Christian County Republicans, like their counterparts statewide, chose Attorney General Daniel Cameron by a wide margin over his two closest competitors — Ag Commissioner Ryan Quarles and former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft — in Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary election.
Cameron had 1,127 votes to 793 for Quarles and 450 for Craft, according to preliminary results from the Christian County Clerk’s Office.
Local Democrats gave Gov. Andy Beshear a landslide victory that mirrored his state totals. Locally, he had 1,573 votes to 163 for Geoffrey “Geoff” Young and 114 for Peppy Martin.
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Voter turnout was extremely low here and across Kentucky.
In all, 4,515 Christian County voters cast a ballot in the two gubernatorial races — accounting for slightly less than 9% of the county’s 50,270 registered voters. County Clerk Melinda Humphries called it a “very quiet” primary.
Beshear easily carried Kentucky, receiving 91% of votes with 119 of 120 counties reporting their election results Tuesday night. The outcome was not a surprise for the incumbent Democrat running against two little-known candidates.
Cameron beat his closest competitor, Quarles, by a more than two-to-one margin. He had 48% percent of votes statewide, while Quarles had 22% and Craft had 17%.
Beshear and Cameron will face each other in the Nov. 7 general election.
Christian County’s 16 voting centers closed at 6 p.m. Tuesday, concluding the 2023 primary election for several contested Republican and Democratic races.
Christian County election results
Here are the unofficial election totals for Christian County as reported by the County Clerk’s Office.
Governor (R)
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| ✔ Daniel Cameron | 1,127 | 42.3% |
| Jacob Clark | 36 | 1.4% |
| David O. Cooper | 25 | 0.9% |
| Kelly Craft | 450 | 16.9% |
| Eric Peters | 96 | 3.6% |
| Bob DeVore | 9 | 0.3% |
| Mike Harmon | 81 | 3.0% |
| Alan Keck | 30 | 1.1% |
| Dennis Ray Ormerod | 2 | 0.1% |
| Ryan Quarles | 793 | 29.8% |
| Johnny Ray Rice | 6 | 0.2% |
| Robbie C. Smith | 10 | 0.4% |
Governor (D)
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| ✔ Andy Beshear | 1,573 | 85.0% |
| Peppy Martin | 114 | 6.2% |
| Geoffrey M. “Geoff” Young | 163 | 8.8% |
Secretary of State (R)
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| ✔ Michael Adams | 1,685 | 68.4% |
| Stephen L. Knipper | 643 | 26.1% |
| Allen Maricle | 136 | 5.5% |
Auditor of Public Accounts (R)
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| ✔ Allison Ball | 1,760 | 72.6% |
| Derek Petteys | 663 | 27.4% |
State Treasurer (R)
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| ✔ Andrew Cooperrider | 1,039 | 43.1% |
| Mark H. Metcalf | 1,014 | 42.1% |
| O.C. “OJ” Oleka | 355 | 14.7% |
Commissioner of Agriculture (R)
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| ✔ Richard Heath | 1,227 | 51.6% |
| Jonathan Shell | 1,151 | 48.4% |
Commissioner of Agriculture (D)
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| ✔ Sierra J. Enlow | 1,002 | 57.4% |
| Mikael Malone | 745 | 42.6% |
