Former Miss America Heather French Henry one of eight candidates for secretary of state.

2019 is an unusual election year in Kentucky. There are no national offices on the ballot - no president, no congressional offices, no races that send a winner to Washington. There are no local races. No county judges, sheriffs, mayors, city council or magistrates. No local races that bring out friends and families of candidates.

It's a year that elected representatives in the Kentucky House and Senate can run without giving up their positions.

It's a year for candidates with great name recognition and/or big families. It's a year with guaranteed low voter turnout.

In the race for secretary of state, incumbent Alison Lundergan Grimes, is not running. That leaves an open seat. With multiple candidates running for their party's nomination, there will be primaries on both sides of the aisle. The primary will be held Tuesday May 21, 2019.

If we know the campaign website, we link to it and for hometowns smaller than Lexington and Louisville, we put in their county. In alphabetical order:

SECRETARY OF STATE

DEMOCRAT:

• Jason Belcher (Harold in Floyd County)
• Jason Griffith (Whitesburg in Letcher County) http://www.jasonsgriffith.com/
• Heather French Henry (Louisville) https://www.heatherfrenchhenry.com/
• Geoff Sebesta (Lexington) http://unnecessaryg.com/politicsky/S4SoS/index.htm

REPUBLICAN:

• Michael G. Adams (Lyndon in Jefferson County) http://michaelgadams.com/
• Andrew English (Crestwood in Oldham County) https://englishforkentucky.com/
• Stephen L. Knipper (Independence in Kenton County) https://2019sos.com/
• Carl "Trump" Nett (Louisville) https://carlnett.com/