— May 19, 2026 Primary · Hardin County —

2026 Primary Results

Hardin County's May 19 primary is in the books. Below are the unofficial results with 100% of precincts reporting (15,837 ballots cast). We checked every race candidate-by-candidate against the Hardin County Clerk's official tally — 15 of 16 matched exactly. Final certification comes from the County Clerk after the canvass.

Next up: the general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The winners and advancers below are who you'll see on that ballot.

The closest race of the night — Magistrate District 8

Kenny Muse (R) — 583 · 50.1%

Incumbent Magistrate Kenny Muse held his seat by just 2 votes over Jonathan "Jon" Breeding (R) — 581 · 49.9% — one of the tightest margins in Hardin County. Results are unofficial pending certification. With no Democrat on the ballot, Muse runs unopposed in November.

County offices

Sheriff

Willie Oden (R) won the primary with 57%, defeating Brian Sankey. Advances to face John Ward (D) in November.

PVA

Casey Overstreet (R) won a tight 3-way (38%) over Bowen and Davis. Advances to face Kristofor King (D) in November.

Magistrate D4

Fred Clem Jr. (R) — 64%. Faces Travis Leffew (D) in November.

Magistrate D5

Aaron Pennington (R) — 68%. Faces Jim Becker (D) in November.

Magistrate D6

Jason Buckles (R) won a 3-way (41%) over Reynolds and Simpson. Faces Frederick Thomas (D) in November.

Magistrate D7

Larry Allen Hicks (R) — 56% over Humphrey and Geary. Faces Stephen Mapp (D) in November.

Constable D4

Brandon K. Curry (R) — 52% over Gerry Perkins.

Uncontested in the primary

Judge/Executive (Keith Taul R · J.J. Duvall D), Jailer (Rob Reynolds R · Josh Lindblom D), and Magistrates D1, D2 & D3 had no primary contest — those match-ups are decided in November.

Cities — who advances to November

Mayor of Radcliff (top 2 advance)

A 5-vote photo finish at the top: Toshie Murrell (862) and Terry Owens (857) advance to the November general. Goodman and Mitchell eliminated.

Mayor of Vine Grove (top 2 advance)

Pamela Ogden (48%) and Selena Hudson (42%) advance to November. Boyer eliminated.

Radcliff City Council (top 12 advance for 6 seats)

12 of 14 candidates move on to November. Top vote-getters: DeRoche, Bell, K. Thompson, Gaskins, Brown, Lett-Jackson. Packard and Konstantinidis did not advance.

Vine Grove City Council

No primary (9 filed for 6 seats) — all advance directly to the November ballot.

State & federal — primary winners & November matchups

These races span multiple counties, so the nominee is decided race-wide — not by Hardin County's totals alone. Below is who actually won each primary and the November 3 matchup.

U.S. Senate (open seat)

Andy Barr (R) won the statewide Republican primary with 60.5% over Daniel Cameron; Charles Booker (D) won the Democratic primary. → Nov 3: Barr vs Booker. (Hardin County leaned Cameron, but the nomination is decided statewide.)

U.S. House, KY-2

Brett Guthrie (R, incumbent) and Megan Wingfield (D) won their primaries. → Nov 3: Guthrie vs Wingfield.

State Senate, 10th

Matt Deneen (R, incumbent) won; Chris Gatrost (D) was unopposed. → Nov 3: Deneen vs Gatrost.

State Rep, 10th & 27th

D10: Josh Calloway (R, incumbent) won → faces John Whipple (D). D27: Joseph Redmon (R) won the 4-way primary → unopposed in November.

Results are unofficial and source from the Kentucky Secretary of State, verified against the Hardin County Clerk. Official source: elect.ky.gov/results →

Interview library & the November ballot