FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Republican James Comer has officially requested a review of Kentucky’s election results after initial tallies showed him in second place by just 83 votes.
Comer’s campaign manager made the request at about 4 p.m. on Wednesday, one day after voters went to the polls to settle Kentucky’s divisive Republican primary. Louisville businessman Matt Bevin appeared to declare victory Tuesday night, but Comer did not concede.
Comer asked for a full and complete check and recanvass of every one of the voting machines and absentee ballots from all precincts in the state’s 120 counties. Kentucky does not have runoff elections or automatic recounts. By state law, the recanvass would not start until 9 a.m. on May 28.
Bevin and Comer were the top two candidates in the four person primary. Candidates Hal Heiner and Will T. Scott conceded.
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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky’s Republican nominee for governor could be in limbo for weeks following a close primary, but either possible winner will offer voters a stark contrast to Democrat Jack Conway in a rare off-year election.
Louisville investment banker Matt Bevin leads state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer by 83 votes. On Wednesday, Comer asked the Secretary of State’s office for a recanvass, a review of all voting machines and absentee ballots from all precincts in the state’s 120 counties. That process by law would not start until May 28.
The winner will set up a race for an open governor’s seat in one of the few Southern states not controlled by Republicans. Democrats control five of the six statewide offices and have an eight-seat majority in the state House of Representatives. Democrats have won nine of the last 10 elections for governor. The Republican who won, Ernie Fletcher, lost re-election and was indicted amid allegations over his hiring practices.
The Republican primary was unusually close as two of the four candidates used their personal wealth to keep the race tight throughout the four-month campaign. Hal Heiner used $4.2 million of his own money to vastly outspend everyone in the race, but he finished third with 27 percent of the vote. Bevin gave his campaign more than $1 million, on top of the $5 million he raised and spent last year challenging U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in the Senate primary.
The candidates agreed on all the major issues, including repealing the Common Core educational standards, dismantling the state’s health insurance exchange and refusing to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new emission standards for coal-fired power plants. That forced the race to focus on the candidates’ character, with Comer facing allegations from a former college girlfriend that he abused her, Heiner fending off accusations that he campaigned dirty by spreading those abuse allegations and Bevin defending himself for not paying some property taxes on time.
But Bevin and Comer will have plenty of issues to disagree about with Conway. And Conway, the two-term attorney general, did not even wait for the polls to close on Tuesday before firing his first shot at Bevin.
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A man who authorities say was high on heroin and driving when he struck and killed a child in Louisville has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
A release from the Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney says 25-year-old Edward Pearce had just used heroin when he crossed a curb and sidewalk in April 2014 and struck five-year-old Benjamin Clem. Pearce fled and was arrested at his home. Police found a syringe full of heroin in his pocket.
Pearce pleaded guilty on Wednesday to manslaughter, wanton endangerment, driving under the influence and drug charges. He was sentenced to prison immediately after.
The boy was riding his scooter in southwest Louisville when he was hit. His father and younger sister were also almost hit by Pearce’s car.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The West Virginia Division of Highways says a Kentucky company is the apparent low bidder for a contract to upgrade a section of U.S. 35.
Bizzack Construction, LLC of Lexington, Kentucky, bid $174.4 million to design, build and finance the project.
The 14.6-mile section runs from State Route 869 in Putnam County to County Route 40 in Mason County. It’s the final section to be upgraded to four lanes.
The DOH says Bizzack’s bid is one of five accepted on Wednesday from contractors. State officials now will review Bizzack’s bid.
Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox says in a news release that Bizzack’s bid is below the public-private partnership project’s estimated cost.
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