Shortly after polls closed in Louisville Tuesday, Jefferson County Republican Party Chair Don Fitzpatrick was setting up tables in a ballroom at the Henry Clay, an event space downtown, in preparation for a watch party.
Fitzpatrick said he was feeling “very good” about the party’s “Protect 4, pick up 3” approach to the Metro Council races this year. The strategy put a focus on flipping seats in Louisville’s South End by unseating long-time Democratic incumbents.
“We’ve got three strong candidates in [Districts] 12, 14 and 24, so I think there’s some of that happening,” he said. “We’ll see if it translates this evening to some victories. We think it will.”
By 10 p.m. Tuesday night, Fitzpatrick’s feeling was confirmed: unofficial results showed Republicans will pick up three more seats on Metro Council.
All the even-numbered districts on the 26-seat council were on this ballot this year. A handful of candidates ran unopposed in the General Election.
In the South End, however, incumbents Cindi Fowler and Rick Blackwell found themselves with well-resourced challengers. Republicans aimed to build on their success in 2022, when two first-time candidates unseated Democrats in that area.
Republican candidate Crystal Bast raised about $30,000 and knocked on hundreds of doors in her campaign against Fowler, a third-term Democrat who raised more than twice as much. Bast defeated Fowler, taking 51.6% of the vote to Fowler’s 48.4% in District 14.
Fowler was first elected in 2012. The district covers the Valley Station area.
Next door in District 12, Blackwell was narrowly defeated by Republican challenger Jonathan “JJ” Joseph, a civics teacher at Butler Traditional High School. Blackwell has been on the Metro Council since merger and he currently serves as the Budget Committee chair.
Joseph took 50.4% of the vote to Blackwell’s 49.6%, a difference of just 91 votes.
Asked late Tuesday night whether he would request a recount or recanvass of the vote, Blackwell told LPM News he wasn’t sure.
“I will need to have some discussion tomorrow to determine if it is worth the effort,” he said in an email.
In addition to challenging South End incumbents, Republicans focused on running a strong candidate in the open District 24 race. Madonna Flood, a five-term Democrat, will retire after this year. This was the third race in the “Protect 4, pick up 3” strategy.
Republican Ginny Mulvey-Woolridge, who has worked in the IT consulting and fitness industries, faced off against Democrat Tyra Thomas-Walker, a social justice advocate and a Jefferson County Public Schools employee.
Mulvey-Woolridge won the race with 51.1% of the vote to Thomas-Walker’s 48.9%.
With these wins, Republicans will hold 12 of 26 seats on Louisville Metro Council. That means, if they flip another seat in a future election, they would take away the majority Democrats have held since merger in 2003.
A good night for incumbents
On the opposite end of Jefferson County, in District 16, Metro Council Member Scott Reed faced a serious challenge from a familiar face. Scott’s seat was one of four districts Republicans hoped to protect.
Matt Golden, a former prosecutor who served as chief of public services under former Mayor Greg Fischer, was looking for a historic win in a district that hasn’t ever elected a Democrat, but he ultimately came up short. Reed was the projected winner with 54% of the vote.
In the lead-up to the General Election, Golden had attacked Reed’s lack of signature legislation despite eight years in office, arguing he could be a more effective representative. District 16 includes the River Road corridor going east out of downtown, extending to Prospect and the Oldham County line.
Reed, meanwhile, sought to frame the race as a small business owner versus a lifelong bureaucrat, though the reality is a bit more complicated. Reed is an executive at his family's printing business, and while Golden spent decades employed in public service, he’s also a partner at a private law firm.
In his pitch to voters, Reed highlighted his support for law enforcement and his participation in an annual initiative by Metro Council Republicans to increase available funding for road repaving. He also hoped that Golden’s connection to Fischer, who faced intense criticism during his final years in office, would be a turnoff for voters.
Other Republican incumbents, including District 18’s Marilyn Parker and District 20’s Stuart Benson, also won re-election.
Metro Council elections by the numbers
Metro Council District 2
*Democrat Barbara Shanklin ran unopposed
Metro Council District 4
Democrat Ken Herndon ran unopposed
Metro Council District 6
Democrat J.P. Lyninger ran unopposed
Metro Council District 8
*Democrat Ben Reno-Weber ran unopposed
Metro Council District 10
Democrat Josie Raymond ran unopposed
Metro Council District 12
*Democrat Rick Blackwell - 49.6%
Republican Jonathan “JJ” Joseph - 50.4%
Metro Council District 14
*Democrat Cindi Fowler - 48.4%
Republican Crystal Bast - 51.6%
Metro Council District 16
Democrat Matthew Golden - 46%
*Republican Scott Reed - 54%
Metro Council District 18
Democrat Mera Kathryn Corlett - 45.9%
*Republican Marilyn Parker - 54.1%
Metro Council District 20
Democrat Marita Willis - 39.3%
*Republican Stuart Benson - 60.7%
Metro Council District 22
Democrat Rasean Crawley - 39.3%
Republican Kevin Bratcher - 60.7%
Metro Council District 24
Democrat Tyra Thomas-Walker - 51.1%
Republican Ginny Mulvey-Woolridge - 48.9%
Metro Council District 26
*Democrat Brent Ackerson ran unopposed
*Indicates incumbent
