Daniel Cameron on Tuesday won the Republican primary for Kentucky governor, earning the chance to take on Democratic incumbent Andy Beshear this November. Those two candidates were the top choices for Daviess County voters, though County Clerk Leslie McCarty said it was a “pitiful” turnout for the county.
Of the nearly 77,600 registered voters in Daviess County, approximately 10,000 cast a ballot — equaling about 13%.
“It’s sad that taxpayers pay a lot for the election, and elections are getting more expensive with more places to vote, and no one comes out,” McCarty said.
She said the low turnout is the nature of the race and not the availability of voting places, noting that Secretary of State Michael Adams predicted only a 10% turnout throughout the state. While it wasn’t much higher, the statewide turnout was 14% with just more than 500,000 ballots cast.
Kentucky is a closed primary state, meaning registered Republicans can only see and vote for Republican candidates, and vice versa for Democrats.
In this primary, Republicans were able to pick their preferred candidate for governor, secretary of state, auditor, state treasurer, and commissioner of agriculture. Those winners were Cameron, Michael Adams, Allison Ball, Mark Metcalf, and Jonathan Shell, respectively.
Democrats could only vote for governor and commissioner of agriculture, with Beshear and Seirra Enlow winning the bids, respectively.
Here’s how Daviess County voted for each race:
Republican ballot
Governor
- Daniel Cameron – 3,281
- Ryan Quarles – 1,232
- Kelly Craft – 780
- Eric Deters – 219
- Mike Harmon – 124
- Alan Keck – 86
- David O. Cooper – 56
- Jacob Clark – 53
- Robbie C. Smith – 26
- Johnny Ray Rice – 19
- Dennis Ray Ormerod – 18
- Bob DeVore – 11
Secretary of State
- Michael Adams – 2,920
- Stephen L. Knipper – 1,733
- Allen Maricle – 469
Auditor of Public Accounts
- Allison Ball – 3,585
- Derek Petteys – 1,434
State Treasurer
- Mark H. Metcalf – 2,615
- Andrew Cooperrider – 1,392
- O.C. “OJ” Oleka – 1,000
Commissioner of Agriculture
- Jonathan Shell – 2,597
- Richard Heath – 2,375
Democrat ballot
Governor
- Andy Beshear – 3,678
- Geoffrey M. “Geoff” Young – 198
- Peppy Martin – 151
Commissioner of Agriculture
- Sierra J. Enlow – 1,962
- Mikael Malone – 1,713
