There were several primary races in Kenton County this year, most notably for the Kenton County sheriff’s seat and for seats on the fiscal court, for which multiple Democrats ran for the first time in decades.
Kenton County primary election results
Click the links below to jump to the results for a particular race.
Find all our other Northern Kentucky election coverage and live results here.
Kenton County sheriff
Larry Shelton defeated Jude Hehman in the Republican primary for the Kenton County sheriff, and will be facing off against Democratic challenger and former Newport Chief of Police Tom Collins in November.
Shelton will serve as the Republican candidate for Kenton County sheriff in November, beating out Republican opponent Shelton. He will face off against Democratic challenger and former Newport Police Chief Tom Collins, who did not have a primary opponent, in the general election in November.Read more about the race here.
Kenton County Commission
There were multiple primaries in both parties for Kenton County commissioner seats this year. Commissioners are legislators who sit on the county fiscal court, which acts as the primary government body for counties in the commonwealth. County commissioners are elected in districts where they live but they represent the county at-large, meaning they represent the county as a whole and everyone in the county can vote for every seat, regardless of where they live.
Districts 2 and 3 had primaries this year. District 2 had a Republican primary, and district 3 had both a Republican and a Democratic primary. The winning candidates are listed below. Other district races did not have primaries, but every district is up for grabs this year, so stay tuned for more information as we approach the November general election.
District 2:
- Republican winner: Jeff Niceley
District 3:
- Democrat winner: Jordan Baldridge
- Republican winner: Richard ‘Scott’ Kimmich
Check out our full coverage of the Kenton County commissioner primary here.
Property Valuation Administrator
Darlene Plummer will serve as Kenton County’s property valuation administrator starting in 2027, according to Tuesday’s election results. Property valuation administrators, or PVAs, are responsible for assessing the fair market value of property in the county, among other things related to property assessments. They do not set property tax rates or collect property taxes, however.
This year’s race saw a primary in the Republican party between longtime incumbent Darlene Plummer and the current mayor of Independence Chris Reinersman, both of whom have professional backgrounds in property assessment. No Democrats filed to run for PVA this year, so Plummer will run unopposed in November.
Read LINK nky’s explainer to learn more about the roles of property valuation administrators.
Constable, District 2
Thomas Turner will serve as the Kenton County constable in district 2 starting in 2027, according to Tuesday’s election results. Constables are somewhat peculiar–they serve as elected peace officers, a position that dates back to the 1850 Kentucky Constitution prior to the proliferation of professional, municipal police departments. They can make arrests, execute warrants, issue subpoenas and other civil process in criminal, penal and civil cases.
This year’s district 2 race saw a Republican primary between incumbent Paul Woodward and challenger Thomas Turner. No Democrat filed to run in district 2, so Thomas Turner/Paul Woodward will run unopposed in November.
Read LINK nky’s explainer to learn more about the role of constables in Kentucky.