James Smith to seek District 5 magistrate seat, two incumbents file for reelection

When the Christian County Clerk’s Office opened for the first day of filing for those looking to run for political office, one of the first in line was James “Jim” Smith, who filed to seek the Magistrate seat in District 5.

That seat is currently held by longtime Magistrate Rich Liebe, one of only two Democrats on the Fiscal Court, and Smith says he would also be running on the democratic ticket. He says he has many years of experience in public service, including with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and in the corrections system—if elected, one area he intends to focus on is infrastructure.

Smith says he feels called to public service, and he feels he would be a benefit to all the people of Christian County, not just District 5.

Smith isn’t the only person who has filed to be a Magistrate in Christian County—District 2 Magistrate Josh Turner has filed to run for reelection and District 3 Magistrate George Barnett will be running for reelection. Those are just the ones that have already filed their paperwork with the Christian County Clerk’s Office.

There’s still plenty of time to file, because while the filing period opened on November 5, it won’t come to an end until January 9, which is the last day you can file to run for political office.