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Wife Chosen as Republican Nominee After Lawmaker's Suicide

J. TYLER FRANKLIN, WFPL

  The wife of a Kentucky lawmaker who killed himself following a sexual assault allegation has been nominated by Republicans to fill the seat he held.

Bullitt County GOP Chairman Paul Ham said a vote was taken Thursday night to nominate Rebecca Johnson.

Gov. Matt Bevin set a Feb. 20 special election to find a replacement for Republican Dan Johnson, whose body was found this month with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He died a day after denying that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in 2013. Johnson was in his first term representing a House district south of Louisville.

Rebecca Johnson will face former state Rep. Linda Belcher. The Bullitt County Democratic Party announced on Thursday that Belcher was selected as the nominee by a unanimous vote.

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