According to Trigg County Clerk Wanda Thomas, 1,191 of the 9,392 registered voters cast a vote May 18 for a turnout of 12.6-percent. Other local media outlets reported the turnout in Trigg County at less than nine-percent, but Thomas confirmed the number at 12.6-percent.
There were 438 voters who weren’t registered as Democrats or Republicans and couldn’t vote, making the turnout actually closer to 13.3-percent.
The low voter totals were the smallest since a 7.7-percent turnout in the May 2000 Primary Election, which also featured the presidential race on the ballot.
The only local race on the ballot saw Eighth District State Representative Johnny Adams’ bid for a fourth term in the House stopped by Democrat James Carr.
Carr, a former Christian County magistrate, defeated Adams 2,080 to 1,651. In Trigg County, Carr won seven of the nine precincts eligible to vote and beat Adams 409-265. Adams carried only the South Cadiz #2 and Bethesda precincts – both by four votes.
Carr will face Republican Tom Jones in the November General Election.
Adams, the former executive director of the Pennyrile Area Development District, was elected to the State House in 1996 thanks to a 71-vote win in the primary and a 66-vote win in the General Election.
In 1998, Adams defeated Jimmy Burks in the General Election by 731 votes, and was unopposed in 2000 and 2002.
In Trigg County, Adams’ average winning margin was only 39 votes, and he didn’t carry the county in his 1996 General Election win over Christian County Republican Rachel McCubbin.
The lone local race between Carr and Adams was expected to bring more Trigg County voters to the polls, but that wasn’t the case. Voter turnout in the nine precincts that featured the House race was 12.6-percent – identical to the turnout in the five precincts that couldn’t vote in the race.
In the U.S. Senate race, Republican incumbent Jim Bunning easily defeated Barry Metcalf in Trigg County 111-14. Six years ago, Bunning beat Metcalf 158-79 in Trigg County,
Bunning also won the statewide race with 84-percent of the vote.
The former Major League pitcher will face Democrat Dan Mongiardo in November. Mongiardo took 65-percent of the statewide vote over challenger David L. Williams and defeated his opponent 522-354 in Trigg County, although Williams won three precincts.
Bunning will have his work cut out for him locally in November after Trigg County voters backed his Democratic opponent Scotty Baesler by 190 votes six years ago.
In the Presidential races, President Bush received 122 votes in Trigg County compared to seven voters who were uncommitted. The 122 votes is the same number he received in the 2000 Primary Election against no uncommitted voters.
On the Democratic side, frontrunner John Kerry may be in trouble with local voters. While the Massachusetts senator received 436 votes, he failed to garner 50-percent of the votes in Trigg County.
South Carolina Senator John Edwards was second with 209 votes (22.5-percent) and carried the South Cadiz #1 precinct.
There were 121 uncommitted voters (13-percent), which carried the predominantly Democratic Montgomery precinct by two votes over Kerry.
By comparison, former Vice-president Al Gore took 66-percent of the primary vote in Trigg County four years ago compared to 12-percent who were uncommitted.
Statewide, Kerry took 60-percent of the vote, compared to 14-percent for Edwards, and nine-percent who were uncommitted.
In Trigg County, voter turnout ranged from 14.7-percent in the Cerulean-Wallonia precinct and 14.6-percent in Linton-Maggie to 8.4-percent Northwest Cadiz and 7.3-percent in North Cadiz #2.
