Owsley County primary results show early leads in local races, federal contests

Early primary totals in Owsley County put Cale Turner ahead in the county judge/executive race and Austin McIntosh Bowling well in front in the county clerk contest, while other county races showed how quickly a few hundred votes can shape government in a county of just 4,001 estimated residents. The Kentucky Secretary of State’s live results page last updated at 2:54:15 p.m. Wednesday, showing unofficial totals after Tuesday’s primary and giving Booneville voters an early look at which names were moving forward.

Bowling led the county clerk race with 1,134 votes. In other countywide contests, Cassie Smith Morgan had 806 votes in the coroner race, Matthew Begley had 510 in the jailer race, Brent Lynch had 284 in the sheriff’s contest, Jerry Lee Sandlin had 236 in the 1st Magistrate District race and Jason Reed had 240 in the 2nd Magistrate District race. Turner’s 120 votes in the judge/executive contest gave him an early edge in a Democratic primary that also included Charlie Combs, a race that will help determine who runs county government day to day.

The closest local tally on the page was in the magistrate races, where the 1st and 2nd district numbers were separated by only four votes in the live count. The coroner race also drew a crowded field, with four Republicans, Cassie Smith Morgan, Kenzie Pendergrass, Shannon Ratliff and Donna Jo Shouse, competing for an office tied to public records and county operations.

In federal races, Hal Rogers led the 5th Congressional District contest in Owsley County with 1,067 votes, while Andy Barr had 1,004 in the U.S. Senate Republican primary and Amy McGrath had 67 votes on the Democratic side. Those totals mattered locally because the primary ballot stretched from Washington to the courthouse, but the county contests will have the most direct effect on residents through records, law enforcement, jail administration and magistrate oversight.

The numbers also reflected the scale of the county itself. Owsley County had 4,051 people in the 2020 Census and an estimated 4,001 on July 1, 2023, with a population density of about 20 people per square mile. The Census Bureau also put the county’s 2018-2022 civilian labor force participation rate at 37.2 percent, underscoring how much is at stake in offices that manage basic services and public business.

The ballot was set by an April 20 registration deadline at 4 p.m., followed by no-excuse early voting May 14-16 and Election Day voting from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday. With the totals still unofficial, the next step is certification, which will lock in the party nominees heading toward the general election and determine which county offices are positioned to steer Owsley County government next.