Kentucky circuit court clerks and commonwealth’s attorneys, who both serve six-year terms, were on the general election ballot this year.
The unexpired terms of some other county offices, including judge/executive, magistrate/commissioner, jailer, property valuation administrator (PVA), sheriff, coroner, county attorney and county clerk, were also decided on Tuesday in special elections.
You can view all county office candidates and 2024 general election results on KACo’s County Election Results page here.
Across all races, incumbent candidates won 158 out of a total of 194 seats. Winners included 126 Republicans, 66 Democrats and 2 Independents.
Circuit court clerks
There were 123 candidates for circuit court clerk, 117 of which were running unopposed. The three counties with more than one candidate were Clark, Menifee and Warren. Two of the three incumbents won their elections (Menifee and Warren).
Among the 120 winners:
- 105 were incumbent candidates
- 45 candidates were Democrats (38%), 75 were Republicans (62%)
Commonwealth’s attorneys
Commonwealth’s attorneys were on the ballot in all 57 judicial circuits. Sixty-three candidates were on the ballot, with contested races in six circuits (19th, 33rd, 41st, 44th, 47th, 52nd).
These six circuits serve 10 counties (Bell, Bracken, Clay, Fleming, Graves, Jackson, Leslie, Letcher, Mason, Perry).
Among the 57 winners:
- 41 were incumbent candidates
- 18 candidates were Democrats, 37 were Republicans and two were Independents
Special Elections for Other County Offices
Judge/Executive
In Livingston County, incumbent Democrat Teris Swanson lost to Republican Michael Williams. Swanson had been appointed by Gov. Andy Beshear in January after the previous judge/executive resigned.
Magistrate/Commissioner
Magistrate/commissioner races were held in Bourbon, Franklin, Hancock, Ohio, and Pike counties.
Notable outcomes included:
- Bourbon County: Democrat Joe McCarty, appointed after the passing of Don Menke, lost to Republican Henry Lovell.
- Franklin County: Democrat Mike Harrod, appointed after Scotty Tracy stepped down, won against Republican Darrell Sanderson.
- Hancock County: Democrat Darrell Wall, appointed in April, lost to Republican Brent Wigginton.
- Ohio County: Democrat Bryan Daniel, who had been appointed in July, lost to Republican Dale Beavin.
- Pike County: Republican J.F. “Freddie” Lewis won over Democrat Jimmy Abshire and Independent Earl Thacker.
Jailer
Three counties—Franklin, Owsley, and Shelby—had jailer positions on the ballot:
- Franklin County: Democrat Tracy Hopper, appointed in July, was unopposed.
- Owsley County: Republican Matthew Sizemore, appointed after the resignation of Jason Hollan, ran unopposed.
- Shelby County: Republican Sandra Ashcraft defeated Democrat Ray White after being appointed to replace retired Jailer Darrell Cox.
Property Valuation Administrator (PVA)
Uncontested PVA races took place in Franklin and Graves counties:
- Franklin County: Democrat Wil Rhodes, appointed in November 2023, retained his seat.
- Graves County: Republican Lee Martin, appointed to replace Howel Carr, retained his seat.
Sheriff
Two counties—Carlisle and Mason—had sheriff races:
- Carlisle County: Republican Eric Perry won over Democrat Clint Davis.
- Mason County: Republican Ryan Swolsky, appointed in May, ran unopposed.
Coroner
In Grayson County, Republican Kevin Pharis ran unopposed after being nominated to replace retired Coroner Joe Brad Hudson.
County Attorney
Garrard County’s County Attorney, Republican Chris Whitworth, was unopposed after being appointed in 2023 following Mark Metcalf’s election as state Treasurer.
County Clerk
County clerk races in Estill and Owsley counties were uncontested:
- Estill County: Republican Kim Charles, appointed in April, retained her seat.
- Owsley County: Republican Austin Bowling, appointed in April, also retained her seat.
