Who won Louisville Metro Council races? With all votes counted, here are the results

An earlier version of this story incorrectly indicated the finality of results in the District 20 race. Stuart Benson won the Republican nomination and will face Democrat Marita Willis in the general election.

While many national races were on Tuesday's primary ballot — from the presidential races to seats in Congress — there are also a few highly contested local races for Louisville Metro Council seats. Council members can propose new laws, suggest edits for existing ordinances, vote on the city budget and allocate neighborhood development funds, among many other duties.

Republican and Democratic candidates ran for their party's representation on the ballot in November, when all 13 even-numbered districts will be up for election.

No district had a more contested primary than District 4, which saw a whopping 10 candidates competing for the Democratic nomination, though no Republicans. With a packed race, the district was primed to be the most split vote among the council races Tuesday.

Jefferson County Clerk's Office communications director Ashley Tinius said in an email it was at 100% reporting at 9:11 p.m. Votes will be certified with the State Board of Elections by noon Friday, she said.

Here are the apparent winners for each primary:

District 2

Voters in District 2 had two options: Incumbent Barbara Shanklin and newcomer Latosha Harrison — both Democrats.

Shanklin, with 55.1% of the vote, appears to be the winner.

She received donations from several notable people in the Louisville Metro Government including Mayor Craig Greenberg, Mayor's Office Chief of Staff David Kaplan, Deputy Mayor David James and Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins.

District 4

District 4, which represents parts of Louisville's downtown and surrounding neighborhoods — including Smoketown, California, Clifton Heights and Portland — has 10 Democrats competing for the council seat. While 11 candidates appeared on the ballot, Bobbie James withdrew from the race in March.

After a tight race, Ken Herndon appears to have won with 28.3%. Demetrius McDowell Sr. was close behind with 23.8% and Joshua Alexander Crowder finished with 13.7%. Stan Moore, who had the highest dollar campaign, finished fourth at 8.2%. Moore is "amazingly disappointed," he told The Courier Journal.

"(District 4) is probably the most diverse district in the city both demographically, racially, economically and while that will make it complex in many ways, I find it exciting to be able to represent various people from various perspectives and first we have to recognize that diversity of backgrounds or perspectives and then just embrace it, and then celebrate it and understand that everybody has a different point of view," Herndon said.

Herndon said there was a great group of people running for the District 4 race, and he hopes to work with them in the future. If he wins the general election, he will replace Councilman Jecorey Arthur, who does not intend to run again after expressing frustrations with partisan politics.

District 6

Democrat voters in District 6, covering Old Louisville, had three options on the ballot: Incumbent Phillip Baker, Democratic socialist JP Lyninger and attorney Kate Dittmeier Holm.

Lyninger appears to beat out Baker for the seat with 48.7%. Baker followed with 29.5% and Dittmeier finished with 21.8%.

Baker was appointed to the District 6 seat when David James became a deputy mayor and retained the seat in November 2023.

District 8

Two Democrats competed for votes to win the District 8 seat: incumbent Ben Reno-Weber and Taylor McGovern-U'Sellis. Reno-Weber was appointed to fill the position vacated by state Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong and ran to keep it last November. McGovern-U'Sellis also threw her hat in the ring to be Chambers Armstrong's replacement in 2023.

McGovern-U'Sellis conceded to Reno-Weber just after 9 p.m. McGovern-U'Sellis had 38.3% of votes to Reno-Weber's 61.7%.

"In primaries, people have to make choices," Reno-Weber said. "I think for me, what I hope is that I have the opportunity to earn the trust of the people who didn't vote for me for whatever reason, that I will represent them and their interests and if we disagree on policy, it's not because we have fundamentally different values but on how or who we should be executing those values."

Reno-Weber is a self-described "social entrepreneur" who campaigned on issues including safer and vibrant streets, LGBTQ+ inclusion and public health. McGovern-U'Sellis focused her campaign on equity, sustainability and housing affordability.

"While this isn’t the outcome we wanted, I’m incredibly proud of getting 40% of the vote as a first-time candidate running against an incumbent who had almost 10 times the money I did," McGovern-U'Sellis wrote on social media.

District 10

State Rep. Josie Raymond is the lone candidate running for the District 10 seat but could face an independent challenger in November. Raymond, a Democrat, has expressed frustrations with being in the minority party on the state level. When she announced her bid for council, Raymond said Louisville acted "when Frankfort wouldn't."

Raymond announced her candidacy following Democrat incumbent Pat Mulvihill's decision not to run again.

District 12

District 12 will see the most competitive Louisville Metro Council Republican primary for 2024, with three people running for the nomination: Jonathan "JJ" Joseph, Ryan Thompson and Jennifer Fox Brown.

Joseph looks to have won with 59.1%.

He will face incumbent Democrat Rick Blackwell, who has been a member of the Metro Council since the city-county merger and previously served as council president.

District 14

District 14 had choices for members of both political parties, with two Republicans and three Democrats, including incumbent Cindi Fowler, on the primary ballot.

Crystal Bast and Crystal Ann Barajas competed for the Republican nomination, while Fowler, Neal Robertson and Autumn Lockhart vied for the Democrat win.

Fowler looks to have won by a wide margin, with 70.6% of the vote. Bast received the Republican victor, with 70.7% of the votes.

District 16

District 16 has just one candidate in each party: Republican Scott Reed and Democrat Matthew Golden. Reed is the incumbent and has served on the Metro Council since 2017. Golden is a lawyer who has served as the First Assistant County Attorney and the Chief of Public Services, according to his website.

The district has had a Republican representative since the city-county merger.

District 18

District 18 encompasses parts of Douglass Hills, Hurstbourne, Jeffersontown, Lyndon and Anchorage around the East part of Jefferson County. It had two strong Republican candidates on the ballot: Marilyn Parker, the incumbent who has served the district for over 10 years, and Bonnie Jung, the current mayor of Douglass Hills.

Parker ran away with the contest, capturing 71.8% of the vote.

Parker is a former nurse and current business owner who campaigned on public safety, lower taxes and small government. Jung similarly campaigned on safety, citizen services and the responsible spending of taxes. Jung is disappointed in her loss, she said.

"As a nonpartisan elected official for 15 years as Douglass Hills council member and mayor, I could have offered insight as Louisville Metro Council transitions to a nonpartisan form of government," Jung said. "I will continue to represent the ideas and needs of my constituents and work for the interests of all 80 cities in Louisville through my involvement with the Jefferson County League of Cities."

District 20

District 20's Stuart Benson, a Republican who has been on the council since the city-county merger, faced Brian Abrams, who has served on the Jeffersontown City Council for two terms. Benson captured 55.6% of the vote.

District 22

Another current state representative, Republican Kevin Bratcher, ran for Metro Council. He faced Robert Zoeller in the primary.

Bratcher captured a commanding 87.7% of the vote.

Bratcher previously told The Courier Journal the older he gets, "the more interested I am on local issues such as planning and zoning, also, LMPD and crime fighting issues and just a general interest in making Fern Creek [and Louisville] a better place to live."

District 24

District 24, currently held by Flood, a Democrat, has two Democrats up against each other: Ryan Vittitow and Tyra Thomas-Walker.

Thomas-Walker is set to join the Metro Council, receiving 58.6% of the vote.

"I'm very excited and I'm ready to hit the ground and start doing the work for District 24," she said. "That's my goal."

She is passionate about zoning, preserving the history of the district and creating a space for youth. Thomas-Walker is a Jefferson County Public Schools educator, the Jefferson County Teachers Association secretary and co-chair of the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, according to her website. She is set to face Republican Ginny Mulvey-Woolridge in the general election. Incumbent Madonna Flood, who chairs the Planning and Zoning Committee, did not run for re-election.

District 26

Incumbent Democrat Brent Ackerson is the only candidate for District 26. The injury lawyer is a Louisville native and has been part of the Metro Council since 2009. He chairs the Government Oversight/Audit and Appointments Committee.

Like Raymond, Ackerson could face an independent challenger in November.

Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or at @ellie_mccrary on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Metro Council: Which candidates are the likely winners