The Republican stronghold in Northern Kentucky’s legislative leadership continues, but some races may have been too close for comfort, as evidenced by a $40,000 donation made by a Mitch McConnell affiliated PAC to incumbent Stephanie Dietz’s campaign less than two weeks before the general election.
Dietz did come out on top in her race, beating out Democrat Aaron Currin for the House District 65 seat.
“Thank you #65 for trusting me with another two years,” Dietz said on Facebook Tuesday night. “I’m incredibly thankful to so many people for their support…it takes a village to run a race like this.”
In her post, Dietz noted that she won two years ago by fewer than 300 votes; this year, the total was 11,280 for Dietz and 8,747 for Currin.
The donation, made by the McConnell-supporting super PAC Kentuckians for Strong Leadership on Oct. 24, was for television advertising through Spectrum.
Dietz was seen as one of three of the GOP’s most vulnerable incumbents, according to the Lexington Herald Leader’s Austin Horn.
Dietz’s House District 65 includes parts of Covington, Edgewood, Fort Wright, Lakeview and Park Hills. In her campaign messaging, Dietz was careful not to take a hard-line stance on most issues, instead vowing to listen to her constituents and make decisions based on what they want.
Other races went as expected, with Republican incumbents Matt Nunn and Chris McDaniel taking NKY’s local senate seats, beating out challengers Kiana Fields and Jennifer Sierra.
An automatic recount was triggered for the House District 67 race between Democrat Matt Lehman and Terry Hatton because Lehman won by only 30 votes; state law triggers an automatic recount for general assembly races that are closer than 0.5 percentage points. Lehman is seeking to keep the seat Democratic after Rachel Roberts’ retirement at the end of her 2024 term.
“I don’t have any reason to expect the outcome of the election would change,” Lehman told LINK nky. “I have the utmost confidence in Mr. Luersen and the Campbell County Board of Elections to conduct free, fair and safe elections.”
In 2022, Lehman ran and lost against 4th District U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican. Lehman’s 2024 campaign promised to address the “significant work” that he said remains to “ensure all of us have access to opportunities in our region.”
Union’s Rep. Marianne Proctor, Taylor Mill’s Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser, Alexandria’s Rep. Mike Clines, Rep. Steven Doan, and Rep. Mark Hart, a Republican from Falmouth, all held onto their seats.
TJ Roberts is the only NKY non-incumbent Republican to win a seat in the House of Representatives Tuesday. That seat was previously held by Rep. Steve Rawlings, a Burlington Republican who is running unopposed for state Senate this year. Roberts defeated Peggy Houston Nienaber, a former accountant and real estate agent from Boone County.
“Part of what I’m focused on is not what I’m going to do but more so what I’m not going to do,” the fourth-generation Boone countian told LINK nky before the election. “I’m not here to run your life; I don’t know how to raise your family. The constitution doesn’t give me the authority to run your life or raise your family, and, even if it did, I wouldn’t be comfortable doing that.”
