Kentucky Democrat Wins Election by One Single Vote
In a midterm election season defined by narrow victories, one Kentucky race was decided by the slimmest margin possible.
As The Washington Post reported, Democrat Jim Glenn claimed victory in his bid to become Kentucky’s next State House District 13 representative with a one-vote lead.
Glenn ran against incumbent Rep. D.J. Johnson, a Republican who received 6,318 votes to Glenn’s 6,319.
After the razor-thin apparent victory was announced, the representative-elect shared his reaction with The Post.
“I won by one vote,” Glenn said. “But a win’s a win — whether it’s by one vote or 1,000.”
His rival also spoke to reporters after receiving news of his defeat.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Johnson said he is confident he “ran the best campaign” he could.
He said he hasn’t polled friends and family members to see if a missing vote might have made the difference in the race.
“If someone came up and said that to me, I certainly wouldn’t hold them guilty,” Johnson said. “I have fought that urge to second guess.”
As for Glenn, he said plenty of locals are taking credit for putting him over the top on Election Day.
He said dozens of voters have approached him to say that “they were the one vote” that led to his victory.
In reality, Glenn needed each of those votes — including one cast by a 76-year-old Mary Beverly Goetz, who made it a point to vote in the midterms despite dealing with serious health issues.
The Owensboro resident expressed confidence in her decision to cast an absentee ballot for the Democrat, telling The Post that she believed Glenn “would be the right person to be in office” to represent her district.
“I’m glad he won, and I’d vote for him again,” she said.
News of the nail-biter attracted nationwide attention, including a few celebrity tweets.
LITERALLY ??every??vote??counts?? https://t.co/bcCeNOCmhb
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) November 16, 2018
Fox News reported that the state’s Board of Elections is set to certify the results next week.
Johnson has indicated he will seek a recount, which under state law would allow the House of Representatives — currently controlled by Republicans — to form a five- to nine-member commission.
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