Caldwell County Republican Primary Candidates Draw Ballot Positions

With six Republican primaries set for Caldwell County’s 2026 Election cycle, hopeful candidates gathered Thursday in the Fiscal Courtroom at the Caldwell County Courthouse to draw a small slip of paper for positions on the ballot.

County Clerk Jennifer Hale called each candidate forward, while Deputy Clerk Beverly Hughes held the cup from which they drew their numbers.

For the judge-executive race, Jeff Simms, who was absent from the drawing, will appear as number one on the ballot, with Chris Noel listed as number two.

For county clerk, Zac Granstaff is number one, and incumbent Jennifer Hale is number two.

For the jailer, Angela Cotton is number one, and William “Billy” Baker is number two.

For Magistrate District 1, Bobby Joe Harper is number one, and Casey Baker, who was absent from the drawing, is number 2.

For Magistrate District 2, incumbent Jeff Boone is number one, and Clint Joiner is number two.

In the Magistrate District 4 race, Randy Jordan is number one, Matt Lane is number two, and George Kilgore is number three.

WPKY’s News Edge would also like to note that Joe Hamm filed to run as an Independent for Constable District 2 on Friday, Jan. 9th. His candidacy was not listed on the Kentucky Secretary of State’s website as of Sunday night and was not in WPKY’s story that ran on Monday.

The 2026 Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, May 19th.

Here are the candidates who filed for Caldwell County’s 2026 Primary:

COUNTY JUDGE-EXECUTIVE

Jeff Simms – Republican (12/16)

Chris Noel – Republican (01/05)

James Trent Fox – Democrat (01/09)

COUNTY CLERK

Incumbent Jennifer Watson Hale – Republican (11/06)

David Zachary Granstaff – Republican (11/25)

Jennifer French – Democrat (01/09)

COUNTY ATTORNEY

Incumbent Roy Massey IV – Republican (12/03)