OHIO COUNTY, Ky. — Today, May 17, the election season begins as Ohio County and the rest of the state will hold its 2022 Primary Election. The polls opened at 6 a.m. and will close at 6 p.m.
This year, Ohio County citizens can vote at any one of the six voting centers located throughout the county.
No matter where you live, you can vote at one of the following locations:
- Ohio County High School – 1400 S. Main St., Hartford, Ky.
- Fordsville Elementary School – 359 W. Main St., Fordsville, Ky.
- Western Elementary School – 4008 KY 85 E, Rockport, Ky.
- Southern Elementary School – 3836 U.S. 231 S, Beaver Dam, Ky.
- Horse Branch Elementary School – 11980 U.S. 62 E, Horse Branch, Ky.
- Living Faith Baptist Church – 6515 U.S. 231 N, Hartford, Ky.
We at the Ohio County Monitor think that an educated voter is the best voter. Because of this, we’ve tried to present plenty of information on this year’s candidates, so you can make an informed decision at the polls.
Below you will see a breakdown of the local races, a link to a candidate forum held earlier this year, and links to those candidates who provided the OC Monitor with a Meet the Candidates article on themselves and why they are running for office. We also provided a link to a sample ballot for tomorrow’s Primary Election. The ballot shows every race happening in the Primary Election, however, voters will only see races they are eligible to vote for on their respective ballots when they go to vote.
If you haven’t already, we urge you to get out and vote in tomorrow’s Primary Election. Many of the local races, especially for Republican voters, will be decided tomorrow.
Judge-Executive — The race for Ohio County Judge-Executive should be interesting as, for now, it seems the race will be decided in the Primary Election.
Three Republicans have filed to run for judge-executive. The incumbent, David Johnston, has filed seeking his fourth term. Johnston will face off against two Republican challengers Ray Goff and David Randolph. Unless there is a Democratic write-in campaign in the General Election, one of the most important local offices will be decided tomorrow.
County Clerk — Current Ohio County Clerk Bess Ralph will face no challenger in either the Primary or General Election and will be county clerk for another term.
PVA — Current Ohio County PVA Jason Chinn had filed to seek another term, but on Jan. 6 Chinn announced on his Facebook page he was withdrawing from the race to spend time with his family and help his parents.
Republican Arthur Leach was the only candidate to file for PVA. Leach has worked in Chinn’s office for the last year.
County Sheriff — Much like the judge-executive race, the race for the Ohio County Sheriff will be decided during the Primary Election as two Republicans have filed.
Incumbent Ohio County Sheriff Tracy Beatty has filed for re-election, seeking his second term as sheriff. His challenger will be Adam Wright, who has had a long career in law enforcement.
County Jailer — The race for Ohio County Jailer will feature two candidates, a Republican and a Democrat. However, neither of the candidates is incumbent jailer Gerry “Rip” Wright.
The Republican candidate filing to run for jailer is Landon Spurlock and the Democrat is Terry L. Wright. The office of the jailer will be decided in the General Election.
County Attorney — The race for county attorney comes down to one candidate, incumbent Republican Justin S. Keown. Keown will continue to act as the county attorney for another term.
County Coroner — The race for county coroner is much like the race for county attorney, the incumbent Republican Elvis Doolin was the only candidate to file. Doolin will continue as county coroner for another term.
First District Magistrate — The race for First District Magistrate is packed with four candidates having filed for the office, including incumbent Democrat Sam Small. Small has no challenger for the Democratic Primary Election.
However, three Republican candidates will battle for the right to face Small in the General Election. Republicans Angela Rhye-Farris, Dwight Smith, and former First District Magistrate Michael McKenney will face off in the Primary Election.
Second District Magistrate — The Second District Magistrate’s race is the least contentious of all the magistrates’ races. Incumbent Democrat Jason Bullock was the only candidate to file for this office. Bullock will run unopposed and will serve another term as Second District Magistrate.
Third District Magistrate — Since incumbent Third District Magistrate Joe Barnes has run for office, he’s always had a tough fight, winning in 2014 General Election by 13 votes and winning by 16 votes in the 2018 General Election. This year’s election cycle appears no different as he will have to face a candidate in both the Primary and General Elections.
Barnes, a Democrat, will face Democrat Scott G. Tichenor in the Primary Election. The winner of the Primary Election will face Republican Bo Bennett in the General Election. Bennett was the only Republican candidate to file for Third District Magistrate.
Fourth District Magistrate — Long time Fourth District Magistrate Larry Keown did not file for re-election meaning there will be at least one new face on the Ohio County Fiscal Court for the next term. Democrat Bryn Aud filed for Fourth District Magistrate and will run unopposed in the Primary Election.
Two Republicans, Helen Dever and Kenneth Calloway will face off in the Primary Election for the Fourth District Magistrate seat.
Fifth District Magistrate — The Fifth District Magistrate seat will be decided in the Primary Election. Incumbent Republican Larry Morphew will face three Republican challengers in the Primary Election. Republicans DeWayne Johnson, Keith Nelson, and Timothy Johnston all filed to run for Fifth District Magistrate.
First District Constable — In the First District, incumbent Republican Joey Renfrow will face Republican Ronnie Schroader in the Primary Election. Because there were no Democrats to file for this office, the winner of the Primary Election will be First District Constable.
Second District Constable — In the Second District, incumbent Republican Orville Baize did not file for re-election, though three others filed for the office. Two Republicans, Steven Epley and Darnell Noble will face off in the Primary Election with the winner moving on to face Democrat Paul E. Lindsey in the General Election.
Third District Constable — As was the case in the Second District Constable race, incumbent Republican Jonathan James didn’t file for re-election. Two Republican candidates, Jeremy Nance and David Himes, will compete in the Primary Election. The winner of the Primary Election will be Third District Constable.
Fourth District Constable — In the Fourth District, incumbent Republican Justin Cooper has filed for re-election and will Republican William Culbertson in the Primary Election. The winner of the Primary Election will be the Fourth District Constable.
Fifth District Constable — In the Fifth District, the incumbent Republican Josh Wright did not seek re-election. Republican Anthony Abney and Republican Nathan Geary will compete in the Primary Election. The winner of the Primary Election will be the Fifth District Constable.
County Surveyor — Only one candidate filed for the office of Ohio County Surveyor and that was incumbent Republican William Tracy Crume. Crume will serve as county surveyor for another term.
Beaver Dam Mayor — After running unopposed for several elections, incumbent Beaver Dam Mayor Paul Sandefur will face an opponent in the 2022 General Election. Gary Jaggers filed to run for mayor of Beaver Dam.
Beaver Dam City Commission — While Mayor Sandefur has an opponent in this year’s General Election, only the incumbents filed to run for Beaver Dam City Commission. Charles Patton, Sandy Johnson Robinson, James Crump and Kevin Davis all filed for re-election and will all serve another term.
Hartford Mayor — Hartford Mayor George Chinn has decided not to seek re-election, leaving the race for mayor wide open. Only one candidate, so far, has decided to file for Hartford Mayor and that is Beau Wright. The deadline to file for Hartford Mayor is 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022.
McHenry Mayor — In the race for McHenry Mayor, one candidate has filed for the office, Michael Taylor.
State Representative 14th District — In the race for Ohio County’s state representative, incumbent Republican Scott Lewis is running unopposed. Lewis will continue to represent Ohio County, part of Daviess County and now, Hancock County due to the State Legislature’s redistricting plan.
Other local offices to be decided at the General Election in November have a filing deadline of 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Those races include the Second and Fifth District School Board, Hartford Mayor and City Council, Centertown Mayor and City Commission, Fordsville Mayor and City Commission, McHenry Mayor, and City Commission, and 38th Judicial District and Circuit Judges.
Candidates for the Primary Election for the offices of Second District U.S Representative and U.S. Senate are listed below.
Other important dates to remember this election season, the last day to register to vote in the 2022 General Election is Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
To view the Ohio County Republican Party’s March 24 candidates’ forum, click here.
To view a sample ballot for tomorrow’s Primary Election, click here.
Below is a full list of candidates for the 2022 Primary Election:
OHIO COUNTY JUDGE-EXECUTIVE
David Johnston (R) – Incumbent
Ray Goff (R)
David Randolph (R)
OHIO COUNTY SHERIFF
Tracy Beatty (R) – Incumbent
Adam Wright (R)
OHIO COUNTY PVA
Arthur Leach (R)
OHIO COUNTY CLERK
Bess Tichenor Ralph (D) – Incumbent
OHIO COUNTY JAILER
Terry L. Wright (D)
Landon Spurlock (R)
OHIO COUNTY CORONER
Elvis Doolin (R) – Incumbent
FIRST DISTRICT MAGISTRATE
Sam Small (D) – Incumbent
Angela J. Rhye-Farris (R)
Michael Ray McKenney (R)
WM Dwight Smith (R)
SECOND DISTRICT MAGISTRATE
Jason Bullock (D) – Incumbent
THIRD DISTRICT MAGISTRATE
Joe Barnes (D) – Incumbent
Scott G. Tichenor (D)
Bo Bennett (R)
FOURTH DISTRICT MAGISTRATE
Helen Dever (R)
Kenneth Calloway (R)
Bryn Aud (D)
FIFTH DISTRICT MAGISTRATE
Larry Morphew (R) – Incumbent
Dewayne Johnson (R)
Keith Nelson (R)
Timothy Johnston (R)
OHIO COUNTY ATTORNEY
Justin S. Keown (R) – Incumbent
FIRST DISTRICT CONSTABLE
Ronakia (Ronnie) Schroader (R)
Joey L Renfrow (R)
SECOND DISTRICT CONSTABLE
Steven Epley (R)
Darnell Noble (R)
Paul E Lindsey (D)
THIRD DISTRICT CONSTABLE
Jeremy Nance (R)
David Arrel Himes (R)
FOURTH DISTRICT CONSTABLE
Justin Cooper (R)
William Jacob Culbertson (R)
FIFTH DISTRICT CONSTABLE
Anthony L Abney (R)
Nathan Geary (R)
OHIO COUNTY SURVEYOR
William Tracy Crume (R)
The deadline to file for nonpartisan city offices without primary elections is June 7, 2022. This is a list of those who have already filed for some of these offices. The Beaver Dam City Commission’s deadline was Jan. 24 as they voted to move from the June deadline in the past.
BEAVER DAM MAYOR (Nonpartisan)
Paul Sandefur – Incumbent
Gary Jaggers
BEAVER DAM CITY COMMISSION (Nonpartisan)
Charles Patton – Incumbent
Sandy Johnson-Robinson – Incumbent
Kevin Davis – Incumbent
James ‘Jim’ Crump – Incumbent
HARTFORD MAYOR (Nonpartisan)
Beau Wright
CENTERTOWN MAYOR (Nonpartisan)
Mike Aldridge
McHENRY MAYOR (Nonpartisan)
Michael Taylor
Regional and state races:
38TH DISTRICT DIVISION 1 JUDGE (Nonpartisan)- To be decided in the General Election
Incumbent J.B. Hines withdrew from this race.
38TH DISTRICT DIVISION 2 JUDGE (Nonpartisan)– To be decided in the General Election
Daniel Boling
38TH CIRCUIT DIVISION 1 JUDGE (Nonpartisan)– To be decided in the General Election
Timothy R. Coleman – Incumbent
38TH CIRCUIT DIVISION 2 FAMILY COURT JUDGE (Nonpartisan)– To be decided in the General Election
Benjamin D. McKown – Incumbent
STATE REPRESENTATIVE 14TH DISTRICT
Scott Lewis (R) – Incumbent
2ND DISTRICT U.S. REPRESENTATIVE (The very recent redistricting in Kentucky moved Ohio County from the 1st District to the 2nd District.)
Brett Guthrie (R) – Incumbent
Brent Feher (R)
E. Lee Watts (R)
William Dakota Compton (D)
Hank Linderman (D)
U.S. SENATOR
Joshua Wesley Blanton Sr. (D)
Charles Booker (D)
Ruth Gao (D)
John Merrill (D)
Arnold Blankenship (R)
Valerie “Dr. Val” Fredrick (R)
Rand Paul (R) – Incumbent
John Schiess (R)
Tami L. Stainfield (R)