Anne Donworth beats Jamie Palumbo in Democratic primary for KY House District 76

Anne Gay Donworth came out on top in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election for the Kentucky House District 76 seat, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s Office.

Donworth received approximately 44% of the votes cast. Jamie Palumbo and Josh Buckman received approximately 41% and 15% of the votes, respectively.

No Republican filed to run in the district this year, meaning Donworth will run unopposed in November’s general election.

“I’m really proud and excited to get to go to Frankfort and represent the 76th,” Donworth said Tuesday night after the unofficial results came out.

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Donworth said she felt good about the election and was cautiously optimistic heading into today. She congratulated Buckman and Palumbo on their campaigns.

“They both ran good races and were in it with their whole hearts. I’m just glad we were able to keep it a clean race as well,” Donworth said.

Palumbo said he called and congratulated Donworth for her victory after the unofficial results came out. He is proud of the race he ran and added Donworth did a better job motivating the voters to turn out.

“I’m very proud of the race that I ran – honesty, integrity,” Palumbo said. “I still stand behind that I am the best qualified candidate, not from an egotistical or narcissistic standpoint, but because of my background, experience, the only candidate that has lived and grew up in the 76th District and graduated from that public high school.”

Buckman also congratulated Donworth on her victory.

“The results aren’t what I wanted, but I want to congratulate Anne Donworth for running a terrific race,” Buckman said in a statement to the Herald-Leader. “I’m going to continue to work to improve my community.”

Donworth played a major role in fundraising for library projects, including the new Marksbury branch on Versailles Road. She has also been involved with initiatives designed to uplift the community at the local level while also advocating for public libraries, public pensions, DEI initiatives and more, she said.

Donworth said Tuesday night her biggest focus in the upcoming term will be advocating for women’s health and public schools.

“Those are my two really big pieces but I’m excited to tackle all kinds of different things,” Donworth said. “I have a whole lot of experience in a lot of different areas that I’m excited to put to use.”

Palumbo said he hopes Donworth stands by her platform.

“I am concerned about all the minorities,” Palumbo said. “That was my big thing, was representing everybody and all the minorities, especially the Black community, the LGBTQ community, a lot of those voices that are not heard. I asked her about that and she said that she would, so I fully support her and hope that she represents the 76th District with a great heart and represents all the people.”

The 76th District seat is currently held by Democratic Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, who announced she wasn’t seeking reelection this year. Palumbo is the longest-serving member of the House and the longest-serving woman in the state legislature. She’ll have served 34 years by the end of her term.

Jaime Palumbo is Ruth Ann Palumbo’s son. He said it’s too early to make any concrete plans for his future but wants to be active in the community.

“I’ll try to get involved more heavily with organizations that I’m passionate about and helping as many people as I can from whatever standpoint that I can,” Palumbo said. “I don’t have to hold an elected office to help lots of people. That’s what I’ve done my whole life and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

The 76th District includes neighborhoods along Richmond Road like Kenwick and Chevy Chase; it also reaches East into Hamburg and North to neighborhoods near Bryan Station High School.

There was a 13.34% voter turnout in Fayette County in the primary election, according to the Secretary of State’s unofficial results.