Mayor Linda Gorton won a third term 55% to 45%, and all 3 charter amendments passed. Seven new council members take office in January, by unofficial results.

Mayor Linda Gorton won a third term Tuesday, Nov. 3, beating Raquel E. Carter by about 10,300 votes. Fayette County voters also passed all three charter amendments, including a raise in council pay from 2031.

The figures are unofficial. They come from the Kentucky State Board of Elections’ Fayette County results page, last updated early Sunday, Nov. 8, with all 286 precincts reporting. The results are not final until they are certified.

Mayor

Candidate Votes Share
Linda Gorton 56,203 55%
Raquel E. Carter 45,869 45%

Gorton has been mayor since January 2019. Carter, a small business owner and former chair of the city’s Board of Adjustment, had made housing costs the center of her campaign. Our side-by-side of the two campaigns has what each promised.

Turnout was 50.07%. The board counted 113,929 ballots from 227,558 registered voters.

Charter amendments

All three questions passed, the board’s count shows:

Amendment For Against Share for
1: Council pay of $59,987 a year 61,936 39,515 61%
2: Attendance and accountability expectations 98,166 5,816 94%
3: Charter review every eight years 86,871 14,743 85%
Bar chart of the Nov. 3, 2026, Lexington charter amendment results: Amendment 1, council pay of $59,987, passed with 61%; Amendment 2, attendance expectations, with 94%; Amendment 3, a charter review every eight years, with 85%.
Chart by Lexington Now. Source: Kentucky State Board of Elections, unofficial Fayette County results, updated Nov. 8, 2026.
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What passing means, under the ballot wording the Fayette County Clerk published:

  • Council pay rises to $59,987 a year, adjusted for inflation, from the term that begins Jan. 6, 2031. Council members now earn about $43,000, according to CivicLex’s voter guide.
  • Attendance rules: the council must adopt attendance and accountability expectations for its members, from the term that begins Jan. 4, 2027.
  • Charter review: residents chosen by lottery must review the charter at least once every eight years, and a permanent advisory body will recommend changes.

The amendments came out of Lexington’s first civic assembly this spring. Our charter amendments explainer has the full ballot text.

Council: 7 new members

Seven of the 15 seats go to people who are not on the council now, comparing the results with the city’s list of current council members. The new council term starts Jan. 4, 2027.

At-large (three seats): James Brown led with 48,534 votes, followed by Vice Mayor Dan Wu with 44,753 and Stephanie Aschmann Spires with 33,432. Herbert Lynn, Christopher Shafer and William Tate Ohmer trailed. The at-large member with the most votes becomes vice mayor, the city’s council page says, so that would make Brown the next vice mayor.

Contested district races:

District Winner Votes Runner-up Votes
3 Griffin VanMeter 3,886 Jon Larson 1,704
4 Brenda Monarrez 3,657 Emma Curtis 3,221
6 Tina V. Bryson 4,045 Tyler M. Pyles 3,010
8 Amy Beth Beasley 4,263 Tray Hughes 1,703
9 Whitney Elliott Baxter 6,932 Matt Miniard 2,103
11 Cassandra Vogl 2,657 Richard Moloney 2,177

In District 4, Monarrez unseated council member Emma Curtis by 436 votes.

Unopposed: Tyler Morton (District 1), Shayla Lynch (2), Stephenie Hoelscher (5), Joseph Hale (7), Chris Woodall (10) and Hilary Boone (12).

The newcomers are Spires, VanMeter, Monarrez, Hoelscher, Bryson, Woodall and Vogl. They replace Chuck Ellinger II and council members Tom Eblen, Curtis, Liz Sheehan, Lisa Higgins-Hord, Dave Sevigny and Jennifer Reynolds, under the city’s current list.

School board: 39 votes in District 2

The race for the Fayette County Board of Education’s 2nd District is the closest on the county ballot:

  • Tyler Murphy: 6,612
  • Kathy Schiflett: 6,573
  • R. J. Hijalda: 1,697

In the 4th District, Amanda Main Ferguson beat Rodney Allen Jackson 8,357 to 6,460.

Elsewhere on the ballot

  • U.S. Senate: Fayette County voters backed Charles Booker 73,784 to 37,946 for Andy Barr. Statewide, Barr led 784,869 to 612,357 in the board’s unofficial count.
  • County offices: Judge-Executive Mary Diane McCord Hanna, County Clerk Susan Lamb, County Attorney Angela Evans and Sheriff Kathy H. Witt ran unopposed.

What it means for you

  • The council pay raise is years away. It does not start until January 2031.
  • Your council member may be new. Seven seats change hands on Jan. 4, 2027. Look up your district with the LexFind tool on the city’s council page, or see our who to call at city hall guide.
  • The District 2 school board margin is 39 votes. The results are final only once certified. We will update this page when they are.
  • Check your own precinct. The state board’s results page lets you pick a precinct from the drop-down list.

For polling places and ID rules in future elections, see our voting in Fayette County page.