A Kentucky Democrat has surprisingly won an election in one of the most unusual ways imaginable after officials were forced to settle an exact 91-91 tie with a coin toss, prompting plenty of jokes about Republicans’ recent electoral struggles. Other critics, however, believed there was a better way to settle the tie.
Kristen Gifford Fryman emerged victorious over Republican Benny Ray Renner in the race for magistrate in Robertson County’s 2nd Magisterial District after neither candidate managed to secure a single vote more than the other. The two candidates each received 91 votes in Tuesday’s election, leaving officials with 182 ballots and absolutely no separation between the contenders.
According to WLKY, the Kentucky State Board of Elections recommended settling the deadlock with a coin flip, which ultimately went in Fryman’s favour. Officials with the Robertson County Clerk’s Office confirmed that the Democrat won, although it remains unclear which candidate called heads or tails.
The unusual outcome quickly attracted attention online, with many questioning whether a coin toss was an appropriate way to decide an election. “Shouldn’t this trigger a run off election? It’s wild that they are choosing their representative on a 50-50 gamble,” one social media user argued.
A Better Way?
Others, however, thought the decision was reasonable given the circumstances. “If only 182 people cared enough to vote on who a magistrate should be and came out dead even, coin flip seems fair enough,” another commenter wrote. But the biggest reactions came from those who couldn’t resist turning the result into another joke about the Republican Party.
“Republicans are doing so bad they can’t even win a coin toss right now,” one user quipped. Another joked that Democrats were “even winning literal coin flips this year.” The result also prompted suggestions for alternative ways to settle tied elections, with one commenter proposing a Survivor-style fire-making challenge. “Should break the tie like Survivor and do a fire making challenge to determine the winner,” they suggested.
Others questioned whether a second election would actually change anything, particularly with only two candidates and an exact tie in the original vote. Robertson County’s unusual contest is not the first Kentucky election to end in a game of chance. Earlier this year, a Union County magistrate primary ended in a 165-165 tie, with Republican candidate Ehren Schaffter winning after calling tails in a coin toss.
A separate Democratic primary in Logan County also required a coin flip after two candidates each received 127 votes. For Fryman, however, the latest contest delivered a victory without needing to secure an additional ballot. In a race where every vote counted equally, it ultimately came down to which side of a coin landed facing up.
