Kentucky judicial election recap, 2012

2012 State Judicial Elections
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Here are some highlights from the recent Kentucky judiciary elections held on November 6, 2012.

Supreme Court

The race between Janet Stumbo and Will T. Scott was definitive. Stumbo, a former Kentucky Supreme Court justice (1993-2004) and current Kentucky Court of Appeals judge, lost to Scott by 17 percentage points. Scott received 58.1% to Stumbo’s 41.9%. Voters clearly wanted to keep on Scott, who was elected to the court in the 2004 election. Scott will keep his seat another 8 years.

Court of Appeals

Kentucky had just one Court of Appeals race which ended dramatically with a close vote. Irv Maze and Jim Shake were competing for the seat. Maze, appointed by Gov. Beshear in April of 2012, had to win the election to stay on the bench. He squeaked out a victory with 50.79% of the vote, compared to Shake’s 49.21%. Ruth Ann Pence was defeated at the primary stage of the campaign.

Circuit Courts

The Circuit Court races featured no incumbents. Angela McCormick Bisig brought in the highest victory margin, soundly defeating her opponents, Eric Ison and Wanda Mitchell Baker, with 53.20% of the vote. Baker who was her closest competitor, received just 28.14% of the vote.

District Courts

The highlight at this level of the judiciary in Kentucky has to be the close victory of John S. Kelley V on election night. He brought in just 41.23% of the vote, beating his nearest competitor, Arch C. McKay III by just 5 percentage points.