The 2019 General Election and local special election results have been tallied.
Grayson County voters turned out in large numbers, as 8,317 people cast ballots compared to 18,346 registered voters, giving the county a relatively strong 45.3 percent turnout.
Local results are as follows:
18th House District (Grayson Co., part of Hardin Co.)
Republican Samara Heavrin recorded 8,655 votes to Democrat Becky Miller’s 5,701, giving Heavrin a 60.3 percent to 39.7 percent victory.
In Grayson County, Heavrin recorded 5,010 votes (61.31 percent) and Miller had 3,161 votes (38.69 percent).
Kentucky Speaker of the House David Osborne said about Heavrin’s election, “The voters of the 18th House District have chosen an excellent candidate as their new state representative. We are looking forward to working with Representative-Elect Samara Heavrin as she serves the people of Grayson and Hardin counties.”
In defeat, Miller issued the following statement on her campaign’s Facebook page:
“The outcome of today’s election is not what we worked for, but it is the will of the people. Thank you to all of you who supported my campaign and voted for me. Serving as a representative is a serious responsibility. I wish Samara well as she takes on this new role. I will continue to advocate for the people of the 18th House District, as a private citizen.”
Heavrin will serve the remainder of former State Rep. Tim Moore’s term which expires on Dec. 31, 2020.
46th Judicial District, non-partisan (Grayson, Meade, Breckinridge counties)
Breckinridge County Attorney Bradley Butler, with 10,786 votes (52.10 percent) defeated Grayson County attorneys Beth Constant Ratley, 6,532 votes (31.55) and Zanda Myers, 3,384 (16.35 percent) for the 46th Judicial District judgeship.
In Grayson County, Butler recorded 2,946 votes to Ratley’s 2,600. Myers had 1,654 votes in Grayson County.
Bevin vs. Beshear
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, 1,441,771 votes were cast in a predictably tight, contentious gubernatorial battle between incumbent GOP Gov. Matt Bevin and Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear.
Statewide, Beshear recorded 709,345 votes (49.2 percent) while Bevin has 704,012 votes (48.8 percent), a difference of only 5,333 votes. Libertarian candidate John Hicks gathered 28,414 votes.
In Grayson County, Bevin more than doubled Beshear’s vote count, 5,319 (65.34 percent) to 2,612 (32.20 percent). Hicks recorded 201 votes in the county.
As of 10:20 p.m. Tuesday night, Beshear has claimed victory but Bevin has yet to concede.
It is certainly possible that a statewide recanvass will be executed to determine the winner.
A recanvass requires Kentucky’s county clerks to re-run the machine count of vote totals – either through the county’s central tabulation system or by comparing the machine print outs with the initial county-wide totals. The counties must immediately fax the new totals to the Secretary of State, who will add up the numbers from around the state.
These “re-checks” become the final, official count. Historically, vote totals have not changed much during Kentucky recanvasses. This is because both the election night count and the recanvass are the same computer-run process, just done over again. Unless there is a major computer glitch, therefore, the vote totals are likely to be about the same.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
