Boone County Primary Election Recap: Tally Smith Out As Commonwealth's Attorney

One major incumbent was defeated, but others survived their challenges.

Boone County Commonwealth's Attorney Linda Tally Smith was defeated in Tuesday's Republican primary by Louis Kelly.

(Boone County, Ky.) - There will be a new prosecutor in Boone County for the first time in nearly two decades.

Republican voters bounced Commonwealth's Attorney Linda Tally Smith in Tuesday’s primary election in favor of political newcomer Louis Kelly.

Smith had been under fire for the past year for an affair with the lead detective in the David Dooley murder trial and for claims of withheld evidence that overturned Dooley's conviction.

Kelly, who is a deputy prosecutor from Union, outgained Tally Smith in votes by a 2-1 margin, 68 percent to 32 percent.

"Thank you to the citizens of Boone and Gallatin Counties for placing their trust in me to be their next Commonwealth’s Attorney. I am humbled to receive this honor and will do everything I can to live up to the expectations the citizens have set," said Kelly.

"We worked hard against what proved to be insurmountable obstacles," Tally Smith said in a statement on her campaign page. "We always knew we were fighting an uphill battle. And the people have spoken. I want to congratulate Mr. Kelly on his victory tonight. I will now regroup and focus the rest of my term on transitioning the office to the new Commonwealth’s Attorney."

In another Boone County Republican race yesterday, Judge-Executive Gary Moore defeated challenger Chris Reinersman with 58 percent of the vote.

Republican winners for Boone County Fiscal Court were Cathy Flaig, Charles Kenner, and Jesse Brewer – each of whom are currently unopposed by a Democrat in the November general election. Brewer upset sitting commissioner Charlie Walton with 55 percent of the vote.

Boone County Sheriff Michael Helmig, the incumbent, secured the party nomination over challenger Anthony Wilson.

Northern Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie will be challenged for re-election in November by Seth Hall. The LaGrange resident won Tuesday’s Democratic Primary in the Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District with 41 percent of the vote, defeating two other candidates. Massie was uncontested in the Republican primary this year.

Hall will have an uphill battle trying to unseat Massie in a district which saw Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 39 percentage points in 2016.