UPDATE COMER CONCEDES:
This just in from the Comer Campaign: “Within minutes of receiving the results of the recanvass, I called Matt Bevin to concede and congratulate him on a hard fought victory. I asked Matt to afford me the opportunity to personally contact a few of my strongest supporters across the state to again thank them for their support and tell them about my concession. I promised Matt that I would release my statement prior to his Friday morning press conference with the Republican down ballot candidates.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A recanvass of votes from last week’s primary election yielded no change in total votes submitted for James Comer or Matt Bevin in the Republican race for governor.
Agriculture Commissioner Comer requested the recanvass last week after he was defeated by Louisville businessman Bevin by 83 votes.
All eyes are on Comer to see if he requests a full-fledged recount of the election.
His campaign manager, Edwin King, said in an email that Comer was in Florida on Thursday spending time with his family and will issue a statement Friday about the next steps his campaign will take in the race.
Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, the chief election officer in Kentucky, said she spoke with Comer and Bevin over the phone to deliever the recanvass results. Neither indicated whether they’d seek a recount.
“We did not delve into any discussion of further actions that Commissioner Comer or his campaign may or may not take,” Grimes said.
In the more comprehensive recount process, precincts from all of Kentucky’s 120 counties send in their ballots to be reviewed by the Franklin Circuit Court.
“What we are seeing is that there have been no substantial changes after a review of the totals on the machines that would indicated a manual recount could possibly change the vote totals,” Grimes said.
The recanvass did yield three additional votes for former Louisville Metro Councilman Hal Heiner in Fayette County—not enough to sway the election.
If Comer were to further contest the election results, his campaign would have to come up with legal grounds for to challenge the results, including voter fraud, intimidation or violence. His campaign would also have to cover the costs of the recount.
Candidates have until 4 p.m. Friday to request a recount or contest the election.
Also, in the race for the Republican nomination for agriculture commissioner, Richard Heath picked up one additional vote and his opponent Ryan Quarles picked up two additional votes due to absentee ballots. Quarles narrowly won the primary last week.
