Incumbent Kenton County Republican office-holders successfully fended off primary challenges on Tuesday night.
Kenton County Clerk Gabrielle Summe, whose office oversees elections in the county, easily won the Republican primary over challenger Danny Whitacre, who campaigned on a platform questioning the integrity of elections. Summe garnered 7,885 votes to Whitacre’s 2,928, according to unofficial results.
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Summe and Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams have repeatedly denied unfounded allegations of election fraud. Summe told LINK nky in April that Kenton County has some of the most secure elections in the entire state, and is held up as an example on how to properly run elections.
Summe was first elected in 2010 and has no Democratic challenger in November’s general election.
Commissioner – 2nd District
Incumbent Kenton County District 2 Commissioner Jon Draud defeated primary challenger Tony Schmiade, 5,569 to 4,355 votes, according to unofficial results.
Draud, a former local schools superintendent and state representative, was first elected to county office in 2010. He has only faced a primary challenger once in 2014. Draud moves on to the general election in November where he faces no Democratic challenger.
Jailer
Incumbent Kenton County Jailer Marc Fields defeated primary challenger Steve Larson, 5,285 to 4,060 votes, according to unofficial results.
Fields was appointed jailer in early 2021 following the retirement of longtime jailer Terry Carl. Fields was previously Erlanger chief of police before serving as chief deputy at the Kenton County Detention Center.
Larson also worked at the detention center briefly before being fired by Fields for striking an inmate in violation of jail staff rules.
Fields will face Democrat George Exterkamp in November.
Property Valuation Administrator
Incumbent Kenton County Property Valuation Administrator Darlene Plummer defeated primary challenger Michael Constantino, 6,653 to 2,920 votes.
Plummer was first elected to the PVA position in 2014. She previously spent over 20 years working in the Kenton County PVA office. Plummer moves on to the general election in November where she faces no Democratic opponent.
Coroner
Incumbent Kenton County Coroner Amber Constantino defeated primary challenger Jessica Cooper, 6,653 to 2,920 votes. Constantino moves on to the general election in November where she faces no Democratic opponent.
Constantino was appointed to the coroner position in 2021 following the retirement of longtime coroner Dr. David Suetholz. At the time of her appointment, she was serving as the deputy coroner.
Her opponent, Jessica Cooper, told LINK nky she had dropped out of the race in mid-March, but her name still appeared on the ballot and she received thousands of votes.
Constable – District 2
Paul Woodard, 1,573, defeated Thomas Turner, 1,094, and Jimmy McQueen, 896 votes. District 2 was an open seat.
Family Court Judge
Terri King Schoborg cruised to a primary win for the open judge’s seat at Kenton County Family Court. Schoborg won 10,391 votes, easily outpacing second-place finisher Carl Knochelmann’s 4,282 votes.
Schoborg and Knochelmann will go head to head in November.
Ben Dusing finished in a distant third with 2,039 votes and was eliminated from the race.
