Voters cast their ballots at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in November 2022. Photo by Alecia Ricker | LINK nky contributor

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The candidacy filing deadline for this year’s Kentucky primary elections was Friday. That means we now know which races in the region will take part in the primary elections on May 19.

Kentucky uses a closed primary system for Congressional, state and county-level races. This means that candidates must declare a party, and voters can only vote using partisan ballots. The primaries serve as a means of winnowing down the number of candidates on a ballot. After the primary, each party will only run a single candidate for the general election.

Candidates for municipal governments do not need to declare a party alignment in order to run, however, some local governments may still run primary elections under certain conditions.

Read LINK nky’s explainer to learn more about how primary elections work in Northern Kentucky.

Listed below are all of the races in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties that are eligible for primaries. Races that will undergo primaries are labeled, and maps are included for legislative races. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by last name; ballot positions (i.e. the order in which candidates’ names will appear on the ballots) will be determined at a future date.

Congressional races

U.S. Senate (one seat, statewide)

Incumbent: Mitch McConnell (Republican; not running for reelection)
Democratic primary: Yes
Republican primary: Yes

U.S. House of Representatives District 4

A map of U.S. House of Representatives Kentucky District 4. Map provided | Wikimedia commons. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Thomas Massie (Republican)
Democratic Primary: Yes
Republican Primary: Yes

Kentucky Senate

Senate District 20

A map of Kentucky Senate District 20. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Gex Williams (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Senate District 24

A map of Kentucky Senate District 24. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Shelley Funke Frommeyer (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Kentucky House of Representatives

House District 60

A map of Kentucky House District 60. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Marianne Proctor (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

House District 61

A map of Kentucky House District 61. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Savannah Maddox (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

House District 63

A map of Kentucky House District 63. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Kim Banta (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

House District 64

A map of Kentucky House District 64. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Kimberly Moser (Republican)
Democratic Primary: Yes
Republican Primary: Yes

House District 65

A map of Kentucky House District 64. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Stephanie Dietz (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

House District 66

A map of Kentucky House District 66. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: TJ Roberts (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

House District 67

A map of Kentucky House District 67. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Matt Lehman (Democrat)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

House District 68

A map of Kentucky House District 68. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Mike Clines (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

House District 69

A map of Kentucky House District 69. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Steve Doan (Republican)
Democratic Primary: Yes
Republican Primary: Yes

House District 78

A map of Kentucky House District 78. Map provided | Legislative Research Commission. Click for larger image.

Incumbent: Mark Hart (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

County and municipal races*

Boone County

Judge/Executive

Incumbent: Gary Moore (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

County Commissioner District 1

Incumbent: Cathy Flaig (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Commissioner District 2

Incumbent: Chet Hand (Republican; running for judge/executive in 2026)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Commissioner District 3

Incumbent: Jesse Brewer (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Attorney

Incumbent: Jordan Dallas Turner (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Clerk

Incumbent: Justin Crigler (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Sheriff

Incumbent: Les Hill (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Jailer

Incumbent: Jason Maydak (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Property Valuation Administrator

Incumbent: Jonathan Brown (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Coroner

Incumbent: Elizabeth “Missy” Rittinger (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Surveyor

Incumbent: Gregory Larison (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Circuit Family Court Judges

Incumbents: Jennifer Dusing (nonpartisan)
Nonpartisan primaries: No

District Court Judges

Incumbents: Marcia Thomas & Jeffery Smith (both nonpartisan)
Nonpartisan primaries: No

Magistrate District 1

Incumbent: Alexis Hannan III (Libertarian)
Democratic Primary: No
Libertarian Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Magistrate District 2

Incumbent: Christopher Vaught-Hall (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Magistrate District 3

Incumbent: Julie Conley (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Constable District 1

Incumbent: David Flaig (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Constable District 2

Incumbent: Patrick Bailey (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

Constable District 3

Incumbent: vacant
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Florence City Council (six seats)

Nonpartisan primary: No

Florence Mayor

Incumbent: Julie Metzer Aubuchon (nonpartisan)
Nonpartisan Primary: No

Kenton County

Judge/Executive

Incumbent: Kris Knochelmann (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Commissioner District 1

Incumbent: Beth Sewell (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Commissioner District 2

Incumbent: Jon Draud (Republican; not running for reelection)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

County Commissioner District 3

Incumbent: Joe Nienaber (Republican; not running for reelection)
Democratic Primary: Yes
Republican Primary: Yes

County Attorney

Incumbent: Stacy Tapke (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Clerk

Incumbent: Gabrielle Summe (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Sheriff

Incumbent: Jude Hehman (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

Jailer

Incumbent: Marc Fields (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Property Valuation Administrator

Incumbent: Darlene Plummer (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

Coroner

Incumbent: Amber Constantino (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Surveyor

Incumbent: James Shumate (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

District Court Judges

Incumbents: Ann Ruttle, Kenneth Easterling & Douglas Grothaus
Nonpartisan primaries: No

Magistrate District 1

Incumbent: Stephen Hoffman (Democrat)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Magistrate District 2

Incumbent: Mary Lou Blount (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Magistrate District 3

Incumbent: Katherine Shumate (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Constable District 1

Incumbent: Don Catchen (Democrat)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Constable District 2

Incumbent: Paul Woodward (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

Constable District 3

Incumbent: Michael Moffitt (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Covington City Council (six seats)

Nonpartisan primary: No

Erlanger City Council

Nonpartisan primary: No

Erlanger Mayor

Incumbent: Jessica Fette (nonpartisan)
Nonpartisan primary: No

Campbell County

Judge/Executive

Incumbent: Steve Pendery (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

County Commissioner District 1

Incumbent: Brian Painter (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

County Commissioner District 2

Incumbent: Geoff Besecker (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Commissioner District 3

Incumbent: Tom Lampe (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Attorney

Incumbent: Steve Franzen (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

County Clerk

Incumbent: Jim Luersen (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Sheriff

Incumbent: Mike Jansen (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Jailer

Incumbent: Jim Daley (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

Property Valuation Administrator

Incumbent: Daniel Braun (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Coroner

Incumbent: Mark Schweitzer (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

County Surveyor

Incumbent: Ryan Hartig (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

District Court Judges

Incumbents: Cameron Blau & Erin Sizemore
Nonpartisan primaries: No

Magistrate District 1

Incumbent: Frank Meyer (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Magistrate District 2

Incumbent: James Glahn (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Magistrate District 3

Incumbent: Michael Dutle (Democrat)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Constable District 1

Incumbent: Ken Warden (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: Yes

Constable District 2

Incumbent: Kevin Sell (Republican)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Constable District 3

Incumbent: Jim Peluso (Democrat)
Democratic Primary: No
Republican Primary: No

Bellevue City Council (seven seats)

Nonpartisan primary: No

Bellevue Mayor

Incumbent: Charlie Cleves (nonpartisan)
Nonpartisan primary: No

Dayton City Council (six seats)

Nonpartisan primary: No

Dayton Mayor

Incumbent: Ben Baker (nonpartisan)
Nonpartisan primary: No

Fort Thomas City Council (six seats)

Nonpartisan primary: Yes

Fort Thomas Mayor

Incumbent: Andy Ellison (nonpartisan)
Nonpartisan primary: No

Newport City Commission (four seats)

Nonpartisan primary: No

(*)Officially, judgeships are state positions, however, we’ve included them under this heading as it’s easier to organize.