From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeigh There were exciting finishes to a couple of Kentucky Senate races on Tuesday's primary ballot.In a nail-biter in northern Kentucky, John Schickel defeated Charlie Walton by just 24 votes in the Republican primary for the Senate seat currently held by Dick Roeding, who’s retiring.Out west, former Congressman Carroll Hubbard took a giant step in his bid for political redemption, by clinching the Democratic nomination and the chance to take on Republican Sen. Ken Winters this fall. Hubbard served time in federal prison for his role in the House banking scandal.Two Democratic incumbents, Senate Minority Caucus Chair Johnny Ray Turner and Louisville Senator Gerald Neal, easily won re-election.Democrat Steve Newberry and Republican David Givens will square off in November for the seat currently held by former Senate budget chairman Richie Sanders, who’s retiring.Veteran southeastern Kentucky Rep. Charlie Siler is among House Republicans who clinched primary victories Tuesday night.This will be Siler’s 11th term, but they weren't consecutive. The Williamsburg Republican lost a race in 1990 and was benched for a few years. After voting for this year’s Democratic House budget, he was worried he might lose again.Siler has no opposition in the fall. Other House Republicans claiming victories Tuesday were Reps. Jimmy Higdon, Tom Kerr, Alicia Webb-Edgington, Marie Rader and Tim Couch. Kerr and Webb-Edgington have Democratic opposition in the fall.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.