After the votes were counted, here are the 6 winners and losers from KY’s 2024 primary

The dust hasn’t quite settled on the results of Tuesday’s 2024 May primary.

But some story lines are clear, as are some of the biggest winners and losers.

Here are a handful of successful causes and candidates from Tuesday, as well as a few that underwhelmed.

Winners

• Liberty Republicans prove it’s not just a Northern Kentucky thing

One of the stated goals of the so-called Liberty GOP movement this cycle was to prove to mainstream Republicans that their movement wasn’t contained to Northern Kentucky. Former GOP candidate for state Senate and Treasurer Andrew Cooperrider said it could be “a real problem” for GOP leaders.

“If they show that other people can get knocked off, well now it’s a real problem,” Cooperrider said before election night.

Mission accomplished, mostly.

It wasn’t an all-out rout, but two candidates hoisting the banner of Liberty — the wing of the GOP generally wanting to move the party to the right on social and fiscal issues, united by a displeasure with leadership — knocked off powerful incumbents in Central Kentucky and West Kentucky.

Rep. Killian Timoney, R-Nicholasville, fell to Thomas Jefferson and House Agriculture Committee Chair Richard Heath, R-Mayfield, lost his contest to Kim Holloway.

Most other Liberty candidates on defense won, though Sen. Adrienne Southworth, R-Lawrenceburg, was defeated by Aaron Reed, another candidate backed by Liberty-linked organizations.

Jefferson won in landslide fashion, largely campaigning on social issues that played well with a conservative Christian GOP electorate. He cleared 70% of the vote in the district that straddles southern Fayette County and western Jessamine County.

Another point worth making: Fourth Congressional District Representative Thomas Massie’s sphere of influence grows some as well. The contrarian Northern Kentucky Republican is seen as a leader in the Liberty movement, and he’s been the most outwardly active in primaries — using his political action committee to support 10 in the Liberty wing — of all Kentucky’s congressmen.

The increased loyalties among legislators could help build a launching pad for a statewide run. Massie has not denied interest in running for a potentially open 2026 U.S. Senate seat or for governor in 2027, when Gov. Andy Beshear will be term-limited out of running again.

• Rep. Michael Meredith

It wasn’t all roses for the Liberty cause: Rep. Michael Meredith, R-Oakland, clobbered his opponent by a 3-to-1 margin.

This came despite attacks from Liberty-aligned groups and his opponent, Kelcey Rock. Those centered around texts he sent, which were part of a larger sexual harassment scandal that rocked the House GOP in 2017, that led to his removal from a committee chairmanship.

They didn’t matter.

Meredith, who benefited from well over $100,000 from outside groups himself, attributed the win to his personal presence in the district. It means something in rural areas like

“The area that I represent is a very special place. Edmonson County and Warren County are not like Northern Kentucky, they’re not like Louisville or Lexington. We still have very, very tight knit communities, and my family has been in these communities for generations. I grew up here, the people know me,” Meredith said.

His native Edmonson County far outpaced statewide turnout, with 28% of Republicans showing up to the polls, Meredith said. Warren County saw 21% of Republicans participate, he said.

His win could carry some lessons for the continual intra-GOP fight between Liberty and mainstream Republicans.

“I think it says that it’s harder for them (Liberty Republicans) to do what they’ve done in some of these other races when turnout is good and in these rural areas where the representatives actually know the people they’re asking for a vote,” Meredith said.

“They’ve had a lot of success in Northern Kentucky, obviously, and had some success in Fayette County last night, but we’ll see if that success can translate into success in the fall.”

• Household names in Louisville

As with any election, name recognition benefits incumbents. And that was the case in a couple Democratic races in Louisville.

In Louisville, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Gerald Neal, who is seeking a 10th term, retained his seat over two challengers, including former state representative Attica Scott. She was in office from 2017 to 2023.

Neal, first elected in 1989, captured more than 55% of the vote, to Scott’s 39%, according to the secretary of state’s tally.

Senate District 33 covers a swath of Louisville’s west end. Across the city, in House District 41, vacated by Rep. Josie Raymond who is running for Louisville Metro Council, familiar face Mary Lou Marzian pulled out a win over newcomer and attorney Rick Adams.

Marzian previously served as a state representative in a different Louisville district from 1995 to 2023, when she stepped down. Marzian won 71% of the vote to Adams’ 29%.

Losers

• One household name in Lexington

Name recognition didn’t favor Jamie Palumbo.

He’s the son of longtime state representative Ruth Ann Palumbo and the lumber company namesake, Palumbo Lumber, in the three-way House District 76 Democratic primary, which covers parts of north and east Lexington.

The senior Palumbo, who announced she was vacating her District 76 seat last year, was the longest-serving member of the House and the longest-serving woman in the state legislature, having served 34 years, or 17 terms.

The Palumbo name has long been prominent in Lexington, with the lumber company serving as a leading building materials supplier since the early 20th century.

The younger Palumbo, a high school dive coach, lost to Anne Donworth, 44% to 41%, thwarting the chance of a political dynasty. Donworth is an executive with the Lexington Public Library. She faces no Republican challenger in the November election.

Welcome to Frankfort, Anne. You were one of the night’s biggest winners.

• Voter turnout

Voter turnout in Tuesday’s primary was lower than Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams predicted.

According to unofficial results, approximately 13% of registered voters cast ballots – just over 443,500 people, said Michon Lindstrom, a spokesperson for Adams’ office.

Voter turnout in Kentucky’s bigger cities was not markedly higher than the statewide rate: A little over 13% of voters in Louisville and Lexington cast ballots.

Though turnout was scant, it’s on par with other similar elections in Kentucky. The last comparable election, with local, state and U.S. House of Representative races but no U.S. Senate races, was 2012. That year, 11% of voters cast ballots, Lindstrom said.

• Openly moderate Republican Rep. Killian Timoney, R-Nicholasville

The chatter in the lead-up to Timoney’s tilt against Jefferson was that the incumbent could be in trouble.

But the humongous 44-point margin came as a surprise to many.

For Jefferson, the win can be attributed to hard work — a retiree with no legislative duties, he’d been knocking on doors since September 2023 — and social issues.

Timoney’s vote against bills banning gender-affirming care for Kentucky minors and trans girls’ participation in school sports came back to hurt him.

“When I brought up his voting record to people when I knocked on doors, it was a no-brainer for them. When you vote against Senate Bill 150 twice, it’s crazy,” Jefferson said.

Timoney said the social conservative group the Family Foundation, which rated him as “leans liberal” and compared him very unfavorably to Jefferson, played a particular role in solidifying many conservatives against him.

“Their report cards were catered to go after moderate Republicans. They’ve got new leadership in there now, and they’ve got a new agenda — and their agenda is to go after people. They put a target on my back because of my votes for Historical Horse Racing, in particular, and then over trans folks,” Timoney said.

He gave credit to Jefferson and those supporting him for effectively painting him as not conservative enough.

“I was answering trans sports questions just yesterday from people that I’ve known for 20 years. When I was in the General Assembly, they were making phone calls. When I was driving my kids home from school, they were knocking doors,” Timoney said.

“They created a narrative around the trans issues and I couldn’t shake loose from it.”