MANCHESTER — Clay County voters delivered a shakeup to the Board of Education Tuesday night, electing Christy Kennedy Rice and Robert Marcum over longtime incumbents Anthony Lovett and Leewood Cornett in the Nov. 3 general election.
Rice defeated Lovett in District 1 by a margin of 676 to 397 votes, capturing approximately 63% of the votes cast for the two candidates. Rice finished with a 279-vote advantage.
In District 3, Marcum defeated Cornett 621 to 400, receiving approximately 61% of the votes cast for the two candidates. Marcum's margin of victory was 221 votes.
The two races had drawn considerable attention in recent weeks, particularly the District 3 contest, which generated heated discussion on social media.
Cornett, 87, was seeking another term representing Burning Springs, Fogertown and Sexton's Creek. Marcum's victory brings an end to Cornett's lengthy tenure on the board.
Rice's victory over Lovett in District 1 also means a change in representation for that district.
With the election of Rice and Marcum, two new members will join the five-member Clay County Board of Education. The remaining three board seats were not on Tuesday's ballot.
In Manchester, voters selected eight members of the City Council from a field of 13 candidates, returning six incumbents and electing two newcomers.
Incumbent Charles "Dobber" Weaver led all candidates with 238 votes, followed closely by fellow incumbent Traci Rice White with 236.
Incumbent Mark Deaton finished third with 225 votes, followed by incumbent Russell Gilbert Gregory with 213.
Newcomer Jennifer Gray-Hooker secured the fifth-highest total with 210 votes, while incumbent Dorothy Sizemore finished sixth with 207.
Joshua Jackson, another newcomer, claimed the seventh position with 203 votes, and incumbent Betty Meredith captured the eighth and final seat with 198 votes.
The eight winning candidates and their vote totals were:
Charles "Dobber" Weaver — 238
Traci Rice White — 236
Mark Deaton — 225
Russell Gilbert Gregory — 213
Jennifer Gray-Hooker — 210
Dorothy Sizemore — 207
Joshua Jackson — 203
Betty Meredith — 198
Darnell Hipsher finished ninth with 179 votes, followed by incumbent Alma Faye Gregory with 127, Loretta Smallwood with 110, Ralph Robinson III with 83 and Johnny Holland with 58.
The results mean Alma Faye Gregory will lose her seat on the council, while Gray-Hooker and Jackson will join the governing body.
Manchester Mayor Steve Collins, who faced no opposition on the ballot, received 328 votes.
Republican Tommy Harmon easily won another term as Clay County judge-executive, defeating Democrat Jeffrey Todd Croucher by a margin of 3,710 to 614 votes.
Harmon received approximately 86% of the votes cast for the two candidates.
In the county clerk's race, Republican Beverly Craft defeated Democrat Jackson Gates, receiving 4,181 votes to Gates' 313.
Clay County voters also overwhelmingly supported Republican Andy Barr in the U.S. Senate race. Barr received 3,757 votes locally, compared with 657 for Democrat Charles Booker and 90 for Kentucky Party candidate Christopher Campbell.
In the race for the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican incumbent Hal Rogers received 3,690 votes in Clay County. Democrat Ned Pillersdorf received 606, while independent candidates Gerardo Serrano and Mikel Wein received 80 and 71 votes, respectively.
Voters also supported Constitutional Amendment 1 by a margin of 2,446 yes votes to 925 no votes.
A total of 4,656 ballots were cast in Clay County, representing a voter turnout of 34.38% among the county's 13,543 registered voters.
Of those ballots, 3,890 were cast at polling locations on Election Day.
Another 525 ballots were cast during the three days of unexcused early voting, while 63 were cast during the six days of excused early voting.
Mail-in ballots accounted for another 178 votes.
Straight-party Republican voting continued to dominate locally, with 1,784 straight Republican ballots cast, compared with 147 straight Democratic ballots and 16 Kentucky Party ballots.
The unofficial election summary was generated at 7:01 p.m. Tuesday, with all 20 Election Day precincts reporting. The report listed the precincts as partially reported, and results remain unofficial pending final certification.
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