Whitley County has higher than expected election turnout

A total of 36.3 percent of Whitley County voters went to the polls on Election Day to cast their ballots and overwhelmingly threw their support to incumbent Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.

Whitley County Clerk Kay Schwartz said that she was pleased with the voter turnout Tuesday, which had exceeded her 30 percent voter turnout prediction last week.

“I am so happy the voters went out to vote. It makes our time and effort that we put into having an election worth the trouble,” Schwartz noted.

Schwartz said that she thinks pretty weather played a contributing role in the higher than expected voter turnout.

“I think a lot of advertisement has sparked more interest,” she added.

By comparison, four years ago, 26 percent of Whitley County voters went to the polls to cast their ballot for governor.

Schwartz noted that there were no unusual problems with Tuesday’s election.

She said that a couple of voting places lost power for a few minutes, but all the machines had battery back-ups.

“No totals were lost or anything. You just put you password back into the machine and it came back on,” Schwartz added.

Bevin garnered 6,672 votes in Whitley County to Democrat Andy Beshear’s 2,995 votes and Libertarian John Hicks 218 votes Tuesday.

Schwartz said that she thinks the visit from Vice-President Mike Pence may have helped contribute to Bevin’s margin of victory in Whitley County.

“Having that connection for Kentucky is important,” she noted.

By contrast, Bevin received 4,772 votes in the 2015 General Election in Whitley County to Democrat Jack Conway’s 1,857 votes.

One of the other most hotly contested races on the ballot Tuesday was probably the Attorney General’s race where Republican Daniel Cameron received 7,709 votes to Democrat Greg Stumbo’s 2,148 votes in Whitley County.

Republican Michael Adams received 7,460 votes to Democrat Heather French Henry, a former Miss America, who garnered 2,361 votes in Whitley County.

Republican incumbents fared well Tuesday in Whitley County.

Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles received 7,809 votes to Democratic challenger Robert Haley Conway’s 1,726 votes and Libertarian Josh Gilpin’s 221 votes.

State Treasurer Allison Ball received 7,983 votes in Whitley County to Democrat Michael Bowman’s 1,768 votes.

State Auditor Mike Harmon garnered 7,733 votes to Democrat Sheri Donahue’s 1,745 votes and Libertarian Kyle Hugenberg’s 231 votes in Whitley County.

The only regional race on the ballot for Kentucky Court of Appeals Third Appellate District Division One, which saw Michael O. Caperton receive 4,507 votes in Whitley County to Jacqueline M. Caldwell’s 3,029 votes.