FRANKFORT, Ky. (Legal Newsline) - GOP state Sen. Whitney Westerfield will face Democrat Andy Beshear in November for Kentucky attorney general.
According to the Secretary of State’s website, Westerfield beat out fellow Republican Michael T. Logan with 53 percent of the votes, or 96,581 votes, in Tuesday’s primary. A total of 180,945 votes were cast.
Westerfield, who was first elected to the state Senate in 2012 and represents parts of western Kentucky, thanked voters for turning out and Hogan for “running a clean campaign.”
“Now, the focus turns to November,” he said in a statement on Facebook. “I’m looking forward to earning the votes of all Kentuckians this fall because we need a fresh start in Frankfort -- a choice between someone experienced or someone who believes they’re entitled.”
Westerfield currently serves as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and as a member of the Capital Planning Advisory Board, Tobacco Fund Settlement Oversight, Agriculture, Transportation, Natural Resources and Energy, Veterans/Military Affairs/Public Protection, and the Program Review and Investigations committees.
He also works as an attorney with the Fletcher Law Firm in Hopkinsville.
Previously, he served for more than five years as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney.
Westerfield has received endorsements from the National Rifle Association and, more notably, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“Whitney Westerfield is exactly the type of person we need as Kentucky’s top law enforcement officer,” Kentucky’s senior U.S. senator said in a statement.
“He has experience in the courtroom as a prosecutor and has served Kentucky well as a state senator. He will stand for the rule of law for all Kentuckians, and will help push back against overreach from the Obama administration.”
Beshear is the son of Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear. He works as a lawyer with Louisville law firm Stites & Harbison.
Current Attorney General Jack Conway is running for governor.
The state’s general election is set for Nov. 3.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.