Unofficial primary results show leaders in Owsley County races

Unofficial primary results in Owsley County showed Cale Turner ahead in the county judge/executive race, Austin McIntosh Bowling leading county clerk, Brent Lynch leading sheriff, Matthew Begley leading jailer and Cassie Smith Morgan leading coroner. The Kentucky State Board of Elections page labeled the figures unofficial as it posted countywide races alongside federal contests, giving voters in Booneville and across the county an early read on who was in position to shape local government.

Those offices reach into daily life well beyond election night. The county judge/executive helps steer the county budget and fiscal court work, the clerk oversees records and election-related duties, the sheriff handles law enforcement, the jailer manages the jail and the coroner oversees death investigations. In a county where small vote shifts can decide local control, the leaders shown on the results page pointed to where power may land when the count is certified.

The magistrate races also showed movement, with Jerry Lee Sandlin leading in one district and Jason Reed leading in the other. Magistrates will matter in the same fiscal court decisions that affect roads, spending priorities and basic county services, so those contests remained part of the clearest local power picture in the primary.

The official precinct report for Owsley County listed 5 of 5 polling places reporting and 1,712 ballots cast in the May 19 primary. That total underscores how a small electorate can produce decisive local outcomes from modest vote changes. Owsley County had 4,051 residents in the 2020 Census and an estimated 3,932 on July 1, 2025, making it the second-least populous county in Kentucky and a place where even a few dozen votes can change the shape of county government.

The county results page also showed Owsley County voters backing Andy Barr in the U.S. Senate race and Hal Rogers in the U.S. House race, a reminder that the same ballot that decides Booneville’s local offices also feeds into statewide and national politics. Booneville, the county seat, sits at the junction of Kentucky Route 11 and Kentucky Route 30 on the South Fork of the Kentucky River, and its court services are set to center at the Owsley County Judicial Center, where circuit and district court functions and the circuit court clerk’s office will be housed.