A total of five people are officially running for the two Daviess County Family Court seats that will be on the ballot this November. Two candidates will square off in the race for the current seat, while three other hopefuls are seeking the newly created second seat.
The first race is officially for the 6th Judicial Circuit, Family Division 3.
That position was created in 2016 and was held by Julie Hawes Gordon until she was removed from office earlier this year due to misconduct (she’s currently appealing the ruling to the Kentucky Supreme Court). Though Gordon was removed from office, she is allowed by state law to seek election again.
Jennifer Hendricks and Thomas Vallandingham beat Gordon in the primary for the Division 3 position and will face off in the General Election this fall. There were 14,900 votes cast in the primary, and Hendricks claimed 7,270 (49%). Vallandingham drew 4,393 votes, while Gordon finished with 3,237.
The second race is officially for the 6th Judicial Circuit, Family Division 4. The seat was created by House Bill 214 during the General Assembly session earlier this year. Everyone who filed for the Family Division 4 seat will be included on the November ballot since it was not created in time to have a primary.
Andrew Johnson filed to run in mid-April, and Angela Thompson joined the race in late May. Gordon, after losing in the primary for the Division 3 seat, officially filed to run for Division 4 on Tuesday — the last day to register.
Both the Division 3 and 4 seats will be on all voters’ ballots as they are non-partisan races.
