Unofficial Vote Totals for 2019 Primary Election

AS EXPECTED LOCAL FAVORITES CARRIED LAWRENCE COUNTY IN A LIGHT VOTE YESTERDAY UNDER PICTURE PERFECT SKIES. LAWRENCE CO. CLERK CHRIS JOBE SAID THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS AT THE 18 PRECINCTS IN LAWRENCE COUNTY.

GOP candidate Robert Goforth with Lawrence Co, Attorney Mike Hogan as his running mate for Lt. Gov., fell short by 35,000 votes statewide but gave incumbent Matt Bevin some good competition. Goforth/Hogan carried Lawrence County 761 – 373. Goforth won 31 of the state’s 120 counties.

Rocky Adkins, a long time state representative in the area did even better in Lawrence Countians with 1,211 votes to statewide Democrat winner Andy Beshear’s 72 among four Democrats. Adkins seemed to be coming on strong at the end but was defeated, like Goforth is the larger, more populated areas. 

In Lawrence County 1,311 Democrats went to the polls compared to 1,218 for the GOP. Jobe said Lawrence County, for decades a Democrat majority county, now has 200 more Republicans than Democrats registered in the latest report.

In Johnson County and Martin County it was again Goforth Hogan and Adkins carrying the vote. Goforth won 1,363 – 725 for Bevin and in Martin County Goforth/Hogan won 559 – 327.

Adkins won 780-159 in Martin and in Johnson Adkins beat Beshear 750-259.

Statewide Governor’s results

Unofficial results for today’s Primary Election reflect 658,979 ballots cast out of 3,421,796 registered voters and it’s coming down to the expected runoff between Republican incumbent Matt Bevin vs. Ky. Atty. General Andy Beshear in November in a race that could have national attention..

The only other candidate on the list for state offices who stood out was Heather French henry who ran off with the Democrat nomination for Secretary of State. She will face Michael Adams in the Fall.

The call to action by Secretary Grimes for increased turnout was headed with turnout at approximately 19.26 percent.

The unofficial Kentucky Primary Election vote totals for all counties are available at GoVoteKY.com.

The deadline to request a recanvass in any race is May 28 at 4 p.m. local time. Requested recanvasses will be conducted May 30 at 9 a.m. local time.

The State Board of Elections will meet to certify vote totals for the General Election at 9 a.m. ET on June 4th.

Matthew G. BEVIN / Ralph A. ALVARADO 136,060 52.36%

Robert GOFORTH / Michael T. HOGAN 101,343 39.00%

Ike LAWRENCE / James Anthony ROSE 8,412 3.24%

William E. WOODS / Justin B. MILLER 14,039 5.40%

Total 259,854

Rocky ADKINS / Stephanie HORNE 125,970 31.93%

Andy BESHEAR / Jacqueline COLEMAN 149,438 37.88%

Adam H. EDELEN / Gill HOLLAND 110,159 27.92%

Geoffrey M. “Geoff” YOUNG / Joshua N. “Josh” FRENCH 8,923 2.26%

Total 394,490

Check out Lawrence County full results HERE

HERE’S WHAT THE COURIER JOURNAL POSTED ABOUT GOFORTH’S RACE TODAY:

Date: 05-22-2019

Bevin ekes out a hard-fought win in the Kentucky Republican primary

By Tom Loftus
Louisville Courier Journal

Incumbent Matt Bevin survived an unexpectedly tough primary challenge Tuesday to win the Republican Party nomination and seek a second term as governor.

But the relatively narrow margin indicated that Bevin’s support among Republicans is strained, particularly in Eastern Kentucky.

The Associated Press called Bevin’s victory at about 8 p.m. over second-place finisher Robert Goforth, a state representative from East Bernstadt. Two other Republican candidates — Ike Lawrence of Lexington and William E. Woods of Corinth — finished well behind Goforth.

With more than half the vote counted, Bevin and running mate Ralph Alvarado had about 51 percent of the vote compared with 40 percent for Goforth and his running mate, Michael Hogan, according to unofficial results.

“Bevin’s inability to connect with voters and his controversial first term as governor has left the Republican Party in Kentucky scrambling,” said Marisa McNee, spokesperson for the Kentucky Democratic Party. “Now, they head into the general election with a weak, flawed and vulnerable candidate at the top of the ticket.”

In keeping with his unconventional approach to politics, Bevin shunned a traditional playbook for an incumbent seeking re-election. 

He officially entered the race late — in January, just before the deadline to file for the ballot. He jettisoned Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton in favor of new running mate — Alvarado, a doctor who has served in the state Senate since 2015.

Bevin’s public campaigning and fundraising efforts through the primary were delayed and limited. His campaign raised about $1 million through May 6.

But like most heavily favored incumbents seeking re-election, he ignored his opponents. He declined to attend a Kentucky Educational Television debate, prompting the network to cancel the event.

Bevin’s limited advertising conveyed a positive message of economic development and job creation announcements, a record-low unemployment rate and his move to fully fund state pensions.

The ad emphasized Bevin’s bond with the president: “President Trump is taking America to new heights, but it hasn’t been easy,” Bevin said in the ad. “People are afraid of change, but I’m not. Neither is the president, and together our changes are working.”

Twice this spring Vice President Mike Pence visited Kentucky, once to headline a fundraising event for Bevin.

Goforth, first elected to the Kentucky House last year and making his first run for statewide office, attacked Bevin from the start for his controversial comments and bitter criticism of opponents that seemed to irritate voters. A Morning Consult poll last month declared Bevin the most unpopular governor in America.

A pharmacist and farmer from Laurel County, Goforth has spent at least $750,000 of his money to finance his campaign.

“The governor just doesn’t relate to anyone here,” Goforth told the Courier Journal earlier this month. “He alone thinks he has all the answers, and he can’t even bring his own party to the table and have a consensus on things.”

Goforth’s ads blame the state’s problems — including a deadlock on a pending bill to give relief to quasi-governmental agencies from a spike in pension costs — on Bevin’s leadership style and divisive remarks. And they emphasize Bevin’s New England upbringing.

“I think that we deserve better than what we have …” Goforth said. “This governor has had a supermajority in the House and the Senate and has still yet to be able to bring people together to fix the tough challenges that Kentucky faces. He’s the most unpopular governor in America not by accident or by chance, (but) because of his behavior and his polices.”

Goforth was referring in part to Bevin’s current effort to win enough support from Republicans for a bill to provide relief to some government programs that face a spike in pension costs on July 1 which Bevin wants to pass at a special session in the next few weeks.

Democrats are sure to ride the same message in the fall against Bevin.

Bevin, 52, is an investor and businessman from Jefferson County. He and his wife Glenna have nine children, including four who are adopted.

He entered politics just a few years ago, embracing a Tea Party platform in unsuccessfully challenging Mitch McConnell in the 2014 Republican primary election for the U.S. Senate. In 2015 he jumped into the governor’s race as an outsider and prevailed in the primary in a four-way race, winning by a mere 83 votes with just 32.9 percent of the vote.

He went on to win the general election that year by a wide margin over Democrat Jack Conway, the then-Kentucky attorney general.