January 30, 2018
Candidate Filing Window Closes for May Primary Election
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 30, 2018) – The window for candidates who must run in a Primary Election to file candidacy paperwork with the Office of Secretary of State and county clerks officially closed Tuesday. Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes accepted paperwork from numerous candidates until just seconds before the 4 p.m. ET deadline today.
More than 550 candidates filed with the Secretary of State for various offices on the May 22, 2018, Primary Election ballot, including more than 200 candidates for seats in the Kentucky House of Representatives. More than a thousand candidates filed for local offices across Kentucky’s 120 counties.
“I am so encouraged by the thousands of Kentuckians of all backgrounds who are stepping up and offering themselves for public service in 2018,” said Grimes. “Our democracy is strengthened when more people are involved in the process – not just voting, but serving.”
Nearly 100 women – a record number – are running for seats in Kentucky’s General Assembly. Additionally, a significant number of candidates are educators.
Thirteen seats in the Kentucky House and two seats in the Kentucky Senate are uncontested.
The 2018 ballot features Kentucky’s six seats in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the 100 seats in the Kentucky House of Representatives and seats in even districts in the Kentucky Senate.
The judicial slate includes the Kentucky Supreme Court’s third district, Kentucky’s District Judges, and all Commonwealth’s Attorneys and Circuit Court Clerks. On the local level, all county officers will be up for election along with city legislative bodies and mayors of some cities.
Grimes and local county clerks will conduct drawings for ballot positions Thursday at 2 p.m. local time. Grimes will certify the candidates’ names for printing of the ballots on Feb. 12.
