| Polls close soon in Kentucky, so get your popcorn ready. Not only are we looking at the 14th Senate district (previewed above), but also the 96th House district in rural northeastern Kentucky, which was vacated by Democrat Robin Webb when she was elected to the state Senate a few months ago (in another Beshear-orchestrated Senate pickup). Democrat Barry Webb faces Republican Jill York. Democrats control the state House by a comfortable 64-35 right now, so the stakes are lower here.
Between all that and the Massachusetts Senate election, if you're still bored, you can also check out a special in one of Arkansas's few Republican-held state Senate seats (Dems are up 27-7), the 4th. Sharon Trusty resigned, leaving Democrat John Burnett and Republican Michael Lamoureux to fight it out in rural NW Arkansas. (H/t jameswv.) And tonight is also the Birmingham mayoral special election, to replace Larry Langford, who resigned after getting caught taking bribes. The 13-person field includes pastor Jody Trautwein (famous for his small role in Bruno) and the now-deceased Ernie Dunn. (This race is expected to go to a runoff.)
If you have any other results links that you'd like to share, please let us know in the comments.
KY results: Kentucky SoS | Lexington Herald-Leader | AR results: Arkansas SoS
8:05 pm: Haydon did win Nelson County, 3,840 to 2,982, but his 858-vote margin wasn't enough to balance the rest. Higdon won Taylor, 2,612 to 1,396. Total result is 11,327 to 8,881 to Hidgon, a 2,446 vote margin and a 56-44 spread.
7:58 pm: Higdon has declared victory, and Haydon is conceding. This is a bit of a bummer, given the financial backing that Haydon enjoyed. As a small silver lining, perhaps Democrats will have a shot at picking up Higdon's soon-to-be-vacant House seat.
7:45 pm: Still waiting on the last two counties in SD-14, but we've already lost HD-96. Republican Jill York beats Democrat Barry Webb 2,545 to 1,663, which is a 60-40 spread.
7:25 pm: Higdon also wins small Washington County by a narrow margin, 1,331 to 1,054.
7:20 pm: Now we have results from Marion County, the most Dem-friendly county but also Higdon's home turf. Higdon wins there too by a wide margin, 2,860 to 1,405. Haydon is going to need to clean up in his own home turf (Nelson County) to pull this out.
7:15 pm: Looks like we've gotten some results from one county, via the Lexington newspaper (I've added the link). Higdon (R) takes small and conservative Mercer County, 1,542 to 1,186 votes.
7 pm: This being central Kentucky, looks like they're taking an extended bourbon break. We'll keep you posted. |
