County officials on the 2024 General Election ballot

All Kentucky circuit court clerks and commonwealth’s attorneys, who both serve six-year terms, are on the ballot this year.  

The unexpired terms of handful of other county offices, including judge/executive, magistrate/commissioner, jailer, property valuation administrator (PVA), sheriff, coroner, county attorney and county clerk, will be 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.  

There are 123 candidates for circuit court clerk, 117 of which are running unopposed.  

• The three counties with more than one candidate are Clark, Menifee and Warren. 

• Incumbent candidates are on the ballot in each of these three counties.  

For the 117 counties in which only one candidate is on the ballot: 

• 103 are incumbent candidates 

• 45 candidates are Democrats (38%), 72 are Republicans (62%) 

Commonwealth’s attorneys are on the ballot in all 57 judicial circuits. Sixty-three candidates are 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 12 candidates for the six circuits, three are incumbent candidates. 

For the 51 circuits in which only one candidate is on the ballot: 

• 39 are incumbent candidates 

• 17 candidates are Democrats (33%), 32 are Republicans (63%) and two are Independents (4%). 

• One county – Livingston – has candidates for judge/executive on the ballot. Incumbent Teris Swanson, a Democrat, is running against Republican Michael Williams. Gov. Andy Beshear appointed Swanson in January after the previous judge/executive stepped down from his position.  

• Five counties – Bourbon, Franklin, Hancock, Ohio and Pike – have magistrates/commissioners on the ballot, all of which are contested races. 

• Democrat Joe McCarty was appointed as magistrate of Bourbon County’s 5th District following the death of Don Menke. McCarty faces Republican Henry Lovell. 

• When longtime Franklin County 4th District Magistrate Scotty Tracy stepped down to take a position with the state Public Protection Cabinet, Democrat Mike Harrod was appointed to replace him. Republican Darrell Sanderson is challenging Harrod. 

• In Hancock County, Republican Brent Wigginton and Democrat Darrell Wall are seeking the office of 1st District Magistrate. Wall has served in the role since April following the resignation of former magistrate John Garner. 

• Democrat Bryan Daniel was appointed in July to serve as 4th District Magistrate in Ohio County when the former magistrate, Kenneth Calloway, resigned. Daniel is being challenged for the seat by Republican Dale Beavin. 

• Three candidates are seeking the office of Pike County’s 3rd District Commissioner. Democrat Jimmy Abshire was appointed to the seat when former commissioner Orville Blackburn resigned. Republican J.F. “Freddie” Lewis, who is a former Pike County jailer, and Independent Earl Thacker, who previously served on the Pike County Board of Education, are also vying for the commissioner's seat. 

• Jailers are on the ballot in three counties – Franklin, Owsley and Shelby.  

• When Jake Banta tendered his resignation as Franklin County Jailer in 2023, the sheriff’s office took over administration of the jail. Democrat Tracy Hopper won a three-way primary election in May and was appointed Jailer in July. She faces no opposition in the general election. 

• Republican Matthew Sizemore has served as Owsley County Jailer since January, when former jailer Jason Hollan resigned. Sizemore is running unopposed.  

• Following the retirement of Shelby County Jailer Darrell Cox, Republican Sandra Ashcraft was appointed to the position. She faces a challenge from Democrat Ray White, who is a former police chief and school resource officer. 

• Two counties – Franklin and Graves – have PVAs on the ballot, and neither has opposition.  

• Franklin County Democrat Wil Rhodes has been serving as PVA since his appointment in November 2023 following the retirement of Kellie Lang. Rhodes was successful in winning the Democratic primary in May.  

• Republican Lee Martin was appointed Graves County PVA after former PVA Howel Carr stepped down.  

• Two counties – Carlisle and Mason – have candidates for sheriff on the ballot.  

• Republican Eric Perry currently serves as the Carlisle County Sherrif following the resignation of former sheriff Will Gilbert earlier this year. Perry faces a general election challenge from Democrat Clint Davis, a retired Kentucky State Police Trooper. 

• Republican Ryan Swolsky was sworn in as Mason County Sheriff in May following the retirement of former sheriff Patrick Boggs. 

• One county – Grayson – has a candidate for coroner on the ballot. Kevin Pharis, a Republican, was nominated by his party to run for the seat previously held by previous coroner Joe Brad Hudson, who retired. Pharis is running unopposed.  

• One county – Garrard – has the position of county attorney on the ballot. Republican Chris Whitworth is currently serving as County Attorney and faces no opposition. Whitworth was appointed to the position in 2023 when the former county attorney, Mark Metcalf, had a successful run for state Treasurer. 

• Two counties – Estill and Owsley – have a county clerk on the ballot.  

• Estill County Clerk Kim Charles, a Republican, has served in the role since her appointment in April and is running unopposed. She replaced former county clerk Brian Crowe, who resigned.  

• In Owsley County, Republican Austin Bowling is also running unopposed. She has served as County Clerk since April following the resignation of former clerk Shanna Oliver.