Update: 7:25 p.m.

Update: 8:00 p.m.

Governor

Andy Beshear (D): 52.5%, 694,167 votes | Daniel Cameron (R): 47.4%, 627,086 votes

Gov. Beshear is running for reelection against current Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Beshear, who previously served as Attorney General, was elected as governor in 2019 against Republican Matt Bevin by a slim margin of votes.

Beshear’s running mate is current Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, a former assistant principal and basketball coach. Cameron’s running mate is Robby Mills, a Kentucky state senator.

KET and AP News called the race for Beshear at 7:57 p.m. with 80 percent of votes counted.

Attorney General

Pamela Stevenson (D): 42%, 544,544 votes | Russell Coleman (R) 58%, 752,230 votes

Stevenson (D-43) is a state representative and attorney, as well as a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, who is running for attorney general against Coleman, Republican, a former United States attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.

One of these candidates will replace Cameron as Kentucky’s attorney general.

KET called this race for Coleman at 8:00 p.m.

Treasurer

Michael Bowman (D): 42.8%, 549,257 votes | Mark Metcalf (R): 57.2%, 735,066 votes

Bowman (D) attended the University of Louisville and works as a politician, formerly running in 2019 for state treasurer and losing to Republican incumbent Allison Ball. Metcalf (R) currently serves as the Garrard County Attorney and is a veteran of the National Guard.

The race was called for Metcalf at 8:01 p.m.

Secretary of State

Charles Wheatley (D): 39.4%, 509,889 votes | Michael Adams (R): 60.6%, 784,772 votes

Adams, Republican incumbent, has served as the Kentucky secretary of state since 2020. Wheatley (D-65)  served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2019 to January 2023.

NBC News projected Adams to win the race despite only 35 percent of the vote being in at 6:41 p.m.

KET called this race for Adams at 6:46 p.m.

Agriculture Commissioner

Sierra Enlow (D): 39.3%, 505,742 votes | Jonathan Shell (R): 59.4%, 762,992 votes

Enlow (D) attended the University of Kentucky and earned a master’s degree in agricultural economics and has a professional career in economic development. Shell (R) represented District 71 in the Kentucky House of Representatives until 2018.

KET called this race for Shell at 7:57 p.m.

Auditor

Kimberley Reeder (D): 40%, 444,219 votes | Allison Ball (R): 60.8%, 782,736 votes

Ball (R) is currently serving her second term as the Kentucky State Treasurer, a position she was elected to in 2016. Reeder (D) is a tax attorney from Morehead running against Ball.

KET called this race for Ball at 6:57 p.m.

School Board Representative – Bowling Green Independent School District

Cierra Waller: 2,249 votes| Janet Burks: 1,541 votes

Waller, incumbent and interim school board member, currently works as the associate director of the WKU Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Burks has worked as a teacher for 41 years and is running against Waller for the position.

Waller won the race for this position.

The Board of Regents will have a closed meeting at a Nashville, Tennessee hotel on January 8 and 9 to discuss applicants for WKU’s next president.

The two-day meeting is one of several meetings to discuss the selection of the next university president. In past meetings, however, only members of the presidential search committee were present. During this meeting, the six regents on the search committee will be joined by the other five members of the board.

Many of the meetings where applicants were discussed were closed to the public and this has been a point of contention between board members and the WKU community.

The closed presidential search has led to discussion between students, faculty and staff as they will not know who is being considered for the position. A closed search would prevent the WKU community from interacting with any of the candidates before the official announcement of the new president.

In late October, the University Senate approved a resolution to be sent to the board calling for an open search in order to ensure the best candidate is chosen for the position.

“Such an outcome is only possible if the decision-making process is transparent and open to the greatest possible input from a diverse array of community members, not solely the product of a select group operating exclusively behind closed doors,” the resolution read.

Regent Philip Bale, head of the presidential search committee, said at a Board of Regents meeting in December the board understands the WKU communitys’ desire for an open search.

“I think our board, and certainly the search committee, want to be as transparent as we can be, and yet we have to recognize that some of the individuals do have situations that require greater levels of confidentiality,” Bale said.

In a previous Herald article, faculty regent Barbara Burch said many of the candidates had made it clear they want a closed search. A closed search would protect the confidentiality of candidates who may be contenders for other positions.

Bale said the entire board, not the search committee, must decide if the search will be open or closed. The Board of Regents, however, has eleven members, six of whom are on the search committee.

Thus far, the board has not voted on opening or closing the search, and no official announcement regarding the search’s status has been made. The board has one more scheduled meeting before the beginning of March, the deadline the board set for selecting a new president.

This upcoming meeting will be held at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. It will begin at noon on January 8 and at 8 a.m. on January 9.

The Herald will update this story as more information is made available.

An 18-year-old WKU student died in a car crash while traveling on State Road 64 Tuesday evening, officials said.

Brandon Amy, of Georgetown, Indiana, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a release from the Floyd County Sheriffs Department. Amy was traveling eastbound in the 6600 block of State Road 64 around 5 p.m. when he lost control of his vehicle and drifted into oncoming traffic.

Amys’ vehicle collided with a red Mercury SUV occupied by two women and two children. The occupants sustained non-life-threatening injuries, the release said.

Amy is a recent graduate of Floyd Central High School. The FCHS Principal Rob Willman tweeted Tuesday night their thoughts and prayers are with the family.

The FCHS community is deeply saddened by the death of Brandon Amy, 2016 graduate. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.

— Rob Willman, Ph.D. (@FloydCentralHS) December 28, 2016

The Floyd County Sheriff’s Department told the Courier-Journal it would continue to investigate.

The Herald will update this story as more information is made available.

Gender representation and inequality will be highlighted as WKU participates in the Tournées Film Festival this year.

The free event will be held from Nov. 3-23 in Cherry Hall. The French film festival, hosted by WKU, strives to bring contemporary French cinema to American universities.

The event has several cosponsors: WKU’s English department, the Franco-American Cultural Fund, the Florence Gould Foundation, Highbrow Entertainment, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, and French Cultural Services and Campus France USA through the French Embassy in the U.S.

Films to be shown include “Un Jour Pina M’a Demandé,” “Clouds of Sils Maria,” “Bande de Filles,” “Timbuktu,” “Abus de Faiblesse” and “Deux Jours, Une Nuit.”

On Nov. 16, the festival will feature “Timbuktu” directed by Abderrahmane Sissako, and after the showing there will be a short discussion.

Eddy Cuisinier, French instructor in the department of modern languages, will help lead the discussion. Cusinier believes this event will have a cultural impact on every student who decides to go.

“It helps them see the diversity of the Francophone culture because these are movies that no one would see unless they knew what they were looking for,” Cusinier said.

Cusinier also noted this film will highlight how two cultures can speak the same language but still differ from one another.

Nov. 23, the last day of the festival, will feature the film “Deux Jours, Une Nuit.” In 2014, Marion Cotillard received an Academy Award nomination for best performance by an actress in a leading role for her work in the film.

Junior Trenton Marcum of London, Kentucky, attended the festival to support the film program.

“They were also showing a film I had never seen before,” Marcum said. “That’s one of the best things about the festival; it brings a sort of cultural enrichment and exposure to films from another nation.”

Jerod Hollyfield, assistant professor in the English and film departments, directs the festival at WKU.

Hollyfield said he will apply for the grant that allows WKU to host this event as often as possible. Hollyfield is motivated by the students who attend the festival.

“A lot of these films don’t play in Bowling Green, and the students don’t have the chance to go to Nashville or Louisville to see them,” Hollyfield said. “I like the discussions of teachers and students because they help to show students other cultures.”

The expanding Department of Theatre and Dance is making changes for the fall semester. Full-time professors Eric Rivera and Lisa Draskovich and part-time professor Angelica Rivera will not be returning to WKU. However, three newcomers, Meghen McKinley, Kylene Stephens and Shauna Deverwill be joining staff this fall.

Louisville junior Heather Moore, a performing arts major with a concentration in musical theatre, is disappointed to see her favorite professors, Eric and Angelica Rivera, leave the Hill.

“They were wonderful! They were two of my favorite teachers in the theatre and dance department,” Moore said.

Moore is also worried that the new professors will have a rough transition into the department and working with current students.

“I know I am personally worried about the new professors not being familiar with our abilities,” Moore said.

Other dance majors, like Kokomo, Indiana, senior Sara Pecina, are excited to start working with the new dance instructors.

“They will be able to offer new, individual perspectives and I am eager to see what their classes will be like,” Pecina said.

Throughout the year the Department of Theatre and Dance puts on a variety of plays, operas and musicals for public viewing.

Bowling Green native Jasmine Murillo, a junior and frequent audience member of WKU productions, is worried that performances this year will be less enjoyable.

“It might be bad because dance and theatre majors, who were so close to the other teachers, may not be as dedicated now,” Murillo said.

Current dance students, like Heather Moore, are hoping that new professors, McKinley, Stephens, and Dever will offer the expertise and individual attention to keep the productions running smoothly.

While there are many changes underway within the Department of Theatre and Dance, Department Head David Young is hopeful for the upcoming semester.

“I’m excited by the new ideas and new energy that new faculty always bring,” Young said via email.

Associate Professor Amanda Clark has been a part of the dance program for over 10 years. This summer, Clark and student, Sara Pecina, attended the St. Louis Tap Festival, where Pecina was invited to perform at the festival’s closing gala.

This summer the department was also involved in international performance with Associate Professor Clifton Brown, former dance coordinator, leading students to Italy to perform at the Balletto de Civitavecchia.

This year, according to Young, the fall 2015 enrollment in dance majors is higher than it has ever been, at 52.

“I have great confidence in the dance faculty, both new and old, to continue our tradition of exciting classroom and studio instruction coupled with bold and engaging dance concerts,” Young said via email.

This story has been corrected after several errors were brought to the Herald staff’s attention. The Herald deeply regrets these errors.