BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT -- Republican Joe Fischer of Fort Thomas won a three-way GOP primary Tuesday and will take on Democrat Jim Daley of Cold Spring in a Campbell County Statehouse election this fall.
Mr. Fischer won the 68th House District GOP primary with about 44 percent of the vote over Cold Spring real estate broker Ken Warden, who had 31 percent, and Stu Stormer, a printing company executive from Alexandria who finished with about 25 percent.
A Fort Thomas city councilman, Mr. Fischer, 43, credited his hometown Republican base and strong support from anti-abortion groups for his victory.
"It's a wonderful feeling. This was a very spirited race with three good candidates running," said Mr. Fischer during a victory party at his mother's Fort Thomas home.
"I had a lot of support in Fort Thomas, and those people came out for me. And the pro-life vote in the county kept me in the lead," he said.
Mr. Daley, an attorney and the interim Campbell County jailer, garnered about 66 percent of the vote in beating Northern Kentucky University political science professor Kevin Murphy Maines, who finished with about 34 percent.
Mr. Daley, 41, of Cold Spring, will step down as interim jailer at the end of this year. He also worked as a Kentucky state trooper for 15 years, including a two-year stint as commander of the state police legal division, the only trooper ever to hold the post. He was head of the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Task Force until resigning last month to take over the jail temporarily.
"We worked very hard, and I have to think that did it for me," Mr. Daley said. "And we're going to keep on working. We're getting started right away on the fall, looking to see what we can do different and better, and to work even harder in the places where we didn't run as strong," he said.
Mr. Daley described himself as a conservative Democrat and said the voters will find him "a much more credible candidate" than Mr. Fischer "because I'm not limited to just a few issues."
Mr. Fischer said he thinks he matches up well against Mr. Daley "because I have the strong base in Fort Thomas and with the Right to Life community, and I think a lot of Democrats will support me."
The seat is open because incumbent Rep. Katie Stine, R-Fort Thomas, is leaving the Kentucky House to run for the state Senate. She was unopposed in the primary and faces Newport Democrat George "Buddy" Merritt in the fall.
The 68th House District includes Fort Thomas, Highland Heights, Cold Spring, Alexandria, Silver Grove, Melbourne and Crestview.
Republicans want to hold a seat that represents Fort Thomas, the county's GOP stronghold, as well as the fast-growing suburbs along the U.S. 27 corridor.
