Kentucky
Three GOP incumbents in Kentucky legislature defeated in primary
Three Republican incumbents in the Kentucky General Assembly were knocked off in the primary election Tuesday, including a Lexington moderate who was backed by nearly $300,000 of ads from political action committees.
Lexington State Rep. Killian Timoney was defeated by a wide margin in his bid for a third term by Thomas Jefferson, who beat the incumbent by 44 percentage points.
Timoney was one of the candidates backed by the Commonwealth Conservatives Coalition, a federal super PAC that bought roughly $1 million of ads to back nine candidates from the establishment wing of the party. The PAC spent more than $250,000 on TV ads touting Timoney’s conservative credentials.
However, Jefferson and several PACs from the “liberty” wing of the GOP — which often take a harder line against government spending and social conservative issues than the leadership of the party — hit Timoney with ads of their own, highlighting his votes against bills to ban transgender girls from girls sports and ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.
In a statement on his victory, Jefferson said the central Kentucky district “has spoken loud and clear that our family values matter.”
“I was elected to push back against the radical left agenda of attacking the rights of parents and targeting children with explicit content,” Jefferson said. “I am proud to say that it is my intent to go to Frankfort not to be a friend to special interests but instead to fight for conservative values.”
In western Kentucky, seven-term incumbent Rep. Richard Heath lost a surprising upset to Kimberly Holloway, a small business owner who ran on a small government platform. She finished with 52%, despite her campaign only spending $15,000 within two weeks of the election and no support from any PACs.
The third GOP incumbent to lose her primary race was Sen. Adrienne Southworth of Lawrenceburg, as liberty-aligned challenger Aaron Reed won a close race over Shelby County farmer Ed Gallrein.
Reed picked up 39%, outpacing Gallrein by just more than 100 votes. Southworth received just 22% of the vote, losing her home county of Anderson.
Reed and Southworth were supported with spending by two different liberty-wing PACs, while Gallrein received support by a PAC funded by the horse industry and the Senate Republican Caucus Campaign Committee.
Another Republican incumbent who nearly lost her primary against a liberty-aligned challenger was Rep. Kim Moser, a four-term incumbent from northern Kentucky who chairs the House Health Services committee. Moser won by just 84 votes over real estate agent Karen Campbell.
Just like the Timoney race, Campbell and aligned PAC hit Moser with attack ads highlighting her vote against the bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors and her comment on the House floor saying Kentuckians are not “complete Neanderthals.”
However, Moser was able to hold on, in part due to at least $81,000 of ads purchased by supportive PACs in the final weeks of the campaign.
Commonwealth Conservative Coalition and several other PACs from the establishment wing of the GOP also spent heavily to defeat five House incumbents from the liberty faction, but came up empty. In northern Kentucky, Reps. Steven Doan, Marianne Proctor and Felicia Rabourn defeated their challengers by a wide margin, as did Rep. Candy Massaroni of Bardstown. Rep. Bill Wesley of Ravenna also won a close race, beating challenger Darrell Billings by six percentage points.
Also in northern Kentucky, liberty candidate TJ Roberts easily defeated C. Ed Massey by 48 percentage points — an even larger margin of defeat than Massey’s loss in the 2022 primary, when the former House incumbent first lost his seat.
Liberty-aligned PACs also spent $40,000 on ads to defeat Rep. Michael Meredith in his Bowling Green district, but the seven-term incumbent easily dispatched challenger Kelcey Rock with 76% of the vote.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
GRAYSON, Ky. (WSAZ) – New information has been released in the search for a missing woman at Grayson Lake.
According to game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Marly Kinney, 19, of Ashland, was last seen at Grayson Lake on Wednesday afternoon.
They say search efforts are focused on the water at this time and include Kentucky State Police aerial support, drones, boats, and K9 assistance.
Crews suspend search for missing teen for the night
The search is now into its third day, with officials saying on and off rain has hindered their search and that a group of 50 volunteers are walking the banks of the lake to help in the search.
Search and rescue boats have been seen at the lake as well.
Officials say there are still many questions, including if Kinney is still alive and where exactly she went missing.
They also say they’ve been using a variety of equipment, including sonar and thermal detectors, as well as helicopters and underwater drones.
WSAZ received a statement from Kinney’s family Friday afternoon:
“We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, 1st responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly. We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
We are still working to get more information.
Previous coverage can be found here.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
13 things more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot
Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Here are 13 things more likely to happen than becoming an instant millionaire.
The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Thursday, June 25, 2026 winning numbers for each game.
Cash Ball
02-08-24-32, Cash Ball: 09
Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Evening: 6-3-0
Midday: 9-6-0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 5-7-6-0
Midday: 5-2-6-6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
03-13-14-34-45, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Courier Journal digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.
On Thursday, Kentucky’s home and away SEC opponents for the 2026-27 season were revealed and on top of learning the three opponents who they will play twice, there are some very intriguing matchups. In conference play, Kentucky will face six teams who are among the top 25 in many preseason rankings.
In SEC play, Kentucky will play Tennessee, Vandy and Ole Miss all both home and away. The home matchups include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vandy. As for the road tilts, the Wildcats will face Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Vandy. Let’s take a look at some interesting developments from the schedule release.
John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena (again)
In Calipari’s first year with Arkansas, he got the best of Kentucky when he came into Rupp Arena and left with a 10-point victory, a game where you could really feel the tension all game long in the building from Kentucky fans, which translated onto the court with the players. Last season, it was Kentucky who shocked everyone when they stole one on the road against a top 20 Arkansas team after a rough up-and-down season up to that point. Now, the two will face off again as Kentucky will look to get the win in Rupp and make sure Calipari doesn’t get two in a row in the building. It’ll be another highly-anticipated showdown.
Kentucky hits the road at Texas
This is shaping up to be a major challenge for Kentucky next season and may even end up being one of the biggest games of the season. Texas is seen by many as a clear top 10 team, with some even having them within the top five and when you combine that with the fact that the game is on the road, the Wildcats will have their hands full. The Wildcats fell to the longhorns in the 2024-25 season, and it’ll be a much stiffer challenge this time.
Which game could be a trap?
We don’t have the game-by-game dates yet, so it’s hard to say with a lot of confidence, but opponent-wise, Georgia could really give Kentucky fits. In Pope’s first year, his team struggled handling the physicality of the Bulldogs and now, they’ve retained one of their best guards for another year and have added physicality through the portal. Mike White’s teams love to make opponents uncomfortable and they could do that once again down in Athens. Another sneaky team to watch is Oklahoma, who will have very good guard play. Kentucky will face both teams on the road.
Overall, it’s a pretty fair SEC schedule for a Kentucky team who has the capability of a return to being atop the conference once again. Mark Pope has such a system-fit squad and he can do some damage in the SEC.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and YouTube for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
San Francisco, CA2 minutes agoNewlyweds celebrate Pride-themed weddings inside SF City Hall as parade preparations underway
-
Dallas, TX6 minutes agoAll Dallas restaurants firing up specials for July 4th and America’s 250th
-
Miami, FL14 minutes agoHelping Venezuela: State Department deploys Miami-Dade search-and-rescue team
-
Boston, MA17 minutes agoPhotos: Norway takes on France in high-powered World Cup matchup in Foxborough – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO22 minutes agoDenver Transplant Games sets Guinness World Record for mos living donors, recipients in one place at one time
-
Seattle, WA29 minutes agoHow to watch Egypt vs. Iran World Cup match in Seattle
-
San Diego, CA32 minutes agoSharp Coronado Hospital Holds Meet-and-Greet With NASCAR San Diego Weekend
-
Milwaukee, WI37 minutes agoBrewers Are Making a Mistake With Andrew Vaughn’s Playing Time
