Kentucky judicial elections, 2012
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The Kentucky judicial elections consist of the primary election on May 22nd and general election on November 6th.
Candidates must file before January 31st at 4 p.m.[1]
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Supreme Court
| Candidate | Incumbency | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janet Stumbo | No | 41.9%  | |
Will T. Scott  | Yes | 58.1% |
Court of Appeals
| Candidate | Incumbency | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irv Maze | No | 40% | 50.79% |
| Jim Shake | No | 38% | 49.21% |
| Ruth Ann Cox Pence | No | 22% |
Circuit Courts
Circuit Court 27
| Candidate | Incumbency | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Jensen | No | 100% |
Circuit Court 29
| Candidate | Incumbency | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Wright | No | 46.57% | |
| Judy D. Vance | No | 53.43% |
Circuit Court 30
| Candidate | Incumbency | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angela McCormick Bisig | No | 53.20% | |
| Eric Ison | No | 18.66% | |
| Wanda Mitchell Baker | No | 28.14% |
District Courts
District Court 31
| Candidate | Incumbency | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Marcum | No | 100% |
District Court 57
| Candidate | Incumbency | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arch C. McKay III | No | 36.74% | |
| John S. Kelley V | No | 41.23% | |
| Thomas C. Dawson | No | 22.03% |
Ballot measure
Proposed
The Kentucky School Finance Amendment (2012) was a proposed legislatively-referred constitutional amendment which did not make the ballot. The measure sought to remove the Kentucky Supreme Court from disputes concerning school financing by changing the Kentucky Constitution to give the final say to the state legislature.[2]
In the News
Kentucky election recap, 2012
Here are some highlights from the recent Kentucky judiciary elections held on November 6, 2012.
Supreme Court
The race between Janet Stumbo and Will T. Scott was definitive. Stumbo, a former Kentucky Supreme Court justice (1993-2004) and current Kentucky Court of Appeals judge, lost to Scott by 17 percentage points. Scott received 58.1% to Stumbo’s 41.9%. Voters clearly wanted to keep on Scott, who was elected to the court in the 2004 election. Scott will keep his seat another 8 years.
Court of Appeals
Kentucky had just one Court of Appeals race which ended dramatically with a close vote. Irv Maze and Jim Shake were competing for the seat. Maze, appointed by Gov. Beshear in April of 2012, had to win the election to stay on the bench. He squeaked out a victory with 50.79% of the vote, compared to Shake’s 49.21%. Ruth Ann Pence was defeated at the primary stage of the campaign.
Circuit Courts
The Circuit Court races featured no incumbents. Angela McCormick Bisig brought in the highest victory margin, soundly defeating her opponents, Eric Ison and Wanda Mitchell Baker, with 53.20% of the vote. Baker who was her closest competitor, received just 28.14% of the vote.
District Courts
The highlight at this level of the judiciary in Kentucky has to be the close victory of John S. Kelley V on election night. He brought in just 41.23% of the vote, beating his nearest competitor, Arch C. McKay III by just 5 percentage points.
Kentucky Supreme Court race
As featured in JP Election Brief: The Supreme Court Special on October 18, 2012.
Incumbent Justice Will T. Scott and former Supreme Court Justice Janet Stumbo are competing against one another for the chance to represent the 7th Supreme Court District. Stumbo, who previously served on the court from 1993 to 2004, was defeated by Scott in 2004, and is now hoping to regain her seat.
The 7th Supreme Court District encompasses Kentucky's Eastern coalfields, and in April 2012, it was announced that Stumbo had received the endorsement of the United Mine Workers of America, a powerful group in the region. Though the race, which is certainly the most-watched judicial race in the state this year, has the potential to be highly contentious as Stumbo and Scott have an electoral past with one another, both candidates have committed to keeping the race civil. Stumbo and Scott signed a pledge to conduct their campaigns in a manner befitting their judicial office in the first week of October.[3]
If Stumbo were to be elected, three of the seven members of Kentucky's highest could would be female. Though judicial elections in Kentucky are nonpartisan, Stumbo identifies as a Democrat, and Scott is a Republican.
A pledge of peace in Kentucky
As featured in JP Election Brief: Race mix-ups and a pledge of peace on October 11, 2012
Current Kentucky Supreme Court justice Will T. Scott and Supreme Court candidate, and former justice, Janet Stumbo have signed a pledge to conduct their campaigns in a respectable fashion.[3] Stumbo and Scott are competing against one another in the only open Supreme Court race this election cycle. Scott first joined the court in 2004 after defeating Stumbo in the election. Stumbo had served on the court from 1993 until her defeat; she since had served on the Kentucky Court of Appeals for the 7th Appellate District.
The Kentucky Judicial Campaign Committee designed the agreement. By signing the pledge, Stumbo and Scott have agreed not to use untruthful or slanderous ads and to act in a manner befitting the judiciary. The committee said in a statement that the agreement requires the candidates, "to disavow false or misleading advertising and other campaign tactics that ‘impugn the integrity of the judicial system, the integrity of a candidate, or erode public trust and confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.’”[3] The signing of this pledge is significant, given the history of the judicial candidates, and the contentious nature of election rematches.
Other judges and judge hopefuls in the state have also signed onto the pledge and the committee urges all judicial candidates to do so. The other candidates that have committed to the agreement are: Jim Shake and Irv Maze, competing for a Kentucky Court of Appeals seat, and circuit court candidates Judy D. Vance, Angela McCormick Bisig, and Eric Ison. If voters believe the pledge has been violated, complaints can be sent to Committee Chair William Fortune at fortunew@uky.edu; anonymous complaints are less likely to be acted upon.[3]
Kentucky justice ready to rejoin Supreme Court
As featured in JP Election Brief: Candidates filing in Michigan, Kentucky, Washington and more! on May 3, 2012
Janet Stumbo, a current judge on the Kentucky Court of Appeals 7th Appellate District and former Kentucky Supreme Court justice, is once again running for a seat on Kentucky's high court. Though her current eight-year term for the Court of Appeals does not end until December 31, 2014, Stumbo has chosen to challenge incumbent judge Will T. Scott for a seat on the court.[4] She served on the high court from 1993 to 2004.
Stumbo is challenging Scott to represent the judicial district that covers Kentucky's eastern coalfields.[4][5] On April 24, 2012 it was announced that Stumbo had earned the endorsement of the United Mine Workers of America, a powerful group in the district in which she is seeking election.[4]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Election Calendar"
- ↑ LJWorld.com, "Statehouse Live: Proposed constitutional amendment would take court out of school finance", February 9, 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Hazard Herald, "Scott, Stumbo sign dignified campaign pledge," October 6, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Republic, "United Mine Workers of America endorses Janet Stumbo in Kentucky Supreme Court race," April 24, 2012
- ↑ WTVQ-TV, "UMWA endorses Stumbo in Ky. Supreme Court race," April 24, 2012 (dead link)
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky
State courts:
Kentucky Supreme Court • Kentucky Court of Appeals • Kentucky Circuit Courts • Kentucky District Courts • Kentucky Family Court
State resources:
Courts in Kentucky • Kentucky judicial elections • Judicial selection in Kentucky
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