Last night Greg Fischer pulled in 37,157 votes to win the Democratic primary for mayor.
But here’s what concerns me: 45,016 people voted for other Democratic candidates in that race. And there were 48,510 Republican votes cast for candidates on the R side.
Since the Republican Party of Kentucky won’t have to focus much on the U.S. Senate race (the teabaggers will take care of that for them) and since this is the first real shot in a long time at a Republican mayor in Louisville… What will happen? Will RPK focus its attention on Louisville?
Take a look at the Democratic map below. Tyler Allen is the purple speck. David Tandy is dark green. Jim King is bright green. Greg Fischer cleaned up in blue.
- Tyler Allen won a single precinct, L143, by a single vote (15) over David Tandy (14). It’s a geographically small area west of downtown.
- David Tandy really showed his strength in the western and central parts of town.
- Jim King won less than 40 (CORRECTION – 49 precincts, according to the King Camp) precincts.
Now check out the Republican map:
- Jonathan Robertson won two precincts in the West End.
- Chris Thieneman held his own in the southern and southwestern parts of town.
- And Hal Heiner cleaned up everywhere in green.
Thoughts on all this without getting nasty? It is the day after election day, after all.
Louisville may be “weird” but it certainly doesn’t like its candidates with any fancy flair.
29 responses so far ↓
1 TallGuy // May 19, 2010 at 10:42 am
Who won the brown, gray and white precincts?
2 TallGuy // May 19, 2010 at 10:49 am
I think the anti-establishment voters (Obama, Reid, Peloski) and the anti-MayorForLife voters (Greg = Jerry) will swing over for Hal in November and put him over the top for the 1st Republican Mayor in 40 years. America loves an underdog and so does Louisville. Thank God.
3 Steve Magruder // May 19, 2010 at 11:10 am
Yeap, unless we see a strong independent enter the race, we’ll see Louisville go for Heiner, while simultaneously going for Yarmuth and Conway.
4 jake // May 19, 2010 at 11:13 am
Look, Heiner has his work cut out for him because of the sheer number of Democrats in this city.
Unless he has a come to jeebus on a few social issues and tempers his indifference to some others? He’ll lose.
BUT. I think he’s smarter than Democrats give him credit. And he’ll realize (if he’s not like KD) he’s gotta come to the populist center of Louisville if he wants to win.
5 Mark H (Not Hebert) // May 19, 2010 at 11:24 am
I think this will turn out to be a challenge between the old money Louisville (Louisville Country Club/Riverfields) crowd that has supported Jerry all of these years, and the new Louisville Southeast Christian set which will support Heiner.
I think Fischer will have more difficulty trying to go negative on Heiner. Let’s face it, Jim King was a much easier target.
6 Steve Magruder // May 19, 2010 at 11:51 am
Heiner couldn’t overturn fairness if he wanted to. The Metro Council is staying majority Democratic. Heiner must understand he has to campaign in the center, and I believe he will.
7 Steve Magruder // May 19, 2010 at 11:53 am
Mark H, most of Fischer’s support was due to anti-King sentiment, which means his support is largely soft for the general election. On top of that, Heiner has clearly better qualifications.
8 daking // May 19, 2010 at 11:59 am
You are presuming that Fairness is an issue that will galvanize a huge block of voters. Most will be indifferent toward it.
What this also portends is that Yarmuth might get more of a race from Lally than previously thought. If there is a groundswell for Heiner for Mayor (remember the first Ernie Fletcher election), that rising tide will help float Lally’s vote. Conventional wisdom will be neither in this election
9 Mark H (Not Hebert) // May 19, 2010 at 12:06 pm
heiner has one advantage in that he has yet to go negative and as such, is a pretty clean slate that may be appealing to folks you have a pretty negative taste in their mouths from Jerry’s administration.
It will be interesting if Heiner will continue to stay positive in the general election if he’s attacked by Fischer.
10 will // May 19, 2010 at 12:17 pm
I have no doubt that Fischer will find a way to botch this campaign. That said, the RPK can throw as much money at the campaign as they want, but they can’t change the political composition of the city. Louisville’s electorate would elect a piece of dog shit before they demeaned themselves to vote for someone with an (R) next to his name.
I’m holding out for a progressive independent (one who can run a viable campaign–Tyler Allen need not apply).
11 Stunoland // May 19, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Jake, I’m not sure but I think you mean Tyler won a precinct just east of dowtown. I know Fischer and Heiner would rather forget about tolls and the bridges but we will not let them get away with it.
12 daking // May 19, 2010 at 12:26 pm
You seem to forget Anne Northup
13 Steve Magruder // May 19, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Louisvillians are notorious split-ticket voters.
They will go for Heiner in droves as they go for Yarmuth and Conway in droves.
Heiner is simply a class act, and Fischer is puny in comparison.
As for an independent, I’d be happy to support a centrist who is strong on economic issues and opposes tolls and the downtown ORBP. And they must be willing to run a campaign that plays to win.
14 Jeff Noble // May 19, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Tallguy: brown – precincts where the vote came down to a tie, gray – precincts which had not reported at the time of the creation of the map, white – precincts with no voter population.
Jake and Stunoland – Tyler’s lone winning precinct was L143, neither east nor west of downtown, but rather south. I used to live in that precinct, a 41st LD, 35th SD, and 6th MCD precinct roughly bounded by Kentucky, Preston, Oak, and 1st streets. It votes at the firehouse on Preston at Ormsby. Tyler carried it by one vote, getting 15 to Tandy’s 14 to Fischer’s 11 and King’s 6.
Will: In all likelihood your only independent candidate will be Jackie Green, who filed the appropriate papers to raise money and have his votes counted by the appropriate time, which I think was in April. I’m not sure if he is a progressive independent. He is an Independent and he seems to be progressive, at least on one issue. He is stuck on transportation issues only. While I agree with him that transportation issues are important, especially for our future, yesterday’s results make it clear they, or any single issue, cannot be the centerpiece of a successful campaign.
Jake: One thought on your second paragraph in the posting, something I am pretty sure you already know. Do not confuse Primary voters with General voters. While some of us are religiously both, there is a great deal of difference in the motivations of why one votes in a Primary versus why one votes in a General.
JN
15 jake // May 19, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Tyler’s precinct is circled.
16 Jeff Noble // May 19, 2010 at 3:33 pm
That precinct is entirely east of 1st Street. Since our address system is divided by 1st Street, does that make it in the “East End?”
17 freedom100 // May 19, 2010 at 3:38 pm
As a long time Democrat, I will not and cannot support Greg Fisher. His staff and finance person come straight from Jerry Abramson, a man that brought virtually zero jobs to Louisville, lined the pockets of Cordish, hired only his friends qualified or not and received an “F” on his handling of the windstorm, the ice storm and the flood- totally unprepared with no plan for a crisis. Why would anyone want more of the same? On many issues Mr. Fisher has put together advisory groups full of people with virtually no credentials (sound familiar). It’s time for a change, and I like many of my Democrat friends are supporting John Yarmuth and Hal Heiner. We will work hard to elect both of them.
18 Tom // May 19, 2010 at 4:50 pm
I’ve got to Agree with Freedom100….Fischer is a Jerry replacement and will be a weak leader, he’ll not pay attention to anyone but his socalled friends who he ows and have helped him!….He’l be governed by those in a small circle of greedy powerbrokers.
19 The Highlander // May 19, 2010 at 6:30 pm
IF Fischer has Jerry Abramson cronies in his ‘group’ he’s t-o-a-s-t. I’ve had enough of Happy ‘high’ Pants for a lifetime. IF A SINGLE ONE SHOWS UP, count me out, too.
20 steve // May 19, 2010 at 7:47 pm
freedom100 , which finance person are you refering to?
21 The Highlander // May 19, 2010 at 8:58 pm
MAJOR UNMENTIONED QUESTION FOR FISCHER: Who are these 130 people (or so) whom you claim participated in your fact-gathering and round-table discussions about issues? Is this information going to be secret, like Cheney’s energy meetings OR are we going to be advised WHO’S ADVISING YOU? I demand that the press (of some kind) obtain and provide this information. WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE IS SIGNIFICANT, because this kid doesn’t have any idea what’s going on in local government — and they’re the ones with an agenda. WHAT IS IT?
22 jake // May 19, 2010 at 9:06 pm
One group was animal folks… consisting of random people, even some of the regime at MAS.
They promptly lost their shit on me, you may recall, when I published leaked campaign emails from that group that attacked both me and my character for daring question Greg Fischer.
And, steve, that individual is Will.
23 dontknow // May 19, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Yes, Fischer’s support is soft – voters who wanted anyone but King. Those poor suckers danced to the beat of the Courier Journal, a major political power terrified at the prospect of losing their power over the Mayor’s office if King won.
They will perform that service for Fischer again in the general election, giving extensive coverage to every faux pas Heiner makes. But it will be a lot harder for them in the general election. King gave them the first notes of the tune with Katiegate and shushing up his desperate housewife, and the C-J just blended in, embellishing and amplifying. Heiner won’t gives them the first few bars of a “Down with Heiner” anthem, they’ll have to create a whole new song.
But make no mistake, they will make it nasty and personal. The Courier simply cannot afford to lose.
the first bars of the tune “down with Heiner.”
24 John Hartmann // May 25, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Jackie Green is a serious candidate, against the ORBP, against developing the perimeter of the City, for mixed housing in every neighborhood to make all school districts diverse instead of putting the burden for diversity on our children, some of who spend a couple hours a day being bused outside of their neighborhood. If you want big picture intelligence choose the sustainability candidate–Jackie Green in November!
25 John Hartmann // May 25, 2010 at 7:40 pm
We don’t need more Ohio River bridges. We send enough of our children to the emergency room each summer in asthmatic distress from breathing the fumes from the high ozone we Louisvillians pump from our automobile tailpipes. Bridges mean more traffic. Jackie Green is for a World Class Mass Transit System in Louisville including buses and light rail. We need to be for all of our citizens and a World Class bus system will serve those folks who depend on buses to get to work, get to the doctors, to the grocery store, or to Grandmas house for Sunday dinner. We all need to be riding the bus more because it is our responsibility as citizens, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers… to curtail our use of Greenhouse gases so we can ensure a livable planet for those who come after us. Jackie Green is The Candidate. Go Green in November!!
26 lilly // May 25, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Just as John mentioned, Jackie Green’s campaign is neither democrat nor republican, which makes his platform shine above the rest. Jackie won’t govern his group of friends but rather you and I. What concerns this city, Jackie has a solution, which differs from Fisher and Heiner, who as I am concerned are very similar minded. Visit Jackie’s website for more on his views! http://www.jackiegreenformayor.com We’ve got to vote for our future as a city, who do you want to lead us?
27 Ben // May 25, 2010 at 10:14 pm
People who are disenchanted with the political system as it stands (and they are many) and those looking for a candidate with a platform of real, sustainable, lasting prosperity need look no further than Jackie Green. He is a truly independent candidate with vision, integrity, and leadership who is not beholden to special interests and the only candidate actually thinking about the long-term vitality of Louisville. Make no mistake, this is not a two-person race – this race is a choice between business-as-usual, short-sighted, two-party politics and a truly inspired, independent, vital, forward-thinking vision for Louisville’s future from Jackie Green. A vision that benefits ALL of Louisville. As more and more people realize this, it will make November very interesting. The future is GREEN, baby!
28 The solar guy // May 26, 2010 at 2:10 pm
While one says he is a Democrat, and the other says he is a Republican, it is clear that Fischer and Heiner are two peas in a pod. Both want to put us in debt to our eyeballs in order to build bridges that will do nothing for Louisville. Both want to attract job by giving YOUR tax money to corporations. They are both establishment candidates who think about their business first, and put the citizens of Louisville second.
Here comes a breath of fresh air: Jackie Green. He wants to build a world class public transport system. I just came back from a convention in Phoenix (with my ‘repeal 1070 buttons’). My hotel reservation got mixed up, so instead of a conveniently place hotel, my hotel was over 15 miles away. If in Louisville I would have had no choice. In Phoenix I rode the light rail everyday. What a joy. I could read the paper in the morning, and my book in the evening. That’s an investment for all the citizens. Aboard the light rail, they had bicycle rack. Also, one day I must have been just at the right time, the whole middle school was riding with me. Another day it was all the high school student. One evening late, I was with the crowd coming back from a baseball game (The diamondback had won 14-3! What a joyous time). But back to Jackie Green.
Jackie understand that to attract jobs, you need a city that is attractive to both the employer and the employee. That is why Jackie want develop the existing neighborhood rather than over-extending the city budget to extend services to new development.
29 The solar guy // May 26, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Question: Who will benefit the most from an eastern bridge?
Answer: The people who have land in Southern Indiana, across from Prospect.
Please name two persons who have that in spade.
- Heiner has a whole industrial park there,
… and…
- Fischer has his business there.
Now they come to you to pony up for the bridges? Who do you think pays the interest – and the principal on the bonds issued by the City of Louisville.
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