Bill Goodman and Renee Shaw recap the results from four special elections for the General Assembly, to fill House seats in districts 8, 54, 62, and 98.
The following is reprinted from a Bill’s Eye (by Bill Goodman) post on March 9, 2016:
Democrats Maintain House Majority after Special Elections
Republicans who had hoped to finally gain control of the Kentucky House of Representatives after a 95-year drought will have to wait a little longer.
In four special election contests Tuesday, Democrats won three of the races to maintain their majority in the chamber with a 53 to 47 margin. The Kentucky House remains the only legislative chamber in the southern United States to be controlled by Democrats.
“Some of us think every night is a good night to be a Democrat in Kentucky but this is an exceptionally good night to be a Democrat,” said House Speaker Greg Stumo (D-Prestonsburg).
Heading into Tuesday’s voting, Democrats had a 50 to 46 edge in the House. Republicans had hoped the elections to fill four vacant seats would give them an opportunity to finally wrest control of the chamber. But in contests that included districts in western, central, and eastern Kentucky, Democrats kept two seats they had previously held and flipped one seat that had been occupied by a Republican.
“We are a little disappointed, we wanted to win two seats today,” said House Minority Floor Leader Jeff Hoover (R-Jamestown). “We came up short in doing that.”
According to the Kentucky State Board of Elections, nearly 28,000 ballots were cast in races that covered nine Kentucky counties. Turnout ranged from a low of 14 percent in two precincts in Fayette County to a high of nearly 27 percent in Greenup County.
Voting Results by District
In House district 8, which includes portions of Christian and Trigg Counties, Democrat Jeff Taylor defeated Republican Walker Thomas by more than 18 points. Taylor, a retired Tennessee Valley Authority official, will complete the unexpired term of fellow Democrat John Tilley, who Gov. Matt Bevin appointed to be secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. Hoover says Taylor’s candidacy got a boost from a robocall message recorded by President Obama that targeted minority-heavy precincts around Hopkinsville.
House district 54 in Boyle and Casey Counties stayed Republican as Danville attorney Daniel Elliott defeated Democrat Bill Noelker by nearly 17 points. That seat became vacant following Mike Harmon’s election to be state auditor. Hoover says the 54th was the only district in contention Tuesday where party registrations favored the GOP.
Democrats flipped House district 62 in Owen County and parts of Fayette and Scott Counties. Charles Tackett, a farmer and business owner in Georgetown, won the seat previously held by Republican Ryan Quarles, who is now Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner. Tackett defeated Republican businessman Phillip Pratt by 253 votes.
And in House district 98, which covers portions of Boyd and Greenup Counties, Democrat Lew Nicholls, a former circuit judge, defeated Republican Tony D. Quillen, an engineer and Greenup County commissioner, by almost 15 percentage points. Nicholls will succeed Democrat Tanya Pullin, who Gov. Bevin appointed to be an administrative law judge.
Parties Shift Focus Shifts to November
After suffering significant losses in last year’s statewide elections, Stumbo said Democratic leaders focused on rebuilding the party around the issues of public education funding, relief for middle-class working families, and protecting vulnerable citizens. Stumbo said those issues clearly resonated with voters in Tuesday’s contests, and the speaker said the party will continue to push them in the fall elections.
Hoover said the GOP spent an average of $150,000 on each of the four races. Although disappointed in Tuesday’s results, Hoover said he’s optimistic about winning control of the House in November.
Steve Robertson agrees with that assessment. The former chair of the Republican Party of Kentucky noted that after the 2014 general election, Democrats held a 54 to 46 majority in the House. Now the Democratic edge is 53 to 47.
“Republicans continue the advance towards parity, and eventually a majority in the state House,” Robertson said. “It’s not a function of if, it’s a function of when.”
Former Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Jonathan Miller said he thought his party would have been lucky to win one of the special contests. But with Democrats taking three of the races, he said the results disrupt the narrative that the GOP will easily win the House this fall.
“This is a big night for Democrats,” Miller said. “The rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated.”
——–
Unofficial totals for the four special elections are:
House District 8
Jeff Taylor (D): 3,286 (59.2%)
Walker Thomas (R): 2,261 (40.8%)
House District 54
Daniel Elliott (R): 4,275 (58.4%)
Bill Noelker (D): 3.040 (41.6%)
House District 62
Chuck Tackett (D): 3,463 (51.9%)
Phillip Pratt (R): 3,210 (48.1%)
House District 98
Lew Nicholls (D): 4,737 (57.4)%)
Tony Quillen (R): 3,515 (42.6%)
