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Kentucky Secretary of State election, 2015
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Kentucky's 2015 elections Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • Other executive offices • Candidate ballot access |
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May 19, 2015 |
November 3, 2015 |
Alison Lundergan Grimes |
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The Kentucky Secretary of State election took place on November 3, 2015, following the primary on May 19, 2015. Incumbent Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) was first elected in 2011 and won re-election in 2015. Grimes defeated Charles Lovett in the Democratic primary, while Stephen L. Knipper ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Kentucky utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.[1][2][3]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Election results
General
Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes defeated Republican Stephen L. Knipper in the general election. Grimes was one of only two Democratic candidates to win in the 2015 Kentucky state executive official elections.[4]
| Secretary of State, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democrat |  Alison Lundergan Grimes Incumbent |
51.2% | 493,598 | |
| Republican | Stephen L. Knipper | 48.8% | 471,209 | |
| Total Votes | 964,807 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State | ||||
Primary
Democratic
Alison Lundergan Grimes defeated Charles Lovett in the Democratic primary on May 19, 2015.
| Kentucky Secretary of State Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Alison Lundergan Grimes |
73.2% | 131,640 | ||
| Charles Lovett | 26.8% | 48,083 | ||
| Total Votes | 179,723 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky State Board of Elections. | ||||
Republican
There was no Republican primary in 2015 as only one candidate filed for the office.
Candidates
General election
Alison Lundergan Grimes - Incumbent[5][6]
Stephen L. Knipper[7]
Lost in primary
Withdrawn
Michael Pitzer (February 9, 2015)[9]
Key deadlines
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| January 27, 2015 | Filing deadline for primary candidates |
| April 20, 2015 | Voter registration deadline for primary |
| May 19, 2015 | Primary election |
| August 11, 2015 | Filing deadline for petition candidates not involved in partisan primaries |
| October 5, 2015 | Voter registration deadline for general election |
| November 3, 2015 | General election |
| November 23, 2015 | Last day for state certification of election results[10] |
Voter registration
Voters in Kentucky can register to vote by printing off a voter registration card and mailing the completed card to the Kentucky State Board of Elections. A voter registration card can also be obtained from a county clerk.[11]
Applicants must identify their party registration on the card. Voters who identify as unaffiliated or as a third-party registrant can only vote in nonpartisan races during partisan primaries. Unaffiliated and third-party voters can vote for any candidate during general or special elections. Registered voters may switch party affiliation by December 31 without jeopardizing their registration for elections in the following year.[11]
The following criteria must be met to qualify as a registered voter in Kentucky:[11]
- U.S. citizenship
- Resident of Kentucky
- At least 18 years of age by the next general election
- Do not have a felony conviction or have been granted restored rights by executive pardon
- Have not been judged "mentally incompetent" in court
- Do not claim the right to vote in other states
Duties
The secretary's duties are administrative. Many of these duties involve keeping state records, ranging from the registration of businesses to officially recording the acts of the governor. The secretary of state is also the repository of land grants and surveys through the State Land Office.
The secretary of state's office also represents the state in various legal matters, from lawsuits involving foreign corporations to pursuing non-resident motorists who violate traffic laws.
Additionally, the secretary serves as the Chief Election Officer of Kentucky and is the chair of the Kentucky Board of Elections. The secretary is thus responsible for administering state elections and publicizing and analyzing results.
Other miscellaneous duties of the secretary of state include appointing notaries public, issuing Kentucky colonel commissions, and keeping the Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.[12]
Polls
General election
| Kentucky Secretary of State | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) | Stephen Knipper (R) | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Mason-Dixon Polling & Research October 6-8, 2015 | 47% | 45% | 8% | +/-4 | 625 | ||||||||||||||
| SurveyUSA/Bluegrass Poll July 22-28, 2015 | 46% | 40% | 14% | +/-3.8 | 685 | ||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling June 18-21, 2015 | 42% | 47% | 12% | +/-2.9 | 1,108 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 45% | 44% | 11.33% | +/-3.57 | 806 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Hypothetical match-ups
| Kentucky Scretary of State, Grimes v. Knipper | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) | Stephen L. Knipper (R) | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Gravis Marketing January 5-6, 2015 | 47% | 46% | 7% | +/-4 | 608 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Campaign finance
First quarter report (2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $235,692.32 and spent a total of $68,682.25 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on May 4, 2015.[13]
| Campaign Contributions and Expenditures | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Office | Beginning balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Ending balance |
| Alison Lundergan Grimes |
Kentucky Secretary of State | $0 | $227,122.62 | $63,864.91 | $163,257.71 |
| Stephen L. Knipper |
Kentucky Secretary of State | $610.11 | $8,369.70 | $4,617.34 | $4,362.47 |
| Michael Pitzer |
Kentucky Secretary of State | $0 | $200 | $200 | $0 |
| Charles Lovett |
Kentucky Secretary of State | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Grand Total Raised | $235,692.32 | ||||
| Grand Total Spent | $68,682.25 | ||||
Fourth quarter report (2014)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $2,597.78 and spent a total of $2,159.95 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on February 3, 2015.[14]
| Campaign Contributions and Expenditures | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Office | Beginning balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Ending balance |
| Stephen L. Knipper |
Kentucky Secretary of State | $172.28 | $2,597.78 | $2,159.95 | $610.11 |
| Alison Lundergan Grimes |
Kentucky Secretary of State | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Charles Lovett |
Kentucky Secretary of State | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Michael Pitzer |
Kentucky Secretary of State | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Grand Total Raised | $2,597.78 | ||||
| Grand Total Spent | $2,159.95 | ||||
Past elections
2011
| Kentucky Secretary of State, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Alison Lundergan Grimes |
60.6% | 494,368 | |
| Republican | Bill Johnson | 39.4% | 321,065 | |
| Total Votes | 815,433 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State | ||||
2007
| Kentucky Secretary of State, 2007 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Trey Grayson Incumbent |
57.1% | 576,881 | |
| Democratic | S. Bruce Hendrickson | 42.9% | 434,269 | |
| Total Votes | 1,011,150 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State | ||||
2003
| Kentucky Secretary of State, 2003 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Trey Grayson |
52.5% | 528,801 | |
| Democratic | Russ Maple | 47.5% | 477,628 | |
| Total Votes | 1,006,429 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State | ||||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Kentucky + Secretary + State + election + 2015"
See also
- Kentucky Secretary of State
- State executive official elections, 2015
- Kentucky state executive official elections, 2015
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ NCSL,"State Primary Election Types," February 06, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections,"Key Information," accessed July 26, 2024
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Secretary of State," accessed November 4, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Alison Lundergan Grimes," January 26, 2015
- ↑ WPSD, "Alison Grimes to seek re-election as secretary of state," January 26, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Stephen L. Knipper, Candidate for Secretary of State," November 6, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Charles Lovett, Candidate for Secretary of State," January 26, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Michael Pitzer, Candidate for Secretary of State," February 9, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "2015 Kentucky Election Calendar," accessed December 4, 2014
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Kentucky Secretary of State, "Register to Vote," accessed December 4, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, Office Duties," accessed May 7, 2011
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Candidate Search Results," accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Candidate Search Results," accessed February 3, 2015
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