A former Democrat Kentucky legislator has reclaimed her state House seat in a rural district that overwhelmingly voted for President Donald Trump in 2016.
According to the Courier Journal, Rep. Linda Belcher took 68.45 percent of the vote in a special election against Rebecca Johnson for Kentucky House District 49.
The two vied for the seat vacated by Johnson’s husband, the late Rep. Dan Johnson, who died by suicide in December after an investigative reporting team published a story saying he had molested a teenager at the church where he was a pastor, and linked him to arson cases and alcohol violations, also at the church. Johnson denied the allegations and took his life two days later.
Following his death, his wife immediately announced she’d run to replace him.
Belcher had previously held the district House seat from 2008 to 2012, then from 2014 to 2016, when she lost to Johnson by 150 votes, less than one percentage point. She ran for the seat after her late husband, Democratic Rep. Larry Belcher, died in a car accident in October 2008, replacing him on the ballot after his death.
H/T the Hill
