Kentucky
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Kentucky's primaries
WASHINGTON – All of Donald Trump’s top opponents for the Republican nomination for president dropped out of the race weeks ago, but the whole gang will be back together on Kentucky’s primary ballot on Tuesday.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie all suspended their campaigns after Kentucky finalized its ballot in January, as did pastor Ryan Binkley.
Trump has easily won nearly every Republican contest so far, but Haley has won a significant number of votes in several recent primaries, including Maryland (20%) and Nebraska (18%) this week.
President Joe Biden’s opponents in Kentucky are author Marianne Williamson and U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips. Democrats can also vote for “Uncommitted,” which has attracted protest votes in other states.
Kentucky Voters will also decide six primaries for the U.S. House. One race to watch is the 4th Congressional District Republican primary. Rep. Thomas Massie, who backed DeSantis’ presidential bid and co-sponsored a motion to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson, is facing a challenge from Eric Deters, a staunch Trump supporter. However, Deters hadn’t reported raising any money as of the latest filing deadline and placed fourth in the 2023 gubernatorial primary.
Here’s a look at what to expect on Tuesday.
PRIMARY DAY
Kentucky holds its presidential and state primaries on Tuesday. Most of Kentucky falls in the Eastern time zone, where the polls close at 6 p.m. ET, while 41 counties are in the Central time zone, where the last polls close at 7 p.m. ET.
WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT
Besides the presidential primaries, voters will choose nominees for the U.S. House, the state legislature and the state Senate. Kentucky held elections for governor and other statewide offices in 2023.
WHO GETS TO VOTE
Kentucky has a closed primary system, which means that only voters registered with a political party may participate in that party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not participate in either primary.
DELEGATE ALLOCATION RULES
Kentucky Republicans allocate their 46 delegates proportionally to any candidate who receives more than 15% of the vote, meaning any of Trump’s opponents could qualify for delegates. They could also splinter the anti-Trump vote, increasing Trump’s chances of being the only candidate to receive 15% of the vote and therefore the only candidate to receive any delegates.
Kentucky’s 53 pledged Democratic delegates are allocated according to the national party’s standard rules. Twelve at-large delegates are allocated in proportion to the statewide vote, as are six PLEO delegates, or “party leaders and elected officials.” The state’s six congressional districts have a combined 35 delegates at stake, which are allocated in proportion to the vote results in each district. Candidates must receive at least 15% of the statewide vote to qualify for any statewide delegates, and 15% of the vote in a congressional district to qualify for delegates in that district.
DECISION NOTES
While Republican state parties that hold primaries this late in the cycle tend to embrace a winner-takes-all system for delegate allocation, Kentucky Republicans are dividing their delegates proportionally among candidates who receive at least 15% of the vote. For signs that a candidate not named Trump could reach that 15% threshold, look to suburban areas like Louisville and Lexington. Those areas — Jefferson and Fayette counties — are also the biggest source of GOP votes in the state.
In the 2020 presidential primary, “uncommitted” and Trump were the only two options on the Republican ballot. Statewide, “uncommitted” received 13% of the vote in the GOP primary. In Jefferson County, however, “uncommitted” received 23%.
The 4th Congressional District runs along the Ohio River, sharing its northern boundary with Indiana and Ohio. It stretches from Louisville suburbs in the western part of the district, toward the Cincinnati suburbs in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties. Outside of those two major suburban areas, however, much of the district is rural.
In the 4th Congressional District, the United Democracy Project, a group that has criticized Massie for his record on Israel, has spent $328,672 on the race as of Tuesday. However, those ads do not support an alternative candidate.
The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
Kentucky mandates a recount if the top candidate wins by less than 0.5 percentage points. However, that recount rule does not apply to the presidential race. Candidates can ask for a recanvass of the vote, which entails retabulating the vote totals, if the margin is less than 1 percentage point. However, to request a recount, in which each ballot is individually hand-counted, a court must approve and prescribe the procedure.
WHAT DO TURNOUT AND ADVANCE VOTE LOOK LIKE?
As of March 31, there were 3,487,292 registered voters in Kentucky. Of those voters, 43% were Democrats and 46% were Republicans.
In the 2023 race for governor, turnout was 6% of registered voters in the Democratic primary and 9% in the Republican primary. In the 2022 Senate race, turnout was 8% of registered voters in the Democratic primary and 11% in the Republican primary. In the 4th District, turnout among registered voters for the Republican primary was also 11%.
In 2022, 17% of voters cast their ballot before election day.
HOW LONG DOES VOTE-COUNTING USUALLY TAKE?
In the 2023 primary election, the AP first reported results at 6:03 p.m. ET, or three minutes after the first polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at 9:56 p.m. ET with about 98% of total votes counted.
ARE WE THERE YET?
As of Tuesday, there will be 168 days until the November general election.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 10, 2026) — Growing up in Grayson County, Hollie Hagan always knew she wanted to help people. She just wasn’t sure what that looked like.
Like many students entering college, Hagan originally envisioned a career in healthcare. She planned to study nutrition and dietetics, inspired by time spent volunteering at her local food pantry. But an internship with the Grayson County Health Department during her senior year of high school introduced her to a field she hadn’t even realized existed — public health.
“I had no clue what a health department does or even what public health was,” Hagan said. “Then I got there and saw all the ways they were helping people, both directly and indirectly. I thought, ‘This is something I really want to be a part of.’”
That experience changed everything.
Alongside her coursework, she has served as a College of Public Health senator in the Student Government Association, has moderated public health panels and is participating in the Rural Public Health Scholars Program, a combination of course- and fieldwork that places students in rural communities to work on projects aimed at improving health outcomes.
But throughout those experiences, one goal has remained constant — returning to the community that helped shape her.
“I’ve realized that with public health you can make an impact on any level,” said Hagan, who is also a Lewis Honors College student. “For me, I want to be at the local level helping people.”
That desire has been evident since she first arrived at the Grayson County Health Department.
Josh Horton, public health director for the Grayson County Health Department, said Hagan quickly distinguished herself through both her work ethic and willingness to learn.
“Hollie has always been a very capable person,” he said. “You just give her instructions, and she runs with it.”
While Hagan entered her high school internship knowing she was interested in leadership, Horton watched her interests evolve as she gained firsthand experience in public health.
“When she came back to us and said, ‘I want to do something in public health,’ that was a reminder of why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Horton said. “Our goal has always been to inspire people to go into public health. We’d love for them to come back to Grayson County, but as long as they end up serving somewhere in public health, we consider it a win.”
For Hagan, public health offered something she hadn’t found elsewhere — the opportunity to create ripple effects that improve the health and well-being of entire communities.
“I think it’s important to learn about health at a community level,” she said. “You’re not just learning how to treat one person. You’re learning how to impact everyone in a community, which I think is just so amazing and unique.”
Her time at the College of Public Health has given Hagan opportunities to grow both as a student and a leader. One of those experiences came when she moderated the Big Blue Public Health Illumination Seminar Series on Summer Safety and Emergency Preparedness, bringing together public health professionals and community leaders for a discussion on issues affecting Kentucky communities.
Hosting her first public health panel was intimidating, she said, but it quickly became one of her most rewarding experiences.
“Once the conversation got going, I found myself learning just as much as everyone else in the room,” Hagan said. “We had such a great group of panelists, and it really highlighted the work happening in rural communities.”
Among those panelists was Horton, who saw Hagan confidently guide conversations around the very work she’d experienced during her internship.
“To see her take what she learned here in Grayson County and then lead a panel discussing those ideas at the university was exciting,” he said. “It’s rewarding because it reminds us why we invest in students.”
This summer, Hagan has returned to Grayson County for her fieldwork portion of the Rural Public Health Scholars Program, continuing to build experience in environmental health — an area she now hopes to pursue professionally as a registered environmental health specialist.
Long term, she sees herself building a career in rural public health.
“I like being on the go,” Hagan said. “I like being out in the community, doing site visits, talking with people and making a difference.”
For Horton, that commitment reflects something deeper than career ambition.
“It takes a certain heart to stay in rural public health,” he said. “There are opportunities to go elsewhere, but people who choose rural communities do it because they want to serve. Hollie has that same heart.”
Looking back, Hagan never expected a high school job-shadowing experience and a food pantry volunteer position would lead her to public health. Now, she hopes other students discover the field just as she did.
“If you want to have a larger impact, come to the College of Public Health,” she said. “You’ll learn how to improve the health of an entire community.”
For Hagan, that community has always been Grayson County—and she hopes one day to return home and help it thrive.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) – The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet has released new information regarding the release of the man convicted in the death of Logan Tipton.
Ronald Exantus, 42, will be released from the Kentucky State Reformatory on July 29. Still, before that, he may be subject to involuntary hospitalization due to his not being found guilty by reason of insanity on one count of murder and one count of burglary.
According to a letter sent on June 5 by the cabinet to Chief Circuit Court Judge Jeremy Mattox, Commonwealth’s Attorney Kelli Kearney, and Department of Public Advocacy Directing Attorney Josh Miller, the court has the opportunity to begin involuntary hospitalization proceedings against Exantus, as mentioned in the judgment against him.
READ THE LETTER BELOW
Per Kentucky law, when a defendant is found not guilty by reason of insanity, the court shall order an involuntary hospitalization; the court may also order a 10-day detention period to allow proceedings to be initiated.
The cabinet states in the letter that it does not have the authority to initiate the proceedings because Exantus was found guility but mentally on three counts of assault.
WKYT has reached out to the Woodford County Commonwealth’s Attorney and the Department of Public Advocacy to ask whether involuntary hospitalization procedures are being initiated in this case. We have yet to hear back.
Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Kentucky state lawmakers held a town hall Wednesday night at the South Central Regional Library in south Louisville to hear directly from residents about concerns over hyperscale AI data centers — one of several public meetings on the issue in recent months, but the first organized by legislators themselves.
State senators and representatives convened the meeting on their own time, during the legislative off-season, ahead of January’s session.
“This is a time to bring people together, allow community to have their voice heard, and us take that information back so when it does come time for January, we have the right information in order to create policy that is going to be good for our constituents,” said Sen. Keturah Herron.
Residents, advocates, and organizers packed the library to raise concerns about energy demand, water use, noise, transparency, and whether costs would be passed to everyday utility customers.
Rep. Lisa Wellner cautioned that the legislative fight ahead would be difficult.
“The utilities lobby is very, very powerful in Frankfort…These are going to be the same powerful moneyed forces we’re going to be up against with these hyperscale data centers,” Wellner said.
Sen. Gary Clemons, a 30-year chemical industry veteran, drew a comparison between the potential impact of AI data centers and the effects of factories already bordering some Louisville neighborhoods.
“I negotiate with multi-million, billion dollar companies every day. I’m ready to go toe-to-toe with them now, if we’re ready to do it,” Clemons said.
U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey also attended the meeting.
“I am sick and tired and done with out-of-state corporations coming into our state, our home, our community — and using our resources, wasting and exploiting our people for their gain,” McGarvey said.
Attendee Virginia Bush, who came with a list of concerns about the city’s draft regulations, said halting data centers entirely was not realistic but that inaction was not an option.
“We know it’s not realistic to stop all of them, because people use the data in their everyday life…but they need to be regulated so that these things aren’t causing damage to the communities and to the environment,” Bush said.
Copyright 2026 WAVE. All rights reserved.
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