With several neutral witnesses and some candidates on hand Thursday afternoon, Trigg County Clerk Carmen Finley and Deputy Clerk Lesley Hampton drew ballot positions for the upcoming May Primary election — setting in motion three magisterial races, as well as the battles for jailer and sheriff.
For jailer, incumbent James Hughes will be “No. 1” and Troy Belt will be “No. 2.”
For sheriff, incumbent Aaron Acree will be “No. 1” and Mike Sandbrink will be “No. 2.”
For Magistrate District 3, Josh Adams will be “No. 1” and Jon Goodwin will be “No. 2.”
For Magistrate District 4, Greg Goodwin will be “No. 1,” Trey Lancaster will be “No. 2” and John “Rayme” Hopson will be “No. 3.”
For Magistrate District 5, Jonathan Paul Shemwell “No. 1” and Ricky Clark will be “No. 2.”
Finley said other races are not contested at this time — though that could change with independent and/or write-in candidates before the required filing deadlines and the ensuing November general election.
Officials with the Trigg County Republican Party confirmed that they will hold their first candidate forum on Thursday, January 22, at 6 PM at the party’s headquarters.
One might believe that ballot position doesn’t actually matter.
However, in a 2024 report from Politics Pennsylvania called “How Important Is a Candidate’s Position on the Ballot?”, author Steve Ulrich wrote that “the luck of the draw could mean everything.”
In 2004, Yale and Boston College confirmed that in 71 of 79 New York City Democratic primaries, candidates performed better when listed first. In statewide races with four or more candidates, the top-listed name gained a 1.6–2.3% advantage.
A 1975 study by Delbert A. Taebel found that name recognition “does reduce this effect,” noting that ballot order matters less when candidates are well known, but low name recognition leads voters to rely on cues like ballot position—or to skip the race entirely.
A 2014 Texas study by Darren Grant found ballot-position differences of up to 10 points in low-profile races and nearly 20 points in a judicial race between two candidates with the same last name.
Primary Election Day is Tuesday, May 19.
