A general election was held in the U.S. state of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

on November 3, 2015. All of Kentucky's executive officers were up for election.

Primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

s were held on May 19, 2015.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Incumbent Democratic

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear ( ; born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 ...

was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. In Kentucky, gubernatorial candidates pick their own running mates and they are elected on shared tickets in both the primary and general elections. The candidates for the Democratic nomination were

Attorney General of Kentucky The attorney general of Kentucky is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Kentucky, created by the Kentucky Constitution (Ky.Const. § 91). Under Kentucky law, they serve several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor (KRS 15.700), ...

Jack Conway and his running mate State Representative

Sannie Overly Sannie Louise Overly (born July 2, 1966) is an American lawyer, engineer, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Overly served in the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing Kentucky's 72nd House district. She served as House ...

; and retired engineer and 2014 Congressional candidate Geoff Young and his running mate Jonathan Masters. Conway and Overly easily defeated Young and Masters in the primary election for the Democratic Party nomination. For the Republicans, businessman and candidate for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Matt Bevin Matthew Griswold Bevin (; born January 9, 1967) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 62nd governor of Kentucky from 2015 to 2019. He is currently the CEO of Neuronetrix Solutions, LLC. Bo ...

ran on a ticket with

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event, typically held in the afternoon, featuring the consumption of tea and light refreshments. Social tea drinking rituals are observed in many cultures worldwide, both historically and in the present day. A ...

activist and 2014

State House State House or statehouse may refer to: Buildings *Aso Villa or State House, the official residence of the President of Nigeria *Government House, Dominica or The State House, the official residence of the President of Dominica * State House, Bar ...

candidate Jenean Hampton; Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky

James Comer James Richardson Comer Jr. ( ; born August 19, 1972) is an American politician from Kentucky who represents the state's Kentucky's 1st congressional district, 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. A member of ...

ran on a ticket with State Senator

Christian McDaniel Christian Edward McDaniel (born July 19, 1977) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Kentucky Senate, representing District 23 since January 2013. He was the running mate of Republican gubernatorial candidate James Comer ...

; former

Louisville Metro Council The Louisville Metro Council is the city council of Louisville, Kentucky (Louisville Metro). It was formally established in January 2003 upon the merger of the former City of Louisville with Jefferson County and replaced the city's Board o ...

man and nominee for

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Hal Heiner ran on a ticket with former Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman and nominee for

Kentucky State Treasurer The Kentucky State Treasurer is elected every four years along with the governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, g ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

KC Crosbie KC Crosbie (born November 26, 1969) is a member of Republican Party, currently serving as the Co-Chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), since January 17, 2025, succeeding Lara Trump. Crosbie's political career began in 2006 when sh ...

; and former Associate Justice of the

Kentucky Supreme Court The Kentucky Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Prior to its creation by constitutional amendment in 1975, the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The Kentucky Court of Ap ...

Will T. Scott ran on a ticket with former Menifee County Sheriff Rodney Coffey. Bevin held an 83-vote lead over Comer in the primary election, with both Heiner and Scott conceding. The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, referring to the race between Bevin and Comer a "virtual tie", did not call the race in favor of either candidate. In addition, Comer refused to concede and stated that he would ask for a recanvass. The request for recanvass was filed with the Kentucky Secretary of State's office on May 20, 2015, with Secretary of State

Alison Lundergan Grimes Alison Case Lundergan Grimes (born November 23, 1978) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who was the secretary of state of Kentucky from 2012 until 2020. Grimes was elected in 2011 after defeating incumbent Elaine Walker in the De ...

ordering the recanvass to occur at 9:00 a.m. local time on May 28, 2015. Upon completion of the recanvass, Grimes announced that Bevin remained 83 votes ahead of Comer. Grimes also stated that should Comer want a full

recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...

, it would require a court order from the

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

. On May 29, Comer announced he would not request a recount and conceded the nomination to Bevin.

Results

Attorney general

Incumbent Democratic

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Jack Conway was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. He instead ran for governor. The candidate that would go on to be elected Attorney General was

Andy Beshear Andrew Graham Beshear ( ; born November 29, 1977) is an American attorney and politician serving as the 63rd governor of Kentucky since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 50th attorney gen ...

, the son of retiring governor

. In 2016, Steve Beshear's former personal cabinet secretary, Tim Longmeyer, was marred in controversy when he was exposed on bribery charges, including redirecting $6,000 of kickbacks into Andy Beshear's Attorney General campaign. Andy Beshear had recently hired Longmeyer as a deputy. However, the prosecutors in Longmeyer's case indicated that there is no evidence to support that Andy Beshear knew what Longmeyer was doing. Over the next three years, Republican Governor

spearheaded an investigation into former governor Steve Beshear's administration as well as Andy Beshear's Attorney General campaign. Spending approximately $550,000 leading up to the

2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election The 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to elect the Governor of Kentucky, governor and Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, lieutenant governor of Kentucky. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee ...

, the investigation led to no conclusive results regarding the culpability of Steve or Andy Beshear. Beshear defeated Republican

Whitney Westerfield Whitney Henderson Westerfield (born November 29, 1980) is an American attorney, politician and a Republican member of the Kentucky Senate who represented district 3 from 2013 to 2025. In 2015, Westerfield was the unsuccessful Republican nominee ...

by a margin of 0.2 percent, getting 50.1% of the vote to Westerfield's 49.9%. The margin was approximately 2,000 votes.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared *

, attorney and son of Governor

Declined *

Secretary of State of Kentucky The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who was ...

and nominee for the U.S. Senate in

(running for re-election) * Jennifer Moore, former Chairwoman of the

Kentucky Democratic Party The Kentucky Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is currently the minority party in the state, as the rival Republican Party of Kentucky overwhelmingly dominates in the state legislature, ...

* John Tilley, state representative

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared * Michael T. Hogan, Lawrence County Attorney *

, state senator Declined * Luke Morgan, attorney * Mark Wohlander, attorney

Results

General election

Polling

Results

Secretary of State

Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State

was eligible to run for re-election to a second term in office. She had considered running for

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; sinc ...

or for

. She decided to seek re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared * Charles Lovett, candidate for Jefferson County Justice of the Peace in 2010 *

, incumbent Secretary of State and nominee for the U.S. Senate in

Declined * Colmon Elridge, aide to Governor

and former Executive Vice President of

Young Democrats of America The Young Democrats of America (YDA) is the youth wing of the Democratic Party of the United States. YDA operates as a separate organization from the Democratic National Committee; following the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, i ...

* David O'Neill, Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator

Results

2015 Kentucky Secretary of State democratic primary

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared * Steve Knipper, former Erlanger City Councilman Withdrew * Michael Pitzer, candidate for the State House in 2008 Declined * Michael Adams, attorney and general counsel for the

Republican Governors Association The Republican Governors Association (RGA) is a Washington, D.C.–based 527 organization founded in 1961, consisting of U.S. state and territorial Republican governors. Its primary objective is to help elect and support Republican governors. Th ...

* Matt Bevin, businessman and candidate for U.S. Senate in

( ran for Governor) * Ken Fleming, former Louisville Metro Council member * Damon Thayer, Majority Leader of the

Kentucky Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout Kentucky, the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky senators. T ...

General election

Polling

Results

State auditor

Incumbent Democratic

state auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, or state examiners, among others) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, program eval ...

Adam Edelen had considered running for governor in 2015, even lining up a running mate, but ultimately declined to do so. He instead ran for re-election to a second term in office.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared * Adam Edelen, incumbent State Auditor Declined * Chris Tobe, CFA, writer, former trustee of the Kentucky Retirement Systems and former staffer to State Auditor Ed Hatchett

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared * Mike Harmon, State Representative and candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky The lieutenant governor of Kentucky was created under the state's second constitution, which was ratified in 1799. The inaugural officeholder was Alexander Scott Bullitt, who took office in 1800 following his election to serve under James Garra ...

Declined * Damon Thayer, Majority Leader of the

General election

Polling

Results

State Treasurer

Incumbent Democratic

State Treasurer In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...

Todd Hollenbach Louis J. Hollenbach, IV, known as Todd Hollenbach (born July 21, 1960), is an American former judge and politician who served as the 40th Kentucky State Treasurer. A Democrat, he was elected as treasurer in 2007 and re-elected in 2011. Because ...

was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. He had said that he may run for another office in 2015, but did not specify which, and eventually declined to run for another statewide office. He instead successfully ran for an open seat on the Jefferson County District Court, defeating 20 other candidates.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared * Neville Blakemore, Executive Chairman of Great Northern Building Products and nominee for Louisville Metro Council in 2006 *

Jim Glenn James Glenn Jr. (born February 17, 1948) is a former Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. Personal life Jim Glenn was married to his wife Cornelia for 38 years, who died in June 2010. He currently resides in Owensboro a ...

, State Representative and candidate for State Auditor in 2003 * Daniel Grossberg, Jefferson County

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

and President of the Louisville Young Democrats * Richard Henderson, former State Representative and former Mayor of Jeffersonville *

Rick Nelson Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor. From age eight, he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he began a ...

, state representative Declined * Colmon Elridge, aide to Governor

and former Executive Vice President of

* Dee Dee Ford-Keene, businesswoman and former President of the Democratic Women's Club of Kentucky * Chris Tobe, CFA, writer, former trustee of the Kentucky Retirement Systems and former staffer to State Auditor Ed Hatchett

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared *

Allison Ball Allison Joy Ball (born August 27, 1981) is an American attorney and politician who is the Kentucky State Auditor. She served as the Kentucky State Treasurer from 2016 to 2024. Ball is a member of the Republican Party. Early years and career ...

, attorney *

Kenny Imes Kenny Imes (born February 13, 1947) is a United States, U.S. politician currently serving as the County Judge/Executive, Judge/Executive of Calloway County, Kentucky, Calloway County since October 2018; he was appointed to the position by govern ...

, state representative * Jon Larson, former Fayette County Judge/Executive, candidate for Attorney General in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and nominee for Kentucky's 6th congressional district in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Results

General election

Polling

Results

Agriculture Commissioner

Incumbent Republican Agriculture Commissioner

did not run for re-election to a second term in office. He instead ran for governor, and was defeated by Matt Bevin in the Republican primary.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared * Jean-Marie Lawson Spann, businesswoman, radio host and agriculture activist Declined * Dennis Parrett, state senator

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared *

Richard Heath Richard Heath (born August 9, 1955) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2012 to 2025. He represented Kentucky's 2nd House district, which included Graves County and part o ...

, state representative *

Ryan Quarles Ryan Francis Quarles (born October 20, 1983) is an academic administrator and American politician who was the Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky from 2016 to 2024 and a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2011 to 2016. He ha ...

, state representative Declined *

, incumbent Agriculture Commissioner * Paul Hornback, state senator * Damon Thayer, Majority Leader of the

Results

General election

Polling

Results

Kentucky Supreme Court

District 7

A non-partisan special election was held along with the May 19, 2015 primary elections to fill the 7th district seat of the

. The seat was vacated when Justice Will T. Scott resigned to run for governor. The winner of the election was elected to serve the remainder of Scott's term, with the seat coming up for re-election next in 2020.

Candidates

Declared * Janet Stumbo,

Kentucky Court of Appeals The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illino ...

Judge and former

Justice * Sam Wright, Kentucky Circuit Court Judge Withdrew * John Lewis, Elliott County Attorney

Results

References

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