the most with 36. State supreme courts in 14 states issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 109 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 63.
The Kentucky Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Laurance VanMeter. The court issued 167 opinions in 2022 and 225 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 2,201 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 1,224 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 977. Kentucky is a divided government, meaning neither party holds trifecta control.
Four states have recently advanced Republican-sponsored bills prohibiting union dues deductions for certain public-sector employees.
Here’s what those bills say and where they stand.
Arkansas
Arkansas lawmakers delivered Senate Bill 473 to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) on April 7 after the House passed the bill on April 6.
SB 473 states: “A school district board of directors or representatives of a school district board of directors shall not deduct dues, fees, or contributions from the pay of a teacher or classified employee on behalf of any professional or labor organization or political fund.”
Republicans have had trifecta control of Arkansas’ government since 2015.
Florida
The Florida State Senate passed a committee substitute for SB 256, allowing for a waiver of certain aspects of the bill for mass transit employee unions, on March 29. In the House, a committee substitute for HB 1445 with the same allowance for mass transit employee unions was added to the Second Reading Calendar on April 13.
The bills both state that, with certain exceptions for unions representing law enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers, and firefighters, “an employee organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent may not have its dues and uniform assessments deducted and collected by the employer from the salaries of those employees in the unit. A public employee may pay dues and uniform assessments directly to the employee organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent.”
Republicans have had trifecta control in Florida since 2011.
Kentucky
After Gov. Andy Beshear (D) vetoed Senate Bill 7 on March 27, the legislature voted to override the veto on March 29.
SB 7 states: “A public employer shall not deduct from the wages, earnings, or compensation of any public employee for … [a]ny dues, fees, assessments, or other charges to be held for, transferred to, or paid over to a labor organization[.]”
In his veto message, Beshear wrote, “Senate Bill 7 is special legislation targeting public employees in violation of Section 59 of the Kentucky Constitution. … Senate Bill 7 is an attack on unions and teachers associations that support and protect hard working Kentucky families. … Senate Bill 7 also has First Amendment implications, stifling public employees’ freedom of speech.”
Kentucky has had a divided government since 2019, with a Democratic governor and Republican-controlled House and Senate.
Tennessee
The Tennessee Senate passed Senate Bill 281 on March 30. The House received the bill from the Senate on April 3.
SB 281 states, “Notwithstanding chapter 5, part 6 of this title, [a local education agency (LEA)] shall not deduct dues from the wages of the LEA’s employees for a professional employees’ organization, including, but not limited to, a professional employees’ organization that is affiliated with a labor organization exempt under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(5). This section does not prohibit an employee of an LEA from personally and voluntarily remitting dues to a professional employees’ organization.”
Republicans have had trifecta control of Tennessee’s government since 2011.
Additional context
Similar bills introduced this year in Oklahoma and Oregon have not advanced. In 2022, Florida Republicans introduced a set of bills similar to the ones being considered in 2023, one of which passed the House and one that did not advance out of committee in the Senate.
In 2021, West Virginia passed a law prohibiting public-sector employers from deducting union dues from the paychecks of state, county, and certain municipal employees. After a group of unions filed a lawsuit, a state circuit judge temporarily blocked the law from going into effect. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the judge’s ruling.
Bills introduced in 2021 in Indiana, Montana, and New Jersey did not make it out of their respective originating chambers.
Kentucky is holding elections, including for state treasurer, on May 16, 2023. A number of candidates running in these elections completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office.
Below is a selection of responses from the candidates who filled out the survey as of April 9. To read each candidate’s full responses, click their name at the bottom of the article.
Mark Metcalf (R) is running for Kentucky State Treasurer and the primary election is on May 16. Here’s how Metcalf responded to the question: What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
“I am running for Kentucky State Treasurer to protect Kentucky’s revenues and pension funds from being stolen by woke corporations. I am funning for Kentucky State Treasurer return over $800 million to the rightful owners. I am running for Kentucky State Treasurer fix the pension problem and assure every County in Kentucky has up to date computer software and hardware to service their systems.”
OJ Oleka (R) is running for Kentucky State Treasurer and the primary election is on May 16. Here’s how Oleka responded to the question: What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
“Budget Transparency, Financial Literacy, Less Government Spending, Tax Reform, Pension Reform, Pushing Back Against ESG, Preventing Wasteful Spending, Pro-Life, Pro-Second Amendment.”
If you’re a Kentucky candidate or incumbent, click here to take the survey. The survey contains over 30 questions, and you can choose the ones you feel will best represent your views to voters. If you complete the survey, a box with your answers will display on your Ballotpedia profile. Your responses will also populate the information that appears in our mobile app, My Vote Ballotpedia.
The Kentucky Supreme Court issued 25 opinions from March 20-26. As of March 26, the court issued 43 opinions in 2023 — 16 fewer than this point a year ago. Three of 25 opinions are below:
Commonwealth v. McMichael, where the court affirmed the appellate court’s reversal of a trial court’s judgment ordering the defendant to pay $62,493 in restitution jointly and severally with his co-defendant after pleading guilty to the theft of pieces of stainless-steel siding from a diner.
Pozo-Illas v. Commonwealth, where the court affirmed the defendant’s conviction of wanton murder and other crimes as well as his sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment. The court held that the defendant was not entitled to relief based on his allegations that the trial court committed errors.
MGG Investment Group LP v. Bemak N.V., Ltd., where the court held that the Food Security Act of 1985 (FSA) was preemptive of Kentucky’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). The UCC allowed security interest to remain when farm products passed from seller to buyer. However, under the meaning of the FSA, the court held that thoroughbreds and the right to breed them are farm products whose security interest is extinguished when sold to a buyer.
From March 20-26, state supreme courts issued 125 opinions nationally. The Kentucky Supreme Court issued the most with 25. State supreme courts in 22 states issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 78 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 47.
The Kentucky Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Laurance VanMeter. The court issued 167 opinions in 2022 and 225 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 1,491 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 807 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 684. Kentucky is a divided government, meaning neither party holds trifecta control.
Eight states—Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington—are holding statewide elections this year.
Absentee/mail-in voting is voting that does not happen in person on Election Day but instead occurs another way, usually by mail. All states allow for some form of absentee/mail-in voting. Some states require voters to provide a valid excuse in order to be eligible to vote absentee/by mail, while others do not.
Seven states—California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington—provide for automatic mail-in voting, meaning that every voter receives a ballot in the mail by default. In Vermont, voters automatically receive a ballot for general elections only.
Fifteen states require voters to provide a reason for requesting a mail-in ballot. Twenty-eight states do not require voters to provide a reason for requesting a mail-in ballot.
The table below shows the absentee/mail-in request deadlines for primary and general elections this year:
Rules for requesting absentee/mail-in ballots vary by state. For example, Kentucky requires requests for absentee/mail ballots to be submitted through its online system, while New Jersey does not accept request made online or electronically. In New Jersey, absentee/mail-in ballot requests must be either submitted in person or by mail, while Wisconsin does not allow in-person requests for absentee/mail-in ballots. Requests must be made either online or by mail in Wisconsin.
Of the eight states holding statewide elections this year, Mississippi is the only one that does not require requests for absentee/mail-in ballots to be submitted by any specific deadline.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) issued one executive order from March 13-19. As of March 19, Beshear has issued one executive order in 2023 — one more than he did at this point a year ago.
Executive Order 2023-155, where the governor prohibited price gouging following a severe weather system.
Governors use executive orders to manage executive branch operations. During the week of March 13-19, the nation’s governors issued 25 executive orders. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued the most with nine. Governors in 39 states issued the fewest with zero. Democratic governors issued 13 of the 25 orders, while Republican governors issued 12.
Beshear has served as governor since Dec. 10, 2019. He issued seven executive orders in 2022 and three in 2021. Nationally, governors issued at least 1,559 executive orders in 2022. Governors have issued 345 executive orders in 2023. Republican governors issued 210, while Democratic governors issued 135. Kentucky is a divided government, meaning neither party holds trifecta control.
As of March 19, members of the Kentucky General Assembly, which includes the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky State Senate, have passed one bill related to election administration since the beginning of the year. A bipartisan group of legislators sponsored the bill. The bill is:
KY HB302: AN ACT relating to elections and declaring an emergency, Reps. Rachel Roberts (D), Joshua Branscum (R), Jennifer Decker (R), Daniel Fister (R), and James Tipton (R).
The bill has not been enacted into law as of March 19.
From March 13-19, legislators passed 19 bills related to election administration nationally. As of March 19, South Dakota legislators have passed the most bills this year with 17, while legislators in 33 states have passed none. The state with the most enacted bills is Utah with five, while 40 states have enacted none.
The Kentucky General Assembly is scheduled to be in session from Jan. 3 to March 30 this year. In 2022, Kentucky legislators passed five election-related bills, four in the state House and one in the state Senate. All five bills were enacted into law. Kentucky is a divided government, meaning neither party holds trifecta control.
