County

County Judge/Executive, Mercer County

Vote for: 1
Term: 4 years
Candidates: 2
Election: Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: The county judge/executive is the county's chief executive: presides over the fiscal court, prepares the county budget and runs county government.

Mindy Hupp (Independent) filed and withdrew (Secretary of State's county filings list).

Candidates Compare by issue

Chris Walker

Democratic

The gist

Pledges to call for a statewide data center moratoriumIn office
Pledges to refuse campaign money from data center interestsIn office

In office = from the candidate's own official statements or legislation as an officeholder, not their campaign.

More about Chris

View sources (1)

Pledges to call for a statewide data center moratorium
Signatories (pledge to Demand Data Center Accountability)
Public statement · Demand Data Center Accountability · demanddca.org
“Call for an indefinite moratorium on new data centers in the Commonwealth of Kentucky”
Pledges to refuse campaign money from data center interests
Signatories (pledge to Demand Data Center Accountability)
Public statement · Demand Data Center Accountability · demanddca.org
“Reject campaign contributions from data center developers, operators, and lobbyists”

Sarah Gray Steele

RepublicanIncumbent

Mercer County judge/executive

The gist

Opposed adopting the county's data center zoning rules as drafted
Supports state guardrails on hyperscale data center development
Supported a temporary county pause on data center projects

More about Sarah

View sources (2)

Opposed adopting the county's data center zoning rules as drafted
Mercer County Fiscal Court Denies Data Center Ordinance
News coverage · Harrodsburg Herald · Sep 30, 2026 · harrodsburgherald.com
“I'd like to go ahead and move to deny it and return it to the Harrodsburg-Mercer County Joint Planning and Zoning Commission”
Supports state guardrails on hyperscale data center development
Mercer County Fiscal Court Denies Data Center Ordinance
News coverage · Harrodsburg Herald · Sep 30, 2026 · harrodsburgherald.com
“She said she hopes the state legislature will put guardrails in place on hyperscale data center development in its upcoming legislative session.”
Supported a temporary county pause on data center projects
Joe Monroe Is Burgin's New Mayor…Again
News coverage · Harrodsburg Herald · Jul 21, 2026 · harrodsburgherald.com
“Steele called the moratorium a pause to give them time to work on the ordinance.”

Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 3 issues covered in this race.