Only two days remain for candidates to file for most public offices in Logan County, multi-county and state positions. So far only 10 races involve contested races with 25 candidates involved.
Races for offices in only one county required paperwork to be filed in the office of the county attorney. In Logan County, the clerk is Scottie Harper and his office is in the rock building on West Third Street near the historic old courthouse.
Multi-county offices up for grabs in 2014 are the U.S. Senate seat now held by Mitch McConnell, U.S. Representative, state supreme court, state court of appeals, circuit judge and district judge.
Filings in the offices listed below must be completed by 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28. The primary elections will be Tuesday, May 20.
These are the candidates to date in contested Democratic races.
Sheriff: Wallace Whitaker, Steve Hadden, Robert Kimmel
Jailer: Wendell Jackson, Edward W. Hardin
Coroner: Cheryl Allen, Mary L. Givens, Tina Hudson McKinney
Magistrate District 1: Len Embry, Russell Poore
Magistrate District 2: Wayne Stratton, Jack Crossley
Magistrate District 3: Gary Sears, Barry Joe Wright, Bobby G. Moore, William Sanford
Magistrate District 4: Drexel Johnson, Mike Kirby, Dale Givens
Magistrate District 6: Thomas Bouldin, Clay Bilyeu
U.S. Senate: Burrell Charles Farnsley, Alison Lundergan Grimes, Gregory Brent Leichty, Tom Recktenwald
The lone Republican primary race so far is for the U.S. Senate: Matt Blevins, James Bradley Copas, Mitch McConnell
Contested races already guaranteed for fall are as follows:
Jailer: Phil Gregory (R) vs. winner of the Democratic primary
Magistrate District 1: Clem Dickie Carter Jr. (R) vs. winner of the Democratic primary
Magistrate District 4: Matthew T. Latham (R) vs. winner of the Democratic primary
Magistrate District 5: Josephine (Jo) Orange (R) vs. Phillip Joe Bilyeu (D)
District Judge: Jason Petrie, Ken Williams (non-partisan race; a primary will be necessary if one or more other candidates file)
U.S. Senate: Democratic winner vs. Republican winner
U.S. Representative: Charles Kendall Hatchett has filed as a Democrat and Ed Whitfield as a Republican
Others who have filed but as yet have no opposition:
State Representative: Martha Jane King (D)
State Supreme Court: Bill Cunningham (non-partisan)
State Court of Appeals: Christopher Shea Nickell, Donna L. Dixon (non-partisan, two seats)
Circuit Judge: Tyler Gill (non-partisan)
County Clerk: Scottie Harper (D)
Judge-Executive: Logan Chick (D)
County Attorney: Joseph Ross (D)
Property Valuation Administrator: Thomas Ben Brown (D)
Russellville Mayor: Mark Stratton (non-partisan)
Russellville City Council: Pat Walpole Bell, Sandra F. Kinser, Jack Whipple, S. Darlene Gooch, Bill Decker, Jimmy Davenport (six non-partisan seats; if more than 12 file, a primary will be held to reduce the field to a dozen candidates)
Constable District 2: John T. Monroe (D)
Constable District 4: Butch Inman Sr. (D)
The office of mayor of Lewisburg and the six council seats in Adairville, Auburn and Lewisburg will be open for election this year, but filing for those offices is not required until mid-summer because those cities have chosen not to use primary elections. The same is true for school board seats representing the Adairville (currently Kenny Robertson), Auburn (currently Tim Hall) and Lewisburg (currently Ralph Cropper) school districts along with the Russellville school board seats now occupied by James Milam, Lovis Patterson and David Corbin. Some seats on the North and South Logan Soil & Water Districts will also be subject to summer filing.