LEXINGTON – As the 6th District Congressional race between incumbent Democrat Ben Chandler of Versailles and challenger Republican Andy Barr of Lexington hung even for hours, University of Kentucky journalism Professor Al Cross, an analyst on KET’s Election Night coverage, started reporting.
The former Courier-Journal political reporting dean simply gave out his cell phone number over the KET air, asking anyone from Lincoln and Powell counties who had reliable results to ring in.
With county clerks calling the iPhone hotline, Cross was able to call the race definitively for Ben Chandler, with a margin of about 600 votes.
That will surely mean a recanvass, according to both Cross and Jennifer Moore, an election attorney and former chair of the state Democratic Party who was another analyst on the KET program. But, historically, Moore said, a recanvass will not alter the result of a race with a margin as wide as 600 votes.
Chandler took the stage at the Democratic Party celebration on Manchester Street at the Barrelhouse just before 10:30 p.m.