Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2026
 |
U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State House • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Municipal • All local elections by county • How to run for office |
 |
| 2026 State Judicial Elections | |
|---|---|
2027 »
« 2025
| |
 | |
| Overview | |
| Supreme Courts Overview | |
| Appellate Courts Overview | |
| View judicial elections by state: | |
Two Kentucky intermediate appellate court seat are up for nonpartisan special election on November 3, 2026. The filing deadline for the seat held by appointed judge Will Moynahan was January 9, 2026.[1] The filing deadline for the seat vacated by James Lambert is June 2, 2026.[2]
Candidates and results
District 5, Division 1
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Special general election for Kentucky Court of Appeals 5th Division 1
Incumbent Will Moynahan (Nonpartisan) and Lucy Ferguson VanMeter (Nonpartisan) are running in the special general election for Kentucky Court of Appeals 5th Division 1 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Will Moynahan (Nonpartisan) | |
| Lucy Ferguson VanMeter (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary
The primary scheduled for May 19, 2026, was canceled. Incumbent Will Moynahan (Nonpartisan) and Lucy Ferguson VanMeter (Nonpartisan) advanced from the special primary for Kentucky Court of Appeals 5th Division 1 without appearing on the ballot.
District 3, Division 2
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Kentucky
Selection
The fourteen judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals are elected to eight-year terms in nonpartisan elections. They must run for re-election if they wish to serve subsequent terms.[3]
Qualifications
To serve on the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the judge must be:
| “ | ” |
Chief judge
The judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals select one colleague to serve as chief judge for a four-year term. The chief judge assigns judges to their panels and designates cases for each panel.[3]
Vacancies
If a midterm vacancy occurs, the governor appoints a successor from a list of three names provided by the Kentucky Judicial Nominating Commission. If the term the appointee will fill expires at the next election, the appointment is for the remainder of the term. If the term does not expire at the next election and that election is more than three months away, the appointee must stand for election, and the election is for the remainder of the unexpired term. If the term does not expire at the next election, but the election is less than three months away, the appointee must stand for election in the election following the next. The election is for the remainder of the unexpired term, if any; if none of the term is left, the election is for a full term.[3]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Lexington Herald Leader, "Beshear picks naval captain to fill Goodwine’s Central KY Court of Appeals seat," April 15, 2025
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Phone conversation with Kentucky Secretary of State office," February 10, 2026
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed September 15, 2021
- ↑ Kentucky Board of Elections, "Candidate Qualifications," accessed March 31, 2023
- ↑ Kentucky Legislature, "Kentucky Constitution, Section 122," accessed June 1, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky
State courts:
Kentucky Supreme Court • Kentucky Court of Appeals • Kentucky Circuit Courts • Kentucky District Courts • Kentucky Family Court
State resources:
Courts in Kentucky • Kentucky judicial elections • Judicial selection in Kentucky
