2015 Kentucky elections


A general election was held in the U.S. state of Kentucky on November 3, 2015. All of Kentucky's executive officers were up for election. Primary elections were held on May 19, 2015.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Beshear was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office.
In Kentucky, gubernatorial candidates pick their own running mates and they are elected on shared tickets in both the primary and general elections.
The candidates for the Democratic nomination were Attorney General of Kentucky Jack Conway and his running mate State Representative Sannie Overly; and retired engineer and 2014 Congressional candidate Geoff Young and his running mate Jonathan Masters. Conway and Overly easily defeated Young and Masters in the primary election for the Democratic Party nomination.
For the Republicans, businessman and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 Matt Bevin ran on a ticket with Tea Party activist and 2014 State House candidate Jenean Hampton; Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky James Comer ran on a ticket with State Senator Christian McDaniel; former Louisville Metro Councilman and nominee for Louisville, Kentucky|Mayor] of Louisville in 2010 Hal Heiner ran on a ticket with former Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman and nominee for Kentucky State Treasurer in 2011 KC Crosbie; and former Associate Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court Will T. Scott ran on a ticket with former Menifee County Sheriff Rodney Coffey. Bevin held an 83-vote lead over Comer in the primary election, with both Heiner and Scott conceding. The Associated Press, referring to the race between Bevin and Comer a "virtual tie", did not call the race in favor of either candidate. In addition, Comer refused to concede and stated that he would ask for a recanvass. The request for recanvass was filed with the Kentucky Secretary of State's office on May 20, 2015, with Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes ordering the recanvass to occur at 9:00 a.m. local time on May 28, 2015. Upon completion of the recanvass, Grimes announced that Bevin remained 83 votes ahead of Comer. Grimes also stated that should Comer want a full recount, it would require a court order from the Franklin Circuit Court. On May 29, Comer announced he would not request a recount and conceded the nomination to Bevin.

Secretary of State

Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes was eligible to run for re-election to a second term in office. She had considered running for Governor of Kentucky or for Attorney General of Kentucky. She decided to seek re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared
Declined

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared
Withdrew
Declined

Attorney General

Incumbent Democratic attorney general Jack Conway was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. He instead ran for governor. The candidate that would go on to be elected Attorney General was Andy Beshear, the son of retiring governor Steve Beshear.
Beshear defeated Republican Whitney Westerfield by a margin of 0.2 percent, getting 50.1% of the vote to Westerfield's 49.9%. The margin was approximately 2,000 votes.

Auditor of Public Accounts

Incumbent Democratic state auditor Adam Edelen had considered running for governor in 2015, even lining up a running mate, but ultimately declined to do so. He instead ran for re-election to a second term in office.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared
Declined
  • Chris Tobe, CFA, writer, former trustee of the Kentucky Retirement Systems and former staffer to State Auditor Ed Hatchett

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared
Declined

General election

Polling

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Adam
Edelen 		John
Kemper 		OtherUndecided
Gravis MarketingJanuary 5–6, 2015608± 4%30%38%—32%

State Treasurer

Incumbent Democratic State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. He had said that he may run for another office in 2015, but did not specify which, and eventually declined to run for another statewide office. He instead successfully ran for an open seat on the Jefferson County District Court, defeating 20 other candidates.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared
Declined
  • Colmon Elridge, aide to Governor Steve Beshear and former Executive Vice President of Young Democrats of America
  • Dee Dee Ford-Keene, businesswoman and former President of the Democratic Women's Club of Kentucky
  • Chris Tobe, CFA, writer, former trustee of the Kentucky Retirement Systems and former staffer to State Auditor Ed Hatchett

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Republican Agriculture Commissioner James Comer did not run for re-election to a second term in office. He instead ran for governor, and was defeated by Matt Bevin in the Republican primary.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared
  • Jean-Marie Lawson Spann, businesswoman, radio host and agriculture activist
Declined

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared
Declined

Kentucky Supreme Court

District 7

A non-partisan special election was held along with the May 19, 2015 primary elections to fill the 7th district seat of the Kentucky Supreme Court. The seat was vacated when Justice Will T. Scott resigned to run for governor. The winner of the election was elected to serve the remainder of Scott's term, with the seat coming up for re-election next in 2020.

Candidates

Declared
Withdrew