Nelson County voters give Massaroni a landslide win in 50th District primary
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, May 21, 2024 — Incumbent State Rep. Candy Massaroni won her bid for re-election in a landslide win over challenger Andy Stone.
As the first precinct totals were being counted, Massaroni jumped to an early lead and never looked back.
In the end, Massaroni amassed more than 64 percent of votes cast in the GOP primary, 2,183 votes to Stone’s 1,208 votes.
Stone carried just two of Nelson County’s precincts, A103, which includes Bardstown south of KY 245 to Gilkey Run Road, and C101, which is the area of Bardstown north of West Stephen Foster to Templin Avenue, from North Fifth Street to Ben Irvin Road.
The win came in the face of thousands of dollars of PAC dollars spent to attack Massaroni and support Stone’s campaign.
2ND MOST EXPENSIVE HOUSE PRIMARY. According to a Louisville Public Media story published this week, the PAC money that benefitted Stone’s campaign made the 50th District race the second-highest spending race in the House GOP primary.
Ahead of election day, the Commonwealth Conservative Coalition purchased $158,072 of TV advertising that touted Stone as a “rock-ribbed conservative” who will stand with Donald Trump and protect Kentucky families “from the Biden border crisis.”
Stone’s campaign also spent $40,000 ahead of the election. Stone received contributions from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Hospital Association.
Massaroni’s campaign only reported spending $18,772, but received PAC substantial support from Make Liberty Win and Conservatives for the Commonwealth Action.
Despite PAC support for Massaroni, the spending related to her campaign amounted to less than one-third the amount spent by Stone and PACs supporting him.
VOTER TURNOUT. Statewide, voter turnout was just under 13 percent. In Nelson County, turnout was 15.7 percent, numbers that probably reflect the competitive 50th District state representative primary.
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY. In the field of Republican candidates for president, Donald Trump received 86 percent of the primary votes cast in Nelson County.
Statewide, Trump received 85 percent of the Republican votes.
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY. Resident Joe Biden received 64.4 percent of the Nelson County primary votes. “UNCOMMITED” came in with the second-highest vote total in Nelson County, receiving 21 percent of voters cast by Democrats.
In Kentucky, President Joe Biden received 71 percent of the Democratic vote, with “UNCOMMITED” coming in second with 18 percent of votes cast.
4TH CONGRESSIONAL GOP PRIMARY. Thomas Massie received nearly 76 percent of the Nelson County primary votes.
He also received 76 percent of the primary vote across the 4th Congressional District.
2ND CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY. Hank Linderman received nearly 60 percent of the Democrat votes in the Nelson County primary race.
PRIMNARY WINNER TO VISIT WITH BRADFORD & BROOKS. State Rep. Candy Massaroni will sit in with Jim Brooks and Margie Bradford on the Wednesday, May 22, 2024, edition of WBRT’s “Bradford & Brooks” radio show.
The show airs at 11 a.m. Wednesday on WBRT AM 1320, 97.1 FM or streaming live on www.WBRTCountry.com. You can also tune in to the live video feed on Bardstown Cable Channel 18, BRTV.
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