Posted on Wed, May. 21, 2008

Turner beats Hamilton in rematch for 29th District

11TH DISTRICT CANDIDATE WALTON CALLS FOR RECOUNT

By Cassondra Kirby

CKIRBY@HERALD-LEADER.COM

A handful of primary races for the state Senate ended with a prominent Democrat incumbent holding on in Eastern Kentucky and a former Democratic U.S. representative making a political comeback in Kentucky.

Additionally, the Republican primary to claim the open 11th Senate District ended in dispute with a candidate calling for a recount.

The state Senate race that has garnered the most attention in Eastern Kentucky was a rematch between Eric Shane Hamilton and Sen. Johnny Ray Turner, who defeated Hamilton in the 2004 Democratic primary for the 29th Senate District seat by just 24 votes.

Turner, the Senate's Democratic Caucus chairman, managed to narrowly edge out Hamilton again, according to unofficial results from the Kentucky State Board of Elections.

There are no Republicans vying for the 29th seat, which serves Floyd, Knott, Breathitt and Letcher counties.

Neither Turner nor Hamilton could be reached for comment.

During the weeks leading up to the election, both candidates launched personal, public attacks against the other in an attempt to sway voters.

Hamilton, of Garrett, said he had hoped Turner's legal problems would factor into voters' decision and hurt the incumbent's chances of holding the seat.

Turner was implicated in a vote-buying scandal stemming from his 2000 election. He pleaded guilty in December 2006 to a misdemeanor and served a three-month sentence under home arrest.

Meanwhile, Turner's campaign questioned Hamilton's qualifications for office by running commercials poking fun at the martial arts studio he owns, as well as highlighting troubles with his apartment complex in west Lexington.

Two other state Senate races were also decided Tuesday night because the other party did not field a candidate to compete in November.

In the 11th Senate District, retired U.S. marshal John Schickel appeared to have narrowly edged out former school principal and state Rep. Charlie Walton in the Republican primary to replace retiring GOP Sen. Dick Roeding of Lakeside Park. The Democrats did not field a candidate for the district, which serves Boone, Gallatin and Kenton counties.

However, unofficial results showed Schickel defeating Walton by less than 30 votes. Walton says the margin is too close for him to accept defeat, and if the numbers stand he will ask for a recount.

"That's just too close, you know what I mean?" Walton said Tuesday night.

In the 33rd Senate District, early returns showed Democrat incumbent Gerald A. Neal of Louisville winning by a landslide over challenger Marshall "Marty" Gazaway, also of Louisville. There were no Republicans competing for the seat, which serves Jefferson County.

There were three state Senate races -- the 1st, 9th and 25th districts -- that fielded both a Republican and a Democratic candidate, who will battle for the seat this fall.

In the 1st District, former U.S. Rep. Carroll Hubbard, who was convicted of federal campaign finance violations in 1994 and sentenced to three years in prison, defeated former appeals court judge Rick Johnson in the Democratic primary.

Hubbard will compete in November against Republican incumbent Kenneth W. Winters, who ran unopposed in Tuesday's Republican primary. The 1st District serves Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Lyon and Trigg counties.

Three candidates of each party were vying for the 9th District seat, which is being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Richie Sanders of Franklin.

On the Democratic side, broadcaster and businessman Steve Newberry -- who is also the brother of Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry -- defeated Horace F. Johnson, a former law enforcement official, and John Rogers, a Glasgow lawyer and former chairman of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

Newberry will compete against Republican David P. Givens, of Greensburg, who edged out fellow Republicans Bob Bryant, of Glasgow, and Jeffrey S. "Jeff" Jobe, a newspaper publisher. The 9th District serves Allen, Barren, Edmonson, Green, Metcalfe and Simpson counties.

In the 25th District, Michael "Whitey" Adkins of West Liberty got nearly twice the votes as Pete M. Frye, of Campton, in the Democratic primary for the seat, which serves Clay, Knox, Lee, Magoffin, Morgan, Owsley and Wolfe counties. Adkins will attempt to unseat Republican State Sen. Robert Stivers of Manchester in the fall election. Incumbent Stivers ran unopposed in Tuesday's Republican primary.