Kentuckians eager to cast their ballots in this year’s primary contests can now cast their ballots.
The polls will be open from Thursday to Saturday for in-person voting. Citizens who wish to cast their ballot before Tuesday’s primary race can find their early voting location at http://govote.ky.gov.
A majority of the high-profile contests are on the Republican side of the aisle. With the gubernatorial nomination garnering national attention. There are 12 Republican candidates seeking the GOP nomination including Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, former Ambassador Kelly Craft, Auditor Mike Harmon, Somerset Mayor Alan Keck, and former lawyer Eric Deters.
On the Democratic side incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear has nominal opposition from former Republican turned Democrat Peppy Martin and perennial candidate Geoff Young, who has made his support of Russian President Vladimir Putin an issue. Beshear is the presumptive nominee.
Other GOP contested primary races include the race for agriculture commissioner between former Rep. Jonathan Shell and Rep. Richard Heath. There is also a Democratic primary for Agriculture Commissioner between Sierra Enlow, an economic development consultant from LaRue County, and Mikael Malone, a microbiologist from Winchester.
The race for Treasurer has three Republicans fighting for the nomination and has turned nasty. OJ Oleka, Mark Metcalf, and Andrew Cooperrider have been fighting to become the candidate to face Michael Bowman, who was the Democratic nominee in 2019 against incumbent Republican Treasurer Allison Ball. Bowman received more than 770,000 votes in the race garnering 39 percent of the vote in 2019.
There is also a GOP primary for state Auditor. Outgoing Treasurer Allison Ball is seeking the Republican nomination to be the next state Auditor of Public Accounts. Ball faces Derek Pettys, a project manager, from Lexington. The winner will face Democratic candidate Kim Reeder in the fall.
