Democrats – and specifically state Attorney General Jack Conway – were the biggest winners on primary night. Conway faced just token opposition for Democratic nomination for this open seat. The race for the Republicans nomination was far more interesting and ultimately beneficial to Democrats. Republicans hosted a four-way primary between businessman and 2014 Senate candidate Matt Bevin, state Agriculture Commissioner Jamie Comer, former Louisville Councilman Hal Heiner and former state Supreme Court Justice Will Scott. The race turned very negative as allegations that Comer had emotionally abused a girlfriend while in college dominated the campaign in the final weeks. When Comer continued to deny the charges, his former girlfriend came forward to confirm the media reports. Comer, in turn, accused the Heiner campaign of spreading the rumors and feeding the story to reporters. Despite his Louisville base, which isn’t ideal in a primary, Heiner was the early frontrunner, largely because he was injecting personal money into the race and was up on television early. Still, he wasn’t well defined when Comer accused him of playing dirty politics, meaning he was
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