Winners announced in Kentucky special elections to fill open seats

The General Assembly will see the addition of a new member from each political party in the coming weeks following special elections held Tuesday. The elections came after two Democratic state Representatives were appointed to positions in Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration.

Democrats were able to retain one of the seats and Republicans picked up the other seat, bringing the GOP supermajority in the house to 62-38.

In the 67^th District, covering part of Campbell County, Democrat Rachel Roberts defeated Republican Mary Jo Wedding with 65 percent of the vote on Tuesday night. Roberts lives in Newport, Kentucky and owns a yoga studio and a branding firm.

The seat in the 67^th District was previously held by former Democratic Rep. Dennis Keene from 2005-2019 before he was appointed Commissioner of the Governor’s Department of Local Government.

In the 99^th District in eastern Kentucky which is comprised of Elliott, Lewis, and Rowan Counties, Republican Richard White won his race against Democrat William Redwine. This is a seat flip as the district was previously represented by Democratic Minority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins from 1987-2019. Adkins is now serving as Senior Advisor to Gov. Beshear.

White, a native of Morehead, Kentucky and owner of Richard White Wood Products, won the special election with 55 percent of the vote.

Once the election results are officially certified by the Secretary of State’s office, the two new Representatives will be sworn in as members of the General Assembly.

Both winners of the special elections will be back on the ballot during the 2020 elections vying to secure their seats for the next full two-year term. Their opponents from the races are also running again.