Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2018

Elections in Kentucky, 2018

* General election: Nov. 6
* Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
* Early voting: N/A
* Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6

* Online registration: Yes
* Same-day registration: No
* Voter ID: Photo or non-photo ID required
* Poll times: 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

* * *

On the ballot: U.S. House • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Local judges • State ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Democratic primaries • Republican primaries

2018 election dates

Deadline to file candidacy
January 30, 2018
Primary election
May 22, 2018
General election
November 6, 2018

The terms of two newly-appointed Kentucky Court of Appeals judges, Robert Johnson and Gene Smallwood Jr., expired in January 2019. Both were appointed by Gov. Matt Bevin (R). Those judges were required to stand for election by voters in November 2018 in order to remain on the bench. A full term on the court is eight years. Kentucky's nonpartisan judicial elections take place during its general elections. These are usually held in even-numbered years but can be held in odd-numbered years.

Judge Robert Johnson was appointed to the court in March 2017 to fill the vacancy created by Laurance VanMeter's election to the Kentucky Supreme Court. Judge Gene Smallwood Jr. was appointed to the court in January 2018 in order to succeed Janet Stumbo, who retired in December 2017.

## Contents

* 1 Candidates
* 2 General election
* 2.1 5th District, Division 1
* 2.2 7th District, Division 2
* 3 Primary election
* 3.1 7th District, Division 2
* 3.2 Selection
* 3.2.1 Qualifications
* 3.2.2 Selection of the chief judge
* 3.3 State profile
* 3.3.1 Presidential voting pattern
* 3.3.1.1 Pivot Counties (2016)
* 3.3.1.2 Pivot Counties (2020)
* 3.4 Pivot Counties
* 3.4.1 Presidential results by legislative district
* 3.5 Recent news
* 3.6 See also
* 3.7 External links
* 3.8 Footnotes

## Candidates[edit]

# General election[edit]

### 5th District, Division 1[edit]

General election

##### General election for Kentucky Court of Appeals 5th Division 1

Candidate

Votes

|
|
|

✔ |

| Pamela R. Goodwine (Nonpartisan)  |

56.1

| 126,373

| Robert Johnson (Nonpartisan)  |

43.9

| 98,861

* * *

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

| Total votes: 225,234
(100.00% precincts reporting)

|
|

= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

### 7th District, Division 2[edit]

General election

##### General election for Kentucky Court of Appeals 7th Division 2

Candidate

Votes

|
|
|

✔ |

| Larry E. Thompson (Nonpartisan)  |

53.9

| 64,551

| David Allen Barber (Nonpartisan)  |

46.1

| 55,310

* * *

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

| Total votes: 119,861
(100.00% precincts reporting)

|
|

= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

# Primary election[edit]

### 7th District, Division 2[edit]

■ Gene Smallwood Jr. (i)
■ David Allen Barber
■ Donald Combs
■ Kevin Sinnette
■ Larry E. Thompson (Kentucky)
■ Jim Vanover
■ Marcia Wireman

## Selection[edit]

See also: Judicial selection in Kentucky

The fourteen judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals are elected to eight-year terms in nonpartisan elections. They must run for re-election if they wish to serve subsequent terms.[1] If a midterm vacancy occurs, the governor appoints a successor from a list of three names provided by the Kentucky Judicial Nominating Commission. If the term the appointee will fill expires at the next election, the appointment is for the remainder of the term. If the term does not expire at the next election and that election is more than three months away, the appointee must stand for election, and the election is for the remainder of the unexpired term. If the term does not expire at the next election, but the election is less than three months away, the appointee must stand for election in the election following the next. The election is for the remainder of the unexpired term, if any; if none of the term is left, the election is for a full term.[1]

### Qualifications[edit]

In order to serve on the court, a judge must be:

* a U.S. citizen;
* a resident of the represented district for at least two years;
* licensed to practice law for at least eight years.[1]

### Selection of the chief judge[edit]

The chief judge is chosen by peer vote. He or she serves in that capacity for four years.[1]

## State profile[edit]

Demographic data for Kentucky

| Kentucky| U.S.
Total population:| 4,424,611| 316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):| 39,486| 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:| 87.6%| 73.6%
Black/African American:| 7.9%| 12.6%
Asian:| 1.3%| 5.1%
Native American:| 0.2%| 0.8%
Pacific Islander:| 0%| 0.2%
Two or more:| 2.1%| 3%
Hispanic/Latino:| 3.3%| 17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:| 84.2%| 86.7%
College graduation rate:| 22.3%| 29.8%
Income
Median household income:| $43,740| $53,889
Persons below poverty level:| 22.7%| 11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Kentucky.

* * *

**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

### Presidential voting pattern[edit]

See also: Presidential voting trends in Kentucky

Kentucky voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

#### Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Kentucky, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[2]

#### Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Kentucky had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Kentucky coverage on Ballotpedia

* Elections in Kentucky
* United States congressional delegations from Kentucky
* Public policy in Kentucky
* Influencers in Kentucky
* Kentucky fact checks
* More...

## Pivot Counties[edit]

See also: Pivot Counties by state

One of 120 Kentucky counties—0.83 percent—is a pivot county. Pivot counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 pivot counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008

County  | Trump margin of victory in 2016  | Obama margin of victory in 2012  | Obama margin of victory in 2008
Elliott County, Kentucky | 44.13% | 2.50% | 25.17%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Kentucky with 62.5 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 32.7 percent. In presidential elections between 1792 and 2016, Kentucky voted Democratic 45.6 percent of the time and Republican 26.3 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Kentucky voted Republican all five times.[3]

#### Presidential results by legislative district[edit]

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Kentucky. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[4][5]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 18 out of 100 state House districts in Kentucky with an average margin of victory of 24.5 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 18 out of 100 state House districts in Kentucky with an average margin of victory of 25 points. Clinton won one district controlled by a Republican heading into the 2018 elections.

In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 82 out of 100 state House districts in Kentucky with an average margin of victory of 32.8 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 82 out of 100 state House districts in Kentucky with an average margin of victory of 42 points. Trump won 20 districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

2016 presidential results by state House district

District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | Party Control
1 | 28.28% | 70.29% | R+42 | 21.07% | 75.71% | R+54.6 | R
2 | 28.39% | 70.02% | R+41.6 | 19.66% | 76.54% | R+56.9 | R
3 | 40.47% | 57.82% | R+17.3 | 36.33% | 58.93% | R+22.6 | D
4 | 28.50% | 70.01% | R+41.5 | 19.59% | 76.79% | R+57.2 | R
5 | 34.38% | 63.66% | R+29.3 | 28.15% | 66.52% | R+38.4 | R
6 | 32.05% | 66.22% | R+34.2 | 22.63% | 73.37% | R+50.7 | D
7 | 34.35% | 64.05% | R+29.7 | 25.60% | 69.99% | R+44.4 | R
8 | 45.14% | 53.78% | R+8.6 | 40.22% | 56.32% | R+16.1 | R
9 | 29.19% | 69.46% | R+40.3 | 22.92% | 73.34% | R+50.4 | R
10 | 40.43% | 57.99% | R+17.6 | 29.06% | 66.06% | R+37 | D
11 | 43.65% | 55.17% | R+11.5 | 34.91% | 60.53% | R+25.6 | R
12 | 31.04% | 67.42% | R+36.4 | 20.94% | 75.28% | R+54.3 | R
13 | 46.17% | 51.87% | R+5.7 | 39.24% | 54.05% | R+14.8 | R
14 | 31.99% | 66.02% | R+34 | 22.42% | 73.01% | R+50.6 | R
15 | 35.13% | 63.22% | R+28.1 | 23.89% | 72.90% | R+49 | R
16 | 31.83% | 66.81% | R+35 | 24.20% | 72.59% | R+48.4 | R
17 | 29.65% | 69.19% | R+39.5 | 26.55% | 68.13% | R+41.6 | R
18 | 30.68% | 67.92% | R+37.2 | 21.96% | 74.00% | R+52 | R
19 | 36.66% | 61.97% | R+25.3 | 28.23% | 67.66% | R+39.4 | R
20 | 47.55% | 50.21% | R+2.7 | 47.28% | 45.81% | D+1.5 | D
21 | 29.72% | 68.87% | R+39.2 | 19.57% | 77.59% | R+58 | R
22 | 30.68% | 68.01% | R+37.3 | 22.20% | 73.97% | R+51.8 | D
23 | 32.54% | 65.99% | R+33.5 | 23.11% | 72.94% | R+49.8 | R
24 | 35.21% | 63.25% | R+28 | 24.18% | 72.15% | R+48 | R
25 | 36.11% | 62.25% | R+26.1 | 29.69% | 64.91% | R+35.2 | R
26 | 32.43% | 66.01% | R+33.6 | 25.01% | 70.56% | R+45.6 | R
27 | 42.17% | 56.05% | R+13.9 | 30.64% | 64.67% | R+34 | D
28 | 44.94% | 53.71% | R+8.8 | 37.86% | 57.69% | R+19.8 | D
29 | 39.17% | 59.62% | R+20.5 | 38.23% | 56.76% | R+18.5 | R
30 | 71.73% | 26.98% | D+44.8 | 69.58% | 25.88% | D+43.7 | D
31 | 50.04% | 48.33% | D+1.7 | 50.75% | 43.48% | D+7.3 | D
32 | 43.38% | 55.29% | R+11.9 | 47.38% | 46.66% | D+0.7 | R
33 | 41.13% | 57.48% | R+16.3 | 43.59% | 50.25% | R+6.7 | R
34 | 59.79% | 37.94% | D+21.9 | 65.14% | 28.16% | D+37 | D
35 | 56.21% | 41.52% | D+14.7 | 53.85% | 39.87% | D+14 | D
36 | 32.23% | 66.72% | R+34.5 | 35.92% | 58.96% | R+23 | R
37 | 49.68% | 48.67% | D+1 | 44.50% | 49.97% | R+5.5 | D
38 | 54.21% | 44.14% | D+10.1 | 48.62% | 46.39% | D+2.2 | D
39 | 33.35% | 64.62% | R+31.3 | 30.32% | 63.52% | R+33.2 | D
40 | 67.80% | 30.82% | D+37 | 64.07% | 31.32% | D+32.8 | D
41 | 76.55% | 21.94% | D+54.6 | 75.28% | 19.22% | D+56.1 | D
42 | 85.66% | 12.50% | D+73.2 | 84.31% | 10.77% | D+73.5 | D
43 | 76.26% | 23.02% | D+53.2 | 74.36% | 21.81% | D+52.6 | D
44 | 60.58% | 38.30% | D+22.3 | 55.32% | 41.13% | D+14.2 | D
45 | 37.40% | 60.69% | R+23.3 | 41.04% | 51.95% | R+10.9 | R
46 | 54.38% | 44.35% | D+10 | 50.32% | 44.79% | D+5.5 | D
47 | 40.04% | 58.29% | R+18.3 | 25.17% | 70.32% | R+45.2 | D
48 | 41.16% | 57.55% | R+16.4 | 46.46% | 48.29% | R+1.8 | R
49 | 32.77% | 65.53% | R+32.8 | 23.27% | 72.25% | R+49 | D
50 | 41.07% | 57.59% | R+16.5 | 30.97% | 64.66% | R+33.7 | R
51 | 26.66% | 72.21% | R+45.5 | 19.84% | 76.57% | R+56.7 | R
52 | 22.27% | 76.72% | R+54.4 | 15.23% | 82.44% | R+67.2 | R
53 | 30.93% | 67.34% | R+36.4 | 21.74% | 73.75% | R+52 | R
54 | 30.10% | 68.30% | R+38.2 | 26.05% | 69.78% | R+43.7 | R
55 | 28.09% | 70.49% | R+42.4 | 23.18% | 70.94% | R+47.8 | R
56 | 42.41% | 55.60% | R+13.2 | 40.91% | 52.53% | R+11.6 | D
57 | 50.60% | 47.40% | D+3.2 | 45.10% | 49.31% | R+4.2 | D
58 | 35.55% | 63.19% | R+27.6 | 30.51% | 64.14% | R+33.6 | R
59 | 30.49% | 67.97% | R+37.5 | 30.74% | 63.05% | R+32.3 | R
60 | 27.40% | 70.85% | R+43.4 | 24.75% | 69.46% | R+44.7 | R
61 | 30.41% | 68.03% | R+37.6 | 21.75% | 73.63% | R+51.9 | R
62 | 37.00% | 61.15% | R+24.2 | 31.04% | 63.50% | R+32.5 | R
63 | 31.20% | 66.99% | R+35.8 | 31.78% | 61.61% | R+29.8 | R
64 | 31.06% | 67.21% | R+36.2 | 26.56% | 67.11% | R+40.5 | R
65 | 56.23% | 41.12% | D+15.1 | 50.32% | 42.57% | D+7.8 | D
66 | 28.55% | 69.70% | R+41.2 | 25.31% | 68.35% | R+43 | R
67 | 48.32% | 49.06% | R+0.7 | 44.07% | 48.71% | R+4.6 | D
68 | 31.30% | 66.80% | R+35.5 | 29.27% | 64.48% | R+35.2 | R
69 | 38.90% | 58.93% | R+20 | 34.35% | 58.94% | R+24.6 | R
70 | 35.60% | 62.91% | R+27.3 | 23.57% | 72.93% | R+49.4 | D
71 | 22.53% | 75.99% | R+53.5 | 18.98% | 77.49% | R+58.5 | R
72 | 40.10% | 58.03% | R+17.9 | 32.18% | 63.34% | R+31.2 | D
73 | 32.99% | 65.40% | R+32.4 | 28.17% | 67.15% | R+39 | R
74 | 36.76% | 61.45% | R+24.7 | 26.75% | 69.75% | R+43 | R
75 | 56.44% | 40.17% | D+16.3 | 59.29% | 32.42% | D+26.9 | D
76 | 54.20% | 43.37% | D+10.8 | 54.52% | 39.06% | D+15.5 | D
77 | 70.90% | 26.97% | D+43.9 | 67.96% | 26.00% | D+42 | D
78 | 35.41% | 62.52% | R+27.1 | 25.41% | 70.22% | R+44.8 | R
79 | 52.52% | 44.89% | D+7.6 | 54.48% | 38.07% | D+16.4 | D
80 | 25.27% | 73.15% | R+47.9 | 18.88% | 77.48% | R+58.6 | R
81 | 41.73% | 55.80% | R+14.1 | 39.31% | 54.03% | R+14.7 | R
82 | 20.17% | 78.63% | R+58.5 | 14.96% | 82.26% | R+67.3 | R
83 | 18.35% | 80.19% | R+61.8 | 13.46% | 83.72% | R+70.3 | R
84 | 18.79% | 79.76% | R+61 | 17.84% | 79.62% | R+61.8 | R
85 | 16.98% | 81.77% | R+64.8 | 13.26% | 83.41% | R+70.1 | R
86 | 21.03% | 77.60% | R+56.6 | 14.55% | 82.39% | R+67.8 | R
87 | 21.56% | 76.86% | R+55.3 | 15.69% | 81.91% | R+66.2 | D
88 | 37.91% | 60.16% | R+22.3 | 42.13% | 50.98% | R+8.8 | R
89 | 21.00% | 77.27% | R+56.3 | 17.30% | 78.99% | R+61.7 | R
90 | 14.04% | 84.43% | R+70.4 | 11.55% | 85.97% | R+74.4 | R
91 | 26.26% | 71.89% | R+45.6 | 21.15% | 75.56% | R+54.4 | R
92 | 26.17% | 71.86% | R+45.7 | 20.45% | 76.99% | R+56.5 | R
93 | 22.68% | 75.61% | R+52.9 | 15.01% | 82.81% | R+67.8 | D
94 | 20.88% | 76.88% | R+56 | 17.76% | 78.99% | R+61.2 | D
95 | 30.76% | 66.72% | R+36 | 23.50% | 73.36% | R+49.9 | R
96 | 33.82% | 63.97% | R+30.1 | 20.35% | 76.02% | R+55.7 | R
97 | 25.32% | 72.56% | R+47.2 | 17.72% | 79.37% | R+61.6 | R
98 | 39.52% | 58.63% | R+19.1 | 25.37% | 71.06% | R+45.7 | R
99 | 40.29% | 57.31% | R+17 | 28.36% | 67.88% | R+39.5 | D
100 | 41.11% | 56.89% | R+15.8 | 29.95% | 65.87% | R+35.9 | D
Total | 37.81% | 60.51% | R+22.7 | 32.69% | 62.54% | R+29.8 | \-
Source: Daily Kos

## Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Kentucky court elections' OR 'Kentucky Supreme Court' OR 'Kentucky judicial election 2018'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2018 - Google News

## See also[edit]

Kentucky | Judicial Selection | More Courts

|
|

Courts in Kentucky Kentucky Court of Appeals Kentucky Supreme Court |  Elections: 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Kentucky |  Federal courts State courts Local courts

## External links[edit]

| Suggest a link

|

* Kentucky Court of Justice

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Kentucky," accessed March 7, 2017
2. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
3. ↑ 270towin.com, "Kentucky," accessed June 1, 2017
4. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
5. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017

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