COVINGTON — Democrat Don Buring's 16-year tenure as Kenton County's top felony prosecutor ended Tuesday when he lost re-election to Fort Wright Republican Bill Crockett.

        Mr. Crockett won the Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney's race 50.58 percent to Mr. Buring's 49.42 percent with 100 percent of the precincts reporting.

        Mr. Crockett had said that if elected, he would improve relations with police, be more of an advocate for victims, and be more aggressive about prosecuting domestic violence, welfare fraud and delinquent child support payments.

        “It hasn't sunk in yet,” said Mr. Crockett, the chief prosecutor in the Kenton County Attorney's Office, as he headed to a victory celebration with other Kenton County Republicans.

        “I got out and outworked him, outhustled him and I just told the voters why a change needed to be made,” he said.

        Mr. Buring was upbeat as he talked reporters and supporters at the Kenton County Courthouse.

        “I understand this, it's a part of life,” he said. “I knew from the very beginning we would have to convince a lot of people to cross over and vote Democratic, and obviously that did not happen.”

        Mr. Crockett said he knocked on the doors of more than 25,000 voters. “I got out and met people and talked to them, and that made a difference.”

        He said as commonwealth attorney he will be more accountable to voters than Mr. Buring has been during his years in office.

        “I'm going to do a regular report card to show people how we are doing,” Mr. Crockett said. “The voters deserve that.”

        Mr. Buring would not directly say that Mr. Crockett ran a negative campaign but he alluded to it.

        “I was very positive in my campaign,” he said. “I did not sling mud. I did not make accusations without proof. Maybe that's not how you run a campaign anymore.”

        The race was one of the most contentious in North ern Kentucky.

        Mr. Buring campaigned on his 16 years as a felony prosecutor and pointed out that Mr. Crockett had never tried a felony case.

        Questions were also raised about a $1,000 campaign contribution Mr. Crockett accepted from a donor who was facing a drunken driving charge in Kenton District Court.

        Mr. Crockett, the chief district court prosecutor for Kenton County Attorney Garry Edmondson, campaigned on his experience handling literally thousands of cases a year in District Court. He also said Mr. Buring had grown complacent and arrogant, often reducing charges through plea bargains.

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