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Kentucky’s Election Day at a Glance

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The latest on Kentucky’s general election, including the nation’s most competitive campaign for governor.

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10:35 p.m.

The Kentucky Board of Elections reports turnout for the Kentucky general election was 30.68 percent.

The board’s website said that 982,259 votes were cast Tuesday out of 3,201,852 registered voters.

Franklin, Marshall, Menifee and Woodford counties produced greater than 40 percent turnout.

Christian, McCreary and Todd counties were all lower than 20 percent.

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9:35 p.m.

Democrat Andy Beshear, the son of Kentucky’s governor, has been elected the state’s next attorney general – a job once held by his father.

Beshear defeated Republican lawmaker Whitney Westerfield on Tuesday, capping an expensive, hard-fought campaign for the job as Kentucky’s chief law enforcement officer. Beshear, a 37-year-old lawyer making his first run for office, is the son of two-term Gov. Steve Beshear.

Andy Beshear says his priorities will include combating child abuse, drug abuse and scams targeting older Kentuckians.

The campaign turned into dueling arguments that the other candidate lacked experience for the job.

Beshear criticized Westerfield’s lack of appellate experience and representation of debt collectors.

Westerfield pointed to Beshear’s lack of prosecutorial experience.

 

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8:55 p.m.

Longtime Letcher County Circuit Judge Sam Wright has been elected to the state Supreme Court after a bitter campaign.

Wright beat Janet Stumbo, a former Supreme Court justice now on the state’s Court of Appeals, in a race that drew ire from campaign watchers who push for decorum in judicial elections.

Wright described himself as a “law and order judge” and painted his opponent as a liberal jurist who “sides with criminals.” Judicial races in Kentucky are nonpartisan, and Stumbo defended her record as being willing to make unpopular decisions if the law requires it.

Wright campaigned on his two decades of experience as a trial court judge and his success building a drug court program, which he said drastically cut rates of recidivism in Letcher County.

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8:50 p.m.

Incumbent Auditor Adam Edelen, considered a rising star in the state Democratic party, has been ousted by voters, who chose instead to elect Republican state lawmaker Mike Harmon as the state’s chief financial watchdog.

Harmon, an insurance agent from Danville, has served 13 years in the state House of Representatives.

His victory Tuesday was a stunning blow to state Democrats: Harmon raised far less money than the Democratic incumbent, who was seen as a potential challenger to Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul in next year’s Senate race.

Harmon tried to paint Edelen as a career politician using the auditor’s office as a steppingstone to higher office. He pledged to rid the office of the “liberal agenda” and instill conservative values by scrutinizing every dollar the government spends.

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8:39 p.m.

The Latest: Alison Lundergan Grimes hangs on for re-election as Kentucky secretary of state

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8:05 p.m.

Republican Matt Bevin has defeated Democrat Jack Conway to become only the second Republican Kentucky governor in four decades.

Independent Drew Curtis was a distant third in Tuesday’s election.

Republicans have dominated federal elections in Kentucky, but moderate Democrats have maintained control of state government. Bevin’s election gives Republicans control of the executive branch along with a commanding majority in the state Senate. Democrats still have an eight-seat majority in the state House of Representatives.

Focus will almost immediately shift to the state House elections in 2016, where U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell has vowed to flex his powerful fundraising muscle to Republicans to take over the only southern state legislative body controlled by Democrats.

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7:50 p.m.

Republican state Rep. Ryan Quarles has defeated his Democratic rival in a hard-fought race to be Kentucky’s next agriculture commissioner.

Quarles campaigned on his farming pedigree: He raised crops on his family’s central Kentucky farm to help pay for college, where he studied agricultural economics on his way to becoming a lawyer.

The 31-year-old lawmaker from Georgetown narrowly won the Republican nomination. In the general election, he faced Democrat Jean-Marie Lawson Spann, an agribusiness executive and host of a long-running weekly radio show on farm issues.

The two battled to replace Republican James Comer, who opted to run for governor instead of seeking re-election. He narrowly lost to Matt Bevin in the Republican primary.

Quarles will oversee the agency with a $17 million budget and 225 employees.

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7:45 p.m.

Republican Allison Ball has been elected as Kentucky’s next state treasurer, winning a matchup of candidates from Appalachia.

Ball, a bankruptcy attorney from Prestonsburg, defeated Democratic state Rep. Rick Nelson of Middlesboro.

Ball says her background helping people through bankruptcies has prepared her to be a watchdog of state finances.

The treasurer balances the state’s checkbook, collects and returns unclaimed property and handles other financial duties. The treasurer also serves on the state lottery board, the State Investment Commission and the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System board of directors.

The incumbent state treasurer, Democrat Todd Hollenbach, is finishing his second term and can’t serve again because of term limits.

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7 p.m.

Polls are closed across Kentucky, where voters have been casting ballots to elect a new governor and other constitutional officers.

Polls closed at 6 p.m. local time.

At the top of the ticket is the contest for governor, with Republican Matt Bevin, Democrat Jack Conway and independent Drew Curtis contrasting sharply in the race.

Down-ballot races on the ticket include the offices of attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and agriculture commissioner.

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3:50 p.m.

The Kentucky attorney general’s office says the election fraud hotline has received several dozen complaints with a few hours to go before the polls close.

At 3 p.m. EDT, the hotline had received a total of 36 complaints from 20 counties. Reasons for the calls ranged from procedural issues to a call about vote buying or selling from Perry County.

Five counties had complaints about general election fraud. Those counties are Boone, Fayette, Oldham, Webster and Woodford.

Kentucky voters are choosing a governor, attorney general, auditor, treasurer and agriculture commissioner in the general election Tuesday.

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12: 15 p.m.

As Kentuckians head to the polls to cast ballots for statewide races including governor, the attorney general’s office says it has received a total of 14 calls from nine counties on its voter fraud hotline.

According to a statement from the attorney general’s office, only two calls dealt with possible fraud by mid-morning. Others calls dealt with issues like electioneering and procedural questions.

Voter turnout on Tuesday is expected to equal or exceed that of the 2011 election, when 28 percent of registered voters cast ballots to re-elect Gov. Steve Beshear. The Secretary of State’s Office said on Tuesday morning that a total of 31,625 absentee ballots had been cast.

At the top of the ticket is the contest for governor, with Republican Matt Bevin, Democrat Jack Conway and independent Drew Curtis contrasting sharply in the race.

Down-ballot races on the ticket include the offices of attorney general, auditor, treasurer and agriculture commissioner.

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9:10 a.m.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jack Conway has cast his vote in the pivotal race to become Kentucky’s next leader.

Conway entered the Knights of Columbus hall in Louisville around 8:40 a.m. with his wife and two children. His son entered the polling booth with him and he explained the process of filling out his ballot before casting it.

Conway is squaring off with Republican Matt Bevin to become Kentucky’s next governor in the off-year election. The winner succeeds Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, who could not seek re-election because of term limits.

Polls are open until 6 p.m. local time.

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8 a.m.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin has cast his ballot.

Bevin entered the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary about 7:40 a.m. with his family in tow. As he filled out his ballot, he explained to his children how the process worked and then slid the paper into the box.

Bevin is running squaring off with Democrat Jack Conway to become Kentucky’s next governor in a pivotal off-year election. The winner succeeds Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, who could not seek re-election because of term limits.

Polls are open until 6 p.m. local time.