Republican Suzanne Miles has won a special election in Kentucky’s 7th House District.Miles, an Owensboro field representative for GOP Rep. Brett Guthrie, earned over 3,500 votes in her race against Democrat Kim Humphrey, community affairs director for Alliance Coal.Miles succeeds Democrat John Arnold, who stepped down in September amid allegations that he sexually harassed female state House staffers. The allegations led to a lawsuitand an on-going,though slow-moving,investigation by legislators. (Related: Complete coverage of the John Arnold ethics case from WFPL and the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.)Arnold, from Sturgis, had served in the House since 1995 but won re-election in 2012 by just five votes.Miles’ victory erodes the Kentucky Democratic Party’s margin of control in the House. The Democrats now have 53 seats against the Republicans’ 46. The GOP controls the state Senate.
