By KENNETH HART - The Independent
RUSSELL — Jack Ditty said he only prepared one speech for his post-election party Tuesday night — a victory speech.
And, even after it became evident he’d lost the special election for the 18th District state Senate seat by a hairsbreadth, Ditty said he still gave that speech because he considered the outcome to be a win.
“I think today was a victory for us,” he said. “I consider it a victory for our team because we picked up so much ground in a such a short time in a contest that was uneven to begin with.”
Ditty, a Republican, said his opponent, Democrat Robin Webb, enjoyed a huge advantage in terms of name recognition because of the years she had spent representing Carter and Lewis counties in the Kentucky House. A poll conducted at the beginning of the 35-day campaign showed him trailing Webb by 20 percentage points, he said.
Despite that, Ditty was able to carry four of the six counties in the 18th District — Greenup, Lewis, Mason and Bracken. However, that wasn’t enough to overcome a more than 1,100-vote victory by Webb in her home county, Carter. Webb also won Robertson County, where only 322 total votes were cast for all three candidates in the race.
Webb received 48.1 percent of votes cast, compared with 46.6 percent for Ditty.
Ditty said he was leaving the decision on whether to do a recount up to his campaign manager, Jeremy Hughes, and that he was prepared to abide by whatever Hughes advises.
The Bellefonte dermatologist also said it was far too early to say whether he would consider running for office again. The run for the 18th District Senate seat, which opened up when Gov. Steve Beshear appointed Charles Borders to the state Public Service Commission, was Ditty’s first.
“It (seeking office again) is just not something I’ve contemplated at this point,” he said.
The race drew a number of political heavy hitters to the district to stump for both Ditty and Webb. Ditty said he was pleased with the support he received from the Republican party, which sent U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis.
He also said he was extremely proud of the work his family did on his campaign. His six children all contributed financially to the effort and did leg work, such as calling voters on his behalf, he said.
“I really enjoyed every bit of this contest,” he said.
KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.
