So this makes five primary elections in Kentucky since the runoff provision was added if no candidate gets 40% (before that, there was no runoff provision, and Governor and Lt. Governor were nominated and elected separately), and there hasn't been a runoff yet. Back when there was no runoff, people winning the Democratic primary (often tantamount to election) for Governor often had percentages in the 30s and (in 1979 at least) in the 20s (29.14%), and Democratic Lt. Governor nominees had winning percentages as low as 23.15% (1979; Martha Lane Collins, who was elected Governor four years later, getting 33.97% in that primary). Republican nominees for Governor usually won majorities and the lowest winning percentage for Governor from 1975 on was 41.42% in 1987.
Source: various election results pages linked to from this Atlas's
Kentucky Election Results page.
...
While I was rambling, ...
No, there are no runoffs in Kentucky.
Even for Governor/Lt. Governor in the primary if no candidate gets 40%. I know that was the requirement to avoid a runoff (for Governor/Lt. Governor
only) from 1995 through 2007 and I hadn't been aware of that being repealed.
