In Kentucky’s largest cities, voters reup their mayors

Incumbent mayors in Kentucky’s two biggest cities won their reelection bids in Tuesday’s General Election. 

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton will both continue in their roles after nonpartisan elections. 

As of 10:30 p.m. Greenberg received more than 130,670 votes and had claimed victory; Gorton received more than 56,000.

Louisville 

In Louisville, Greenberg defeated Shameka Parrish-Wright, who received more than 37,000 votes in the primary. Greenberg won nearly 75,000 votes in the primary, putting the two face to face in the nonpartisan general election. In the General Election, Parrish-Wright received more than 96,000 votes. 

Parrish-Wright, a Louisville Metro councilwoman, ran on a platform that emphasized accessible housing, public restrooms, an audit of the city’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and more. 

Greenberg, who had Gov. Andy Beshear’s backing, ran on his first-term record, and said he wanted to make “early childhood education a reality for all 3 and 4 years olds in Louisville.” 

Recently, Greenberg faced criticism from opponents of data centers who have said the city needs to ban all data center construction. During a September debate between Greenberg and Parrish-Wright, the two also disagreed on police funding: Greenberg said the Louisville Metro Police Department “should have the best officers, and they should be the best paid.” Parrish-Wright said she wants to “level off the funding to make sure we do a forensic audit of LMPD and this previous administration’s spending of the budget.” 

In his Tuesday night victory speech, Greenberg said he had a lot left to accomplish for the city.

“I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished, but I want you and everyone in Louisville to know something. I’m not satisfied — not even close — because as much progress as we’ve made, I know we can do so much more,” Greenberg said. “This election wasn’t just about what we’ve accomplished over the past four years. Tonight and every day and night moving forward is about what we’re going to accomplish over the next four years.”  

Lexington 

Linda Gorton, who has been the Lexington mayor since 2019, warded off challenger Raquel Carter in the nonpartisan race. 

Carter ran, according to her campaign website, because “Lexington needs new leadership.” 

“Under Linda Gorton, Lexington’s become unaffordable,” Carter’s site states. “Gorton was totally unprepared for the winter storms that shut down Lexington for weeks. Kids missed school, workers missed paychecks, and the damage to our roads has caused irreparable harm to working families.” 

In the May primary election, Gorton received 46% of the vote while Carter received 28% — a lead less striking than previous years when Gorton won in 2019 with 63% of the vote and in 2022 with 71% of the vote. 

Among many issues listed on her website, Gorton stressed the importance of affordability and the city’s Affordable Housing Program 

“As we attract more citizens to the many opportunities Lexington has to offer, we must assure that we also offer housing stock that they can afford,” her site states. “I believe we need a dedicated funding stream to support our program — something that currently is lacking. As your mayor, I will strengthen our partnerships with developers, while seeking a dedicated funding source to amplify the program. My goal is to create a reliable funding mechanism for our Affordable Housing Program, reducing the costs for developers as they boost our housing stock.”