Anderson files to take on Huff again in 82nd State Representative race

In addition to the presidential race on next year’s election ballots, there will also be a handful of local races for area residents to vote in, including state representative, state senator, Corbin City Commission and Williamsburg City Council.

The 82^nd Kentucky Representative race looks to be a repeat of the one two years ago, as local teacher Matt Anderson has already filed to run for the position currently held by incumbent Regina Huff, who has previously announced plans to run for re-election.

In the 2018 Republican Primary Election, Huff garnered a total of 4,961 votes to Anderson’s 3,841 votes to win the Republican nomination.

The 82^nd District includes all of Whitley County and four precincts in Laurel County.

So far no one has filed to run in the 25^th Kentucky Senate race, including longtime incumbent Robert Stivers, who is the senate president. The 25^th District includes Clay, Knox, Lee Owsley, Wolfe and Whitley counties.

Two of the six incumbent members of the Williamsburg City Council have filed to run for re-election, including Loren Connell and Richard Foley.

So far no one has filed to run for the Corbin City Commission.

Incumbent Corbin City Commissioners David Hart and Brandon Shepherd previously announced plans to run for the 86^th state representative seat currently held by Jim Stewart III rather than seek re-election to the Corbin City Commission. Stewart has announced plans to retire at the end of his current term in office.

Don Rose of Barbourville and Tom O’Dell Smith of Corbin have both filed to run for the seat as a Republican. The 86^th District includes all of Knox County and part of Laurel County.

A recent change to the law moves Kentucky’s election filing deadline for these offices from the last Tuesday of January 2020 to the first Friday of the month after the first Monday, which in 2020 is January 10 at 4 p.m.

January 10 is also the filing deadline to run for the unexpired term of former Whitley County Clerk Kay Schwartz, who retired on November 30. Longtime deputy clerk Carolyn Willis has been appointed as interim clerk until after the results of a special election next year to fill the office are certified, and has already filed to run for the position next year.

Several school board seats will also be up for re-election next year, but the filing deadline in those races isn’t until August.