Republican voters in Allen and Simpson counties will have the opportunity to decide one race during the May 21 primary election.

Two Republican candidates are vying to become the commonwealth’s attorney for the 49th Circuit for the next six years.

Incumbent Commonwealth’s Attorney Corey Morgan seeks a second term, running against Mike Lindsey, currently an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 8th Circuit, which covers Warren and Edmonson counties.

No Democratic candidates have filed, so the primary election will determine the victor.

Morgan became the top prosecutor for Allen and Simpson counties by winning the 2018 general election, unseating Clint Willis, who had held the office for 18 years.

A Franklin resident, Morgan received his law degree from the University of Louisville, and he has previously been in private practice and has spent time as an assistant county attorney in Barren County.

Morgan points to his experience managing a growing caseload during his term as commonwealth’s attorney as a strength.

“There’s a lot I’ve done in office, but there’s still things I want to do,” Morgan said.

Morgan applied for his circuit to participate in the rocket docket program, a state initiative that allows for the faster prosecution of low-level drug and drug-related offenses.

During his term, Morgan also established a full-time assistant commonwealth’s attorney position, and would seek to add a detective to the office if he wins a second term.

Office hours have been extended during Morgan’s term, and he has initiated what he calls an “open door policy” to help expedite the resolution of criminal cases.

“I have lawyers come in, victims, I try to keep it open for everybody so I can resolve these cases,” Morgan said. “During COVID, we couldn’t do a whole lot, but now we’re trying as many cases as we can and in the next year or year and a half, we should have the COVID backlog completely done to where we can focus on newer cases.”

Lindsey is a Scottsville resident who earned his law degree from the University of Louisville and has practiced law since 1992.

He was involved in civil work until 1997, when he moved into criminal prosecutions.

Lindsey spent several years as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in the 49th Circuit during Willis’ time in office, and joined the 8th Circuit office as an assistant prosecutor in 2022 under then-Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Cohron.

Last year, Lindsey successfully prosecuted a case in Warren County in which a man was found guilty of rape and sodomy of a juvenile and received four life sentences.

“I’ve tried more felony cases than any prosecutor in southcentral Kentucky and I believe I can move cases through the system much more quickly, in particular the smaller cases that shouldn’t linger for years,” Lindsey said. “If they do, it bogs down the system so that more significant violent offenses can’t go to trial as quickly.”

Lindsey said that if elected he would be aggressive in prosecuting drug traffickers and pursuing harsh penalties for them.

“I want to drive them out of the area so that good, law-abiding citizens can come to Allen and Simpson counties to raise a family,” Lindsey said. “I’m very passionate about seeking justice.”