1,943 county-level candidates appeared on Kentucky’s 2026 primary ballots. Of those candidates, 1,699 (87.4%) were Republicans and 244 (12.6%) were Democrats.
(Note: Candidates without an opponent of the same political party did not appear on the primary ballot and are not included in this analysis.)
Magistrate and commissioner races accounted for the largest share of candidates, with 1,107 total candidates appearing on primary ballots statewide. Judge/executive races featured 236 candidates, followed by sheriff races with 218 candidates.
View primary election results in KACo's interactive database.
Incumbents with a primary challenger
A total of 416 incumbents appeared on 2026 primary ballots, representing 21.4% of all county candidates.
County attorney races featured the highest percentage of incumbents on the ballot, with incumbents accounting for 40% of all county attorney candidates. County clerk races had the second-highest incumbent share at 25.7%, followed by Jailers at 23.2%.
Sheriff races featured the lowest incumbent percentage, with incumbents accounting for 17.9% of candidates.
Incumbent losses
Incumbents faced a challenging primary election cycle in 2026.
Overall, 116 of the 416 incumbents appearing on primary ballots lost their races — an incumbent loss rate of 27.9%.
Loss rates were nearly identical between Democrat and Republican incumbents:
- Democrat incumbents: 28.6% loss rate
- Republican incumbents: 27.8% loss rate
Incumbent loss rates varied substantially by office.
Among judge/executive incumbents appearing on the ballot, 18 of 51 lost their primary races — a loss rate of 35%.
County attorney races saw the highest incumbent loss rate. Although only eight incumbent County Attorneys appeared on primary ballots, five lost reelection bids, resulting in a 62.5% incumbent loss rate.
Magistrate and commissioner incumbents also experienced significant turnover, with 73 of 233 incumbents defeated — a 31.3% loss rate.
Incumbent county clerks, jailers and sheriffs generally experienced lower loss rates.
Primary voter turnout 2022-2026
According to the Kentucky Secretary of State, there were 863,999 votes cast in the 2026 primary election. With 2,985,447 registered Republican or Democrat voters (1,610,910 registered Republicans and 1,374,537 registered Democrats as of April 2026), that represents a turnout rate of 28.9% among voters eligible to participate in Kentucky’s closed primary system.
The total turnout in 2026 was 137,438 votes higher than in 2022, when 726,561 ballots were cast — an increase of 18.9%.
In April 2022, Kentucky had 3,217,367 total registered voters (1,599,306 Republicans and 1,618,061 Democrats). That produced a turnout rate of 22.6% in the 2022 primary among voters eligible to participate, compared to 28.9% in 2026.
Voter registration trends 2022-2026
Kentucky’s voter registration landscape continued shifting between 2022 and 2026.
Compared to April 2022:
- Republican registration increased by 11,604 voters, or 0.7%
- Democrat registration declined by 243,524 voters, or 15.1%
- Registrations among all other affiliations — including independents, libertarians and other parties — increased by 36,849 voters, or 10.7%
From April 2022 to April 2026, overall statewide registration declined by 194,909 voters, falling from 3,560,353 registered voters in 2022 to 3,365,444 in 2026 — a decrease of 5.5%.
