Westwood, a Crescent Springs Republican and retired schoolteacher, said the victory in the 23rd Senate District is a validation of the job he is doing in the General Assembly.

"We won with a message that I will continue to serve Northern Kentucky and the 23rd District with the kind of leadership I have shown in the past," Westwood said Tuesday from the state GOP victory party at the Airport Marriott hotel in Boone County.

"And I'll continue to work in a bipartisan way," he said. "A lot of people challenged on whether I would do that, but I did work with the other side and I got things accomplished for Northern Kentucky."

Westwood won with 21,862 votes to Groob's 19,158.

Westwood said he was grateful for the hard work put in by his campaign team.

He said the victory was a message from the voters "that you a doing a good job and we want you back."

Groob portrayed Westwood as a puppet of Republican leadership in Frankfort and an ineffective legislator.

She also took bold steps by coming out in favor of casino gambling and a cigarette tax increase as ways to raise revenue.

Westwood also helped shed the label that he was ineffective by working with other lawmakers on landing more than $100 million in projects for the region.

However, the money has not been allocated because the legislature failed to pass a budget.

The district covers Covington, Erlanger, Edgewood, Elsmere, Fort Wright, Crescent Springs, Villa Hills, Bromley, Ludlow, Park Hills and Fort Mitchell.

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com