U.S. election
A general election was held in the
U.S. state of
Kentucky on November 7, 2023.
[1]
Notably, few Democratic candidates ran for statewide offices. The
Lexington Herald-Leader attributed this to Kentucky's
strong Republican lean and the fact that Republicans gained seats in the
Kentucky General Assembly in 2022. However, Democrats have pointed to recent victories by liberal judges in nonpartisan elections and the defeat of
a 2022 ballot measure that would have removed abortion rights from the
Kentucky Constitution as signs that they can still win in the state. In addition to the candidates listed below, former state representative
Attica Scott was speculated as a potential statewide candidate, but she did not run for any office in 2023.
[2]
Governor
Incumbent
governor
Andy Beshear ran for re-election.
[3] He faced Republican nominee, incumbent attorney general
Daniel Cameron . Due to his high favorability ratings, Beshear was considered the favorite in the election; however, polling tightened in the week leading up to the election.
[4] Despite this apparent late momentum for Cameron, Beshear went on to comfortably win re-election by five percentage points, improving on his
2019 performance by 4.6 percentage points.
Attorney general
Incumbent
attorney general
Daniel Cameron ran
for governor .
[5]
Kentucky State Representative for the 43rd District
Pamela Stevenson announced a run to succeed Cameron. She was the only high-profile state-level Democrat (barring Andy Beshear and
Jacqueline Coleman ) to have announced a run for statewide office.
[6]
Russell Coleman , former
U.S. Attorney for the
Western District of Kentucky was the only Republican candidate to have declared a run, and thus won the Republican primary unopposed.
[7]
[8]
Coleman would go on to win the election by 16 percentage points. He also narrowly improved on
Daniel Cameron ’s win in
2019 by 0.6 percentage points.
Secretary of state
Incumbent
secretary of state
Michael Adams ran for re-election.
[9] He faced former state representative Charles "Buddy" Wheatley.
Unlike
2019 , the race wasn't close. Adams won re-election by 21.3 percetange points, improving upon his past performance by 16.7 percentage points.
Treasurer
2023 Kentucky Treasurer General election
County resultsMetcalf: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%Bowman: 50–60% 60–70%
Incumbent
treasurer
Allison Ball was term-limited and could not seek re-election. She ran successfully for
state auditor .
[10]
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Andrew Cooperrider, businessman
[13]
[12]
OJ Oleka, former deputy state treasurer
[14]
[12]
Endorsements
Results by county: 30–40%
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Declined
Endorsements
General election
Auditor of Public Accounts
2023 Kentucky Auditor General election
County resultsBall: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%Reeder: 50–60%
Incumbent
Auditor
Mike Harmon was term-limited and could not seek re-election. He
ran for governor .
[18]
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Endorsements
General election
Agriculture Commissioner
2023 Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner General election
County resultsShell: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%Enlow: 50–60% 60–70%
Incumbent Agriculture Commissioner
Ryan Quarles
ran for governor .
[21]
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Results by county: 50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Sierra Enlow, economic development consultant and former Louisville Economic Development Manager
[25]
[23]
Eliminated in primary
Declined
Endorsements
General election
Polling
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size
[a]
Margin of error
Jonathan Shell (R)
Sierra Enlow (D)
Undecided
Public Opinion Strategies (R)
[A]
July 19–20, 2023
500 (LV)
± 4.4%
45%
27%
27%
See also
Notes
^ Key: A – all adults RV – registered voters LV – likely voters V – unclear
Partisan clients
References
^
"Kentucky elections, 2023" .
Ballotpedia.org . Retrieved September 9, 2022 .
^
a
b
c Horn, Austin (December 5, 2022).
"Aside from Beshear, which Ky. Dems are running in 2023? Few have announced" .
Lexington Herald-Leader .
Archived from the original on December 14, 2022.
^ Brammer, Jack (October 1, 2021).
"Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear files for re-election in 2023" .
Lexington Herald-Leader . Retrieved September 9, 2022 .
^
"Kentucky 2023 Poll: Cameron Catches up to Beshear in Governor's Race" . November 3, 2023.
^ Evans, Zachary (May 11, 2022).
"Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron Announces Gubernatorial Run" .
National Review . Retrieved September 9, 2022 .
^
"Aside from Beshear, which Ky. Dems are running in 2023? Few have announced" . Emerge . December 7, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2023 .
^
"Russell Coleman announces run for Kentucky AG in 2023" .
WHAS-TV . May 12, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022 .
^
"Election Candidate Filings - Attorney General" . web.sos.ky.gov . Retrieved January 6, 2023 .
^ Shreve, Bryce (August 5, 2022).
"Secy. of State Michael Adams running for reelection in 2023" .
Spectrum News . Retrieved September 9, 2022 .
^
a
b Storm, Nick (July 25, 2022).
"Treasurer Allison Ball Announces Campaign for KY Auditor" . www.kentuckyfried.com . Retrieved September 9, 2022 .
^
"State Treasurer candidate Metcalf makes stop in Pulaski" .
^
a
b
c
d
"Election Candidate Filings - State Treasurer" . web.sos.ky.gov . Retrieved January 6, 2023 .
^ Storm, Nick (July 5, 2022).
"Liberty Candidate Declares Run for KY Treasurer" . www.kentuckyfried.com . Retrieved September 10, 2022 .
^ Storm, Nick (June 9, 2022).
"AICKU President OJ Oleka Clears His Runway for Statewide Office" . www.kentuckyfried.com .
^
"Allison Ball Endorses OJ Oleka to Replace her as KY Treasurer" . Kentucky Fried Politics. March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023 .
^ Storm, Nick (January 5, 2023).
"Michael Bowman Announces Campaign for State Treasurer" . www.kentuckyfried.com .
^
a
b
c
"Endorsements 2023" . Retrieved February 8, 2023 .
^ Sonka, Joe (July 12, 2021).
"Kentucky Auditor Mike Harmon is running for governor" .
The Courier-Journal . Retrieved September 10, 2022 .
^
a
b
c
"Election Candidate Filings - Auditor of Public Accounts" . web.sos.ky.gov . Retrieved January 6, 2023 .
^ Horn, Austin (October 5, 2022).
"Quarles still ahead, but Craft surging and Cameron gaining in GOP primary fundraising" .
Lexington Herald-Leader .
Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022 .
^ Schreiner, Bruce (April 30, 2022).
"GOP's Quarles announces run for Kentucky governor in 2023" .
Associated Press . Retrieved September 9, 2022 .
^ Schreiner, Bruce (August 26, 2021).
"Ex-Rep. Jonathan Shell running for agriculture commissioner" .
Associated Press . Retrieved September 10, 2022 .
^
a
b
c
d
"Election Candidate Filings - Commissioner of Agriculture" . web.sos.ky.gov . Retrieved January 6, 2023 .
^
"Heath launches another bid for Kentucky ag commissioner" . spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville . August 15, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2022 .
^ Storm, Nick (January 3, 2023).
"Democrat Sierra Enlow Files to Run for Ag Commissioner" . www.kentuckyfried.com . Retrieved January 4, 2023 .
^ Brammer, Jack (June 10, 2022).
"Key advisor Rocky Adkins weighs bid for state ag commissioner; a help for Beshear's re-election?" . Northern Kentucky Tribune. Retrieved September 10, 2022 .
External links
Official campaign websites for Secretary of State
Official campaign websites for Treasurer
Official campaign websites for Auditor
Official campaign websites for Agriculture Commissioner
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