If you've not yet voted in Kentucky's 2024 primary, you still have two more chances.

Early voting continues tomorrow.

Then polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Election Day, which is Tuesday.

Our June Leffler recently sat down with Maura Cullen Glasscock, editor and publisher of the Kentucky Gazette, to look at some key races.

On the ballot for the primary, our 19 state Senate races.

Those are the odd numbered districts that are on the ballot this year.

Senators served four year terms in the elections are staggered, so not everyone is up for election.

At the same time in the State House, though, all 100 members are on the ballot for 100 seats, I should say, are on the ballot this year.

And those lawmakers serve two year terms.

So we have some interesting races in the Senate that I've looked at, kept an eye on a few in the House as well.

Senate District seven is Anderson, Henry Shelby County.

It's in that part of the state.

And the incumbent there is Adrian Southworth, and she's finishing her first term in office.

And she is a Liberty candidate.

She's a little to the right of well, very much to the right of center, we should say.

And she has two challengers.

Both of them are Navy SEALs.

So they're waging campaigns against her.

And one in particular seems to be a favorite of the party.

And the establishment Republicans.

His name is Ed Goldring.

He's raised about $180,000 for this race, which is a lot of money for a state legislative race.

And he has the backing, too, of Secretary of State Michael Adams contributed to his campaign and former state Republican Party Chairman Mack Brown also contributed to his campaign.

So it looks like there's an orchestrated effort by the more establishment Republicans to get him in office to replace Adrian Southworth.

She is not a big friend of of party leadership in the state Senate.

For example, she serves on one committee where many state senators serve on three, four or five committees.

Right.

They kind of keep her at an arm's length on some things and people like that.

I mean, that's how she got elected the first time.

But I think the party, the Republican Party in Kentucky, what we're seeing with this election in general, I think is is the the play for power, so to speak.

But there's an interesting race in Senate District 29 as well.

And in that race, state Senator Johnny Turner, who's also a freshman lawmaker, he is being challenged by two other Republicans, and one of them is a former not county judge executive Randy Thompson.

And Mr. Thompson actually served time for federal vote buying charges.

So he's come clean.

He served his time.

He paid his debt to society, and he's running again for that seat.

So he's he's on the ballot a little bit to the right, I think, of of Mr. Turner, District 17, which is an open seat because State Senator Damien Thayer decided not to run for reelection.

That is a Scott County centric district.

And the Republicans who are running there are a gentleman named Matt Nunn and a woman named Julia Darroch.

And and Ms.. Chaddock is a children's minister at a church, I believe, where she works with children at a local church there.

And she is very much coming into that from the right flank of the party.

Whereas Mr. Nunn works for Toyota to show he's an engineer, I believe, and he is more moderate.

He seems to have more support from the party as well.

There's been some national money, Republican money that's gone into his campaign.

For example, he received a contribution from Go PAC, which is a national political GOP political action committee.

Go PAC has also contributed to Johnny Turner's campaign and said it and Senate 29 Senator Mitch McConnell's leadership PAC, the Bluegrass Committee, also has made contributions in some of these races, including Joni Turner to Johnny Turner and Senate District 29.

Secretary of State Michael Adams predicts voting turn out to be around 15%.

That's on par with Kentucky's two previous primaries.