After Nov. 8, Northern Kentucky will have a new senator to represent the region.
Redistricting redrew the boundaries of Senate District 20, bringing it up into the southern half of Boone County and the southwestern portion of Kenton County with Gallatin, Carroll, Owen, and Franklin counties.
The newly drawn district splits Boone County into two Senate districts, which was previously represented solely by Senator John Schickel (R-Union) in District 11.Â
The new district stretches all the way from Boone to Franklin County, making it one of the more unique districts in the Commonwealth. The seat is currently held by retiring Sen. Paul Hornback (R-Shelbyville).
Due to its unique geographical layout, the district contains a heavily Democratic area in Franklin County and a heavily Republican area in Boone County.
The rest of the district skews more Republican, which could spell trouble for Democratic candidate Teresa Barton. Barton hails from heavily Democratic Franklin County. Barton served as the judge/executive of Franklin County. She also worked for former Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher – first as his director of Drug Control Policy and then as deputy secretary of the Justice & Public Protection Cabinet.
“I have demonstrated the ability to work across party lines to build coalitions and to get good policies enacted,” Barton said.
Barton said she also has 20 years of experience in the private sector and is perfect for serving the six counties in the district.
“My experience in higher education, county government, as well as state government has prepared me for this opportunity to serve people and our communities once again,” she said.
With redistricting, Senate District 20 dropped democrat-leaning Woodford County and added more conservative-leaning Northern Kentucky, according to Chris Kirkwood, a political science graduate student at the University of Kentucky who analyzes political races in Kentucky and across the country on his website.
“I’m inclined to say it’ll stay in Republican hands,” Kirkwood said. “Franklin can swing a good deal in an off-year or down-ballot elections, but with the new NKY portions of the seat, I think they’ll negate Franklin.”
Barton’s opponent is a Republican hailing from a highly conservative area in the district. Boone County resident Gex “Jay” Williams is also no stranger to the Kentucky legislature, previously serving as Senator in Northern Kentucky’s 24th Senate District before redistricting put Boone County in Senate District 11.
Tune in tonight at 7 p.m. to listen to both candidates in a forum with LINK nky Chief Content Officer Michael Monks and LINK nky Politics and Government Reporter Mark Payne.
Williams believes this previous experience in the upper chamber of the Kentucky legislature will allow him to make an immediate impact.
“I’m an experienced change-maker, and I’m willing to work with anyone to make things better,” Williams said. “That’s what I did when I served in the state senate for part of the 90s.”
Williams said he was able to work across party lines at the time when Democrats controlled the Senate.
“Even though we were in different political parties when he served as the Democrat Senate Majority Leader, David Karem complimented my ‘thoughtful’ and ‘serious’ approach to public service, as well as my ‘expertise,'” Williams said.
The Senate eventually switched to Republican control in the 1990s, and Barton said that Williams also had a reputation during that time as a “crackpot.”
“He served back in the 90s, and his record shows he didn’t get anything done,” Barton said. “In fact, The Republican Senate Majority Leader at the time called Gex ‘mean spirited’ and a ‘full-time anarchist.'”
Trading jabs between the two has been nothing new on the campaign trail, with Williams accusing Barton of stealing signs in Franklin County and allegedly catching her on camera.
Campaign shenanigans aside, Williams said that he is also separated from his opponent via endorsements from the Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police, Kentucky Right to Life, the NRA, the Kentucky Motorcycle Association, the Commonwealth Policy Center, former Frankfort Mayor John Sower, U.S. Congressman Thomas Massie, and U.S. Senator Rand Paul.
Barton said she embraces Kentucky’s values of family, common sense, fairness, and hard work.
“I learned firsthand from my mother the importance of serving the public and from my father, a veteran of the Air Force and a union tool and die worker, how you can get ahead with hard work and perseverance,” she said.
The candidates differ on policy and typically align with their party values, but they did raise similar amounts of money according to their 60-day pre-election report filed to the Kentucky Registry for Election Finance.
Williams has raised $32,757 from individual contributions and $6,200 from PACs, including Bluegrass Committee, Making A Sensible Shift In Elections, Northern Kentucky Right To Life PAC, GOPAC Election Fund, and KY Motorcycle Freedom Fund. He also received a $16,000 donation from the Senate Republican Caucus Campaign Committee.
With his campaign funds, Williams hired the Republican political consulting firm Axiom Strategies to run his campaign.
Barton received $34,025 in individual contributions and nothing from PACs. She received $1,000 from the KY Women’s Network Caucus Campaign Committee.