State Elections Review: Divisive primaries in Kentucky, Pennsylvania reach different conclusions
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May 20, 2015
| Matt Bevin ad: Food Fight (May 8, 2015) |
By State Desk staff Follow @ballotpedia
A contentious four-way battle for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Kentucky highlighted a busy spring evening for state elections. Matt Bevin, a former U.S. Senate challenger to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, remained ahead of James Comer Jr. by 83 votes with all counties reporting at the time of publication. Comer requested a recanvassing of primary votes but suggested that he would back Bevin if the result does not change.
Bevin rose in pre-primary polling as Comer and Hal Heiner sparred over allegations that Comer abused an ex-girlfriend in the 1990s. The accusations pushed Heiner and Comer to duel over the accusations as Bevin's campaign compared the spat to a lunchroom food fight in a TV ad. The winner of the Republican primary advances to the November 3 general election against Attorney General Jack Conway, who coasted to victory against Geoff Young in the Democratic primary. To learn about other state executive primaries in Kentucky, click here.[1]
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court primary attracted big contributions and yielded a competitive field for three seats in November. Democrats selected Christine Donohue, Kevin M. Dougherty and David N. Wecht while Republicans nominated Anne Covey, Michael A. George and Judith F. Olson in the primary. The six remaining candidates head to the November 3 general election with approximately $2 million in cash on hand according to state campaign finance records. The lone incumbent on the primary ballot, Republican Correale Stevens, was unable to win nomination following his appointment in 2013. November's election will determine the partisan balance of the court as two vacancies will be filled to round out a 3-2 Republican majority. This race to the court also represents the first competitive election since 2009. Click here to learn more about other judicial races in Pennsylvania.[2]
In New Hampshire, constituents in state house Rockingham District 32 elected 19-year-old college student Yvonne M. Dean-Bailey (R) to replace Brian F. Dobson (R) in the House of Representatives.[3] Dobson resigned to become veteran liaison for U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta (R). Dean-Bailey defeated former two-term house member Maureen Mann (D) by 126 votes in the special election.[3]
Kentucky
State Executives
Gubernatorial race
Democratic
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Jack Conway/Sannie Overly |
78.8% | 140,627 | ||
| Geoff Young/Johnathan Masters | 21.2% | 37,887 | ||
| Total Votes | 178,514 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky State Board of Elections. | ||||
Republican
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky Republican Primary, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Matt Bevin/Jenean Hampton |
32.9% | 70,479 | ||
| James Comer Jr./Chris McDaniel | 32.9% | 70,396 | ||
| Hal Heiner/K.C. Crosbie | 27.1% | 57,948 | ||
| Will T. Scott/Rodney Coffey | 7.2% | 15,364 | ||
| Total Votes | 214,187 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky State Board of Elections. | ||||
New Hampshire
State House
| New Hampshire House of Representatives, Rockingham 32, Special Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Yvonne M. Dean-Bailey |
52.4% | 1,359 | |
| Democratic | Maureen Mann | 47.6% | 1,233 | |
| Total Votes | 2,592 | |||
Pennsylvania
State Courts
- See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2015
Candidates competing for three open seats
| Primary election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | David N. Wecht |
12.2% | 365,788 | |
| Democratic | Christine Donohue |
11.9% | 357,235 | |
| Democratic | Kevin M. Dougherty |
11.8% | 354,001 | |
| Democratic | John H. Foradora | 3.9% | 115,517 | |
| Democratic | Anne Lazarus | 9.2% | 275,944 | |
| Democratic | Dwayne D. Woodruff | 6.5% | 194,686 | |
| Republican | Correale Stevens | 4.7% | 140,613 | |
| Republican | Anne Covey |
9.1% | 273,157 | |
| Republican | Rebecca L. Warren | 5.1% | 152,538 | |
| Republican | Michael A. George |
9.7% | 291,181 | |
| Republican | Cheryl Lynn Allen | 5.9% | 176,416 | |
| Republican | Judith Olson |
9.8% | 292,613 | |
| Total Votes | 2,989,689 | |||
See also
- Kentucky state executive official elections, 2015
- Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2015
- Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2015
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court elections, 2015
- New Hampshire state legislative special elections, 2015
- State legislative special elections, 2015
Footnotes
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, "Bevin's slim lead challenged by Comer," May 19, 2015
- ↑ TribLive, "Six judges nominated to vie for three seats on Pa. Supreme Court," May 19, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 concordmonitor.com, "Yvonne Dean-Bailey ekes out victory in well-attended special election state rep," May 20, 2015
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2015 - 2016 Special Elections," accessed May 20, 2015
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Home," accessed May 19, 2015
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