2015 Kentucky elections

2015 Kentucky gubernatorial election

November 3, 2015
Turnout	30%
Nominee Matt Bevin Jack Conway Party Republican Democratic Running mate Jenean Hampton Sannie Overly Popular vote 511,374 426,620 Percentage 52.5% 43.8%
County results Bevin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Conway:      40–50%      50–60%
Governor before election Steve Beshear Democratic Elected Governor Matt Bevin Republican

Incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Beshear was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office.

In Kentucky, gubernatorial candidates pick their own running mates and they are elected on shared tickets in both the primary and general elections.

The candidates for the Democratic nomination were Attorney General of Kentucky Jack Conway and his running mate State Representative Sannie Overly;[1] and retired engineer and 2014 Congressional candidate Geoff Young and his running mate Jonathan Masters.[2] Conway and Overly easily defeated Young and Masters in the primary election for the Democratic Party nomination.[3]

For the Republicans, businessman and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 Matt Bevin ran on a ticket with Tea Party activist and 2014 State House candidate Jenean Hampton;[4] Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky James Comer ran on a ticket with State Senator Christian McDaniel;[5][6] former Louisville Metro Councilman and nominee for Mayor of Louisville in 2010 Hal Heiner ran on a ticket with former Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman and nominee for Kentucky State Treasurer in 2011 K.C. Crosbie;[7][8] and former Associate Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court Will T. Scott ran on a ticket with former Menifee County Sheriff Rodney Coffey.[9][10] Bevin held an 83-vote lead over Comer in the primary election, with both Heiner and Scott conceding. The Associated Press, referring to the race between Bevin and Comer a "virtual tie", did not call the race in favor of either candidate. In addition, Comer refused to concede and stated that he would ask for a recanvass.[11] The request for recanvass was filed with the Kentucky Secretary of State's office on May 20, 2015 with Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes ordering the recanvass to occur at 9:00 a.m. local time on May 28, 2015.[12][13] Upon completion of the recanvass, Grimes announced that Bevin remained 83 votes ahead of Comer. Grimes also stated that should Comer want a full recount, it would require a court order from the Franklin Circuit Court.[14] On May 29, Comer announced he would not request a recount and conceded the nomination to Bevin.[15]

2015 Kentucky Attorney General election

November 3, 2015

Nominee Andy Beshear Whitney Westerfield Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 479,929 477,735 Percentage 50.1% 49.9%

County results State house district results Beshear:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80-90% Westerfield:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80-90%

Attorney General before election Jack Conway Democratic Elected Attorney General Andy Beshear Democratic

Incumbent Democratic attorney general Jack Conway was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. He instead ran for governor.

The candidate that would go on to be elected Attorney General was Andy Beshear, the son of retiring governor Steve Beshear.

In 2016, Steve Beshear's former personal cabinet secretary, Tim Longmeyer, was marred in controversy when he was exposed on bribery charges, including redirecting $6,000 of kickbacks into Andy Beshear's Attorney General campaign.[17] Andy Beshear had recently hired Longmeyer as a deputy. However, the prosecutors in Longmeyer's case indicated that there is no evidence to support that Andy Beshear knew what Longmeyer was doing.[18]

Over the next three years, Republican Governor Matt Bevin spearheaded an investigation into former governor Steve Beshear's administration as well as Andy Beshear's Attorney General campaign. Spending approximately $550,000 leading up to the 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election, the investigation led to no conclusive results regarding the culpability of Steve or Andy Beshear. [19]

Beshear defeated Republican Whitney Westerfield by a margin of 0.2 percent, getting 50.1% of the vote to Westerfield's 49.9%.[20][21] The margin was approximately 2,000 votes.[22]

2015 Kentucky Secretary of State election

November 3, 2015

Nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes Steve Knipper Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 493,204 470,894 Percentage 51.2% 48.8%

County results State house district results Lundergan Grimes:      50–60%      60–70% Knipper:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Secretary of State before election Alison Lundergan Grimes Democratic Elected Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes Democratic

Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes was eligible to run for re-election to a second term in office. She had considered running for Governor of Kentucky or for Attorney General of Kentucky.[34][35][36] She decided to seek re-election.

2015 Kentucky State Auditor election

November 3, 2015

Nominee Mike Harmon Adam Edelen Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 486,741 450,316 Percentage 51.9% 48.1%

County results Harmon:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Edelen:      50–60%      60–70%

Auditor before election Adam Edelen Democratic Elected Auditor Mike Harmon Republican

Incumbent Democratic state auditor Adam Edelen had considered running for governor in 2015, even lining up a running mate, but ultimately declined to do so. He instead ran for re-election to a second term in office.[45]

2015 Kentucky Treasurer General election

November 3, 2015

Nominee Allison Ball Rick Nelson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 571,455 372,416 Percentage 60.6% 39.4%

County results State house district results Ball:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Nelson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80-90%

State Auitor before election Todd Hollenbach Democratic Elected State Auitor Allison Ball Republican

Incumbent Democratic State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. He had said that he may run for another office in 2015, but did not specify which, and eventually declined to run for another statewide office.[39] He instead successfully ran for an open seat on the Jefferson County District Court, defeating 20 other candidates.[47]

Incumbent Republican Agriculture Commissioner James Comer did not run for re-election to a second term in office. He instead ran for governor, and was defeated by Matt Bevin in the Republican primary.