Kentucky's 1st Congressional District election, 2016
2018 →
← 2014
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November 8, 2016 |
May 17, 2016 |
James Comer  |
Ed Whitfield |
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Cook Political Report: Solid R[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe R[2] Rothenberg & Gonzales: Safe R[3] |
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The 1st Congressional District of Kentucky held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 2016.
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Kentucky's 1st Congressional District seat was left open following incumbent Ed Whitfield's decision to retire. James Comer (R) defeated Sam Gaskins (D) and Terry McIntosh (Write-in) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Comer defeated Jason Batts, Miles Caughey Jr., and Michael Pape in the Republican primary. On the other side of the aisle, Sam Gaskins ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. The primary elections took place on May 17, 2016.[4][5][6]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Kentucky utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.[7][8][9]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Ed Whitfield (R), who was first elected in 1994. Whitfield announced that he would not seek re-election amid a House Ethics probe. Whitfield then resigned from the position on September 6, 2016.[10][11]
Kentucky's 1st Congressional District is located in western Kentucky and stretches across the southern portion of the state. It includes Adair, Allen, Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Casey Christian, Clinton, Crittenden, Cumberland, Fulton, Graves, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Metcalfe, Monroe, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Russell, Simpson, Taylor, Todd, Trigg, Union, and Webster counties and a part of Washington County.[12]
Election results
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  James Comer |
72.6% | 216,959 | |
| Democratic | Sam Gaskins | 27.3% | 81,710 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.1% | 332 | |
| Total Votes | 299,001 | |||
| Source: Kentucky Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
James Comer |
60.6% | 24,342 | ||
| Michael Pape | 23.3% | 9,357 | ||
| Jason Batts | 13.9% | 5,578 | ||
| Miles Caughey | 2.2% | 896 | ||
| Total Votes | 40,173 | |||
| Source: Kentucky State Board of Elections |
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Candidates
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General election candidates: James Comer   Sam Gaskins Terry McIntosh (Write-in) |
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Primary candidates:[13] |
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Democratic |
Republican Miles Caughey Jr.[4] James Comer- Agriculture commissioner[15] Michael Pape - District director for Ed Whitfield[16] |
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Not running: |
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Withdrew: Tom Osborne (D)[4][18] |
Endorsements
James Comer
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce - "We are proud to be in Paducah to stand with local business leaders and endorse our friend James Comer to help lead [the] fight for good paying jobs in Kentucky. Jamie is a proven and consistent conservative who will help clean up the mess in Washington and get our economy moving again."[19]
Michael Pape
- Outgoing incumbent Ed Whitfield - "Mike worked as my District Director for the entire 21 years I served in Congress. He was always an effective advocate for my constituents, and he is attuned to the needs of the people of First District. I do not know anyone more familiar with the issues facing our District, or who knows more people in the District, than Mike Pape."[20]
Media
James Comer
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Michael Pape
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District history
2014
The 1st Congressional District of Kentucky held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Ed Whitfield (R) defeated Charles Kendall Hatchett (D) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ed Whitfield Incumbent |
73.1% | 173,022 | |
| Democratic | Charles Kendall Hatchett | 26.9% | 63,596 | |
| Total Votes | 236,618 | |||
| Source: Kentucky Secretary of State | ||||
2012
The 1st Congressional District of Kentucky held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Ed Whitfield (R) won the election in the district.[21]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ed Whitfield Incumbent |
69.6% | 199,956 | |
| Democratic | Charles Kendall Hatchett | 30.4% | 87,199 | |
| Total Votes | 287,155 | |||
| Source: Kentucky Board of Elections "2012 General Election Official Vote Totals" | ||||
Important dates and deadlines
- See also: Kentucky elections, 2016
The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Kentucky in 2016.
| Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Event type | Event description | |
| January 26, 2016 | Ballot access | Candidate filing deadline for candidates running in the primary election | |
| April 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Deadline for independent, political organization and political group candidates to file statements of candidacy (federal candidates and municipal candidates of cities in the second to sixth classes) | |
| August 9, 2016 | Ballot access | Candidate deadline for filing petitions, certificates, or statements | |
| April 15, 2016 | Campaign finance | 32-day pre-primary report due | |
| May 2, 2016 | Campaign finance | 15-day pre-primary report due | |
| May 17, 2016 | Election date | Primary election | |
| June 16, 2016 | Campaign finance | 30-day post-primary report due | |
| July 16, 2016 | Campaign finance | 60-day post-primary report due | |
| October 7, 2016 | Campaign finance | 32-day pre-general report due | |
| October 24, 2016 | Campaign finance | 15-day pre-general report due | |
| November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election | |
| December 8, 2016 | Campaign finance | 30-day post-general report due | |
| January 7, 2017 | Campaign finance | 60-day post-general report due | |
| Sources: Kentucky State Board of Elections, "2016 Kentucky Election Calendar," accessed June 12, 2016 Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Candidate Reporting Dates," accessed June 12, 2015 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky, 2016
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2016 House Race Ratings for July 11, 2016," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2016 House," accessed July 18, 2016
- ↑ Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, "House Ratings," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed January 27, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Kentucky Results," May 17, 2016
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed September 6, 2016
- ↑ NCSL,"State Primary Election Types," February 06, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections,"Key Information," accessed July 26, 2024
- ↑ Roll Call, "Kentucky’s Whitfield Won’t Seek 12th Term in Congress," September 29, 2015
- ↑ The Hill, "Kentucky Republican to resign from House," August 31, 2016
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.
- ↑ Sam Gaskins for Congress, "Home," accessed October 1, 2015
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, "Comer to run for Whitfield's 1st District seat," October 1, 2015
- ↑ WKMS, "Rep. Ed Whitfield Isn't Running in 2016, But His District Director Is," September 29, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedincretire - ↑ The Paducah Sun, "Tom Osborne withdraws from race," April 19, 2016
- ↑ WKMS, "US Chamber of Commerce Endorses James Comer in 1st District Race," April 22, 2016
- ↑ Surf Ky, "Whitfield Endorses Pape for Congress," October 23, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map," accessed August 15, 2012
For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!
