A local election in Kentucky’s smallest county was resolved by a coin flip last week after two candidates finished in an exact tie, according to local reports. The contest for magistrate in Robertson County’s 2nd Magisterial District ended with Republican Benny Ray Renner and Democrat Kristen Gifford Fryman each receiving 91 votes, WLKY reported.
Robertson County sits along the Kentucky-Ohio border, roughly 60 miles from Cincinnati. Following a recommendation from the Kentucky State Board of Elections, officials turned to a coin toss to determine the winner. Fryman prevailed and will take a seat on the county’s fiscal court, the body responsible for setting budgets and tax rates, according to USA Today, citing state officials.
Fryman expressed surprise at the outcome. “When it was tied, I was like, ‘Wow,’” she told WEKU. “I was kind of shocked cause that’s just something that I don’t think that… I was told that’s never happened in our county before.”
The Robertson County tie is not an isolated incident. At least two other Kentucky elections this year have been decided by games of chance after candidates deadlocked. NewsNation affiliate WEHT reported that a Hanson city commissioner race this month and a Union County magistrate race in June were both settled by coin flips.
While unusual, tie-breaking by lot is permitted under Kentucky law when elections end in a draw. The state election board’s guidance paved the way for the coin flip in Robertson County, a procedure that has drawn fresh attention to how narrowly divided some down-ballot races can become.
The outcome in Robertson County underscores the broader volatility of local elections, where a handful of votes can determine control of fiscal courts and city commissions. In a political environment marked by narrow margins in California’s 40th District and other contests nationwide, even the smallest jurisdictions are not immune to razor-thin results.
Fryman’s victory gives Democrats a seat on the Robertson County fiscal court, though the body’s partisan balance was not immediately clear. The race had drawn little attention before the tie, but the coin flip has since become a symbol of just how close some elections can get.
Kentucky election officials have not indicated any plans to change the tie-breaking procedure, which remains a rare but established method for resolving deadlocks. For now, Fryman is preparing to assume office, while Renner’s supporters are left to wonder what might have been had a single vote shifted.
The coin flip in Robertson County is a reminder that in politics, every vote counts—and sometimes, so does chance. As North Carolina monitors a recount and other states grapple with close races, Kentucky’s experience offers a quirky footnote to the 2026 election cycle.
