Republican Paul Rister captured 51.65% of the vote in Tuesday's three-way race for Calloway County judge-executive, while all eight Murray City Council incumbents seeking reelection held onto their seats. But a challenger led the field of 17 council candidates.
According to the Calloway County clerk's unofficial election results report, 11,913 ballots were cast, with all 11 polling places reporting. Calloway County Clerk Antonia Faulkner said more than 4,000 ballots were cast during early voting.
The county also recorded 4,663 straight-party votes. Of those, 2,996 (64.25%) were Republican, 1,593 (34.16%) were Democratic and 74 (1.59%) were for the Kentucky Party.
Rister, who currently serves as 4th District magistrate, defeated incumbent Kenny Imes in the May Republican primary. Chambers and Manning both entered the race after the primary.
Rister received 5,822 votes, compared with 4,554 (40.40%) for independent Boone Chambers and 896 (7.95%) for independent Gidget Manning. The combined total for Chambers and Manning was 5,450 votes, just 372 fewer than Rister received.
In Murray, all eight city council incumbents who sought another term were successful: Jeremy Bell, Wesley Bolin, Linda Cherry, Bonnie Higginson, Thomas Hornbuckle Jr., Monty McCuiston, Rose Ross and Alice Rouse.
The remaining four seats were left open by council members who did not seek reelection. Danny Hudspeth ran unopposed for mayor, while Johnny Bohannon, Joe Darnall and Terry Strieter did not seek another term. Challengers Linda Avery, Ken Claud, Adao “AJ” Cunha and Marty Futrell were elected to fill those seats.
Avery, who retired as Calloway Circuit Court clerk in 2023, was the top vote-getter among the 17 candidates, receiving 2,064 votes. She finished 222 votes ahead of second-place finisher Jeremy Bell, the largest margin between consecutive finishers in the race.
Two of the newly elected council members have backgrounds in county government. Claud, the current Calloway County jailer, chose not to seek reelection to that office and instead ran for City Council. He secured the 12th and final seat with 1,200 votes.
In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Andy Barr received 60.64% of the vote in Calloway County, compared with 55% statewide. Barr defeated Democrat Charles Booker, who received 37.28% in Calloway County and 43% statewide. Kentucky Party candidate Christopher Campbell received 2.08% locally and 2% statewide.
In the 1st Congressional District race, Republican James Comer received 63.26% of the vote in Calloway County, compared with 68% districtwide. Democrat Drew Williams received 36.74% locally and 32% districtwide.
Calloway County voters supported Constitutional Amendment 1, which would restrict the governor's pardon powers. The amendment received 7,454 yes votes (72.48%) and 2,830 no votes (27.52%), with 1,616 undervotes. An undervote occurs when a voter does not make a selection in a particular race or ballot question.
The following are the results for all races appearing on the Calloway County ballot, including uncontested races. Results for federal and state offices reflect Calloway County votes only, with statewide and districtwide totals provided separately for comparison.
Total votes cast: 11,272 | Undervotes: 621
Total votes cast: 8,637 | Undervotes: 3,083
Total votes cast: 8,329 | Undervotes: 3,441
Total votes cast: 8,807 | Undervotes: 2,901
Total votes cast: 8,527 | Undervotes: 3,203
Total votes cast: 8,735 | Undervotes: 3,022
Total votes cast: 8,598 | Undervotes: 3,099
Total votes cast: 1,856 | Undervotes: 676
Total votes cast: 1,756 | Undervotes: 780
Total votes cast: 1,759 | Undervotes: 869
No candidates appeared on the ballot.
Total votes cast: 2,773 | Undervotes: 1,137
Total votes cast: 2,221 | Undervotes: 1,700
Total votes cast: 2,619 | Undervotes: 56
Total votes cast: 2,496 | Undervotes: 178
Total votes cast: 2,886 | Undervotes: 1,471
The 12 candidates receiving the most votes were elected to the council. The following results are listed in order of votes received.
The remaining candidates received:
Total candidate selections: 23,639
Total votes cast: 78 | Undervotes: 31
Five candidates appeared on the ballot for six seats.
Total candidate selections: 330
Total votes cast: 864 | Undervotes: 637
Total votes cast: 1,003 | Undervotes: 703
Three candidates appeared on the ballot for three seats.
Total candidate selections: 3,559
Calloway County results:
Total votes cast: 11,785 | Undervotes: 110
Statewide results:
Calloway County results:
Total votes cast: 11,757 | Undervotes: 144
Districtwide results:
Calloway County results:
Total votes cast: 8,067 | Undervotes: 3,424
Districtwide results:
Total votes cast: 6,652 | Undervotes: 5,191
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