4 candidates are on the ballot. One ballot can carry several appellate seats, and the note below sets out which contest is which. For each judge: the record, any official performance evaluation, and the arguments published for and against them.
Kentucky does not elect any appellate judge statewide. Supreme Court justices are elected from seven Supreme Court districts and Court of Appeals judges from seven appellate districts, so whether an appellate race appears on a ballot — and which one — depends entirely on where the voter lives. Three appellate contests are on the November 3, 2026 ballot, all nonpartisan with no party label printed. In order: Supreme Court, 3rd Supreme Court District — Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert, unopposed; the May 19, 2026 primary was cancelled because she was the only filer. Court of Appeals, 5th Appellate District, Division 1 (a special election for the seat Pamela Goodwine left when she was elected to the Supreme Court in 2024) — appointed incumbent Will Moynahan against Fayette Circuit Court judge Lucy Ferguson VanMeter; this race is voted on only in Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Scott and Woodford counties, and the primary was cancelled because only two candidates filed. Court of Appeals, 3rd Appellate District, Division 2 (a special election for the seat James Lambert left on his retirement after nearly twenty years) — Knox and Laurel County circuit judge Greg Lay; he was the only candidate to have filed as of the reporting reviewed, and no opponent was confirmed. Voters outside those districts will see no appellate race at all this year. Roster from the Kentucky Court of Justice and Kentucky Registry of Election Finance filings as reported by Kentucky Today, the Sentinel-Echo and Forward Kentucky.
4 candidates · ballot order · Debra Hembree Lambert currently holds this seat
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Continuity in the administration of the Kentucky Court of Justice as chief justice.
Appellate and trial experience across family, civil and criminal law.
Court operations and access to justice in rural Kentucky.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Chief Justice of Kentucky, elected by her fellow justices to a four-year term in 2024, effective January 6, 2025.
Justice, Supreme Court of Kentucky, 3rd Supreme Court District, since 2019.
No opponent filed against her, so the May 19, 2026 primary was cancelled and she appears unopposed on the November ballot.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
The race is uncontested and no organised campaign for or against Lambert was found. Searched: Kentucky Today, the Lexington Herald-Leader, Louisville Courier Journal, Forward Kentucky and Kentucky Court of Justice announcements.
Kentucky does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission, and no Kentucky Bar Association rating of 2026 appellate candidates was found.
No independent analysis of her published opinions was found.
Federal prosecution and appellate experience as preparation for the court.
Continuity in the seat he was appointed to hold.
Handling the ordinary civil and criminal appeals that make up the court's docket.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Judge, Kentucky Court of Appeals, 5th Appellate District, Division 1, appointed January 2025 by Governor Andy Beshear.
Assistant United States Attorney, Eastern District of Kentucky, before his appointment.
Only he and Lucy Ferguson VanMeter filed, so the May 2026 primary was cancelled.
Raised about $293,000 through June 2026, according to Kentucky Registry of Election Finance filings analysed by Forward Kentucky; more than a third came from donors listing their occupation as lawyer, and his was the only campaign in the race to accept political action committee money.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No published criticism of Moynahan by name was found, and no allegation of impropriety was made in any source reviewed. Searched: Lexington Herald-Leader, Kentucky Today, Forward Kentucky, the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance and the VanMeter campaign site.
Kentucky does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission, and no Kentucky Bar Association rating of the candidates was found.
No campaign website for Moynahan was located.
Moynahan has served on the Court of Appeals only since January 2025, and no analysis of his opinions was found.
Eight years of circuit court experience in the district's largest county as preparation for the appellate bench.
Long civil litigation practice before becoming a judge.
Handling the civil, family and criminal appeals that come from central Kentucky trial courts.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Judge, Fayette Circuit Court, since 2018.
Equity partner at Stoll Keenon Ogden in Lexington for seventeen years before joining the bench.
Only she and Will Moynahan filed, so the May 2026 primary was cancelled.
Raised about $356,000 through June 2026, according to Kentucky Registry of Election Finance filings analysed by Forward Kentucky, including tens of thousands of dollars of her own money and no political action committee money.
Her husband, Laurance B. VanMeter, is a former Chief Justice of Kentucky who previously sat on the Court of Appeals; he and their son are among her donors, at $2,150 and the $2,200 maximum respectively, as reported from the public filings.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No published criticism of VanMeter by name was found, and the Forward Kentucky analysis of the race's fundraising states explicitly that nothing it describes is illegal or unusual and that it makes no allegation against anyone. Searched: Lexington Herald-Leader, Kentucky Today, Forward Kentucky, the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance and the Moynahan campaign.
Kentucky does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission, and no Kentucky Bar Association rating of the candidates was found.
No independent analysis of her rulings as a circuit judge was found.
More than twenty years of circuit court experience in southeastern Kentucky as preparation for the appellate bench.
Administrative experience running courts across a multi-county region.
Continuity of representation for the 3rd Appellate District on the Court of Appeals.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Circuit judge, 27th Judicial Circuit of Kentucky (Knox and Laurel counties), for more than twenty years.
Chief regional circuit judge, Cumberland Region, with administrative responsibility across twenty-three counties.
First candidate to file for the 3rd Appellate District, Division 2 seat, vacated by the retirement of Judge James Lambert after nearly twenty years on the court.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
Whether Lay is opposed could not be confirmed. As of the mid-February 2026 reporting reviewed he was the only filer, and no later source naming an opponent was found. Searched: the Sentinel-Echo, Times-Tribune, Mountain Advocate, ClayCoNews, Kentucky Court of Justice announcements and the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.
No campaign website for Lay was located.
No published criticism of, or endorsement of, Lay by a named organisation was found.
Kentucky does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Kentucky ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Kentucky State Board of Elections.