Moist no more.

Warren County voters Tuesday overwhelmingly passed the local option election legalizing alcohol sales throughout the county.

The final vote tally of 27,632 to 9,741 ends the county’s status as a “moist” county that contains the “wet” city of Bowling Green and rewards the work done by local wedding and event venues to get the measure passed.

“I think Warren County made a good choice,” said Angie Mosley, owner of the Highland Stables event venue and one of the leaders of the Warren Countians for Economic Growth group that promoted the “wet” vote. “I think it will be good for the economy.”

The wet-dry vote is a change for the county, but many other races went for the incumbents.

Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon, a Republican, was elected to his seventh term, defeating independent challenger Jim Duffer 26,300 to 8,966. Buchanon garnered 74 percent of the votes in winning another four-year term in office.

“I’m pleased that we had the confidence and support of the majority of voters,” Buchanon said. “We’ve been very fortunate in Warren County to have good growth.”

Another countywide office holder, Circuit Court Clerk Brandi Duvall, was re-elected for a second six-year term. The Democrat collected 23,669 votes to Republican challenger Sonya Kilgo Corder’s 15,403.

Duvall said her experience beginning the process of implementing the new REAL ID program for Kentucky driver’s licenses was a factor in her victory.

“I’m very happy with the result,” Duvall said. “I worked hard for six years and worked hard all year campaigning. I’m excited and ready to keep on preparing for the transition to REAL ID.”

Duvall said the REAL ID program, implemented as a post-9/11 security measure, will begin in January for Kentuckians.

Only three of the six Warren County magistrate races were contested Tuesday, with incumbents Rex McWhorter and Tom Lawrence winning re-election and newcomer Ron Cummings winning the Sixth District seat that had been held by Darrell Traughber.

McWhorter, a Republican, defeated Democrat Anthony Stidham 4,621 to 2,876 and will serve a second four-year term as Fourth District magistrate.

Lawrence, a Democrat, won with 2,144 votes to 803 for Republican Chris Abend in the Second District race. Lawrence will serve his second term.

Cummings, a local Realtor, earned the Republican nomination for Sixth District magistrate in May and then defeated Democrat Robert Donoho on Tuesday. Cummings had 5,260 votes to 4,144 for Donoho, who had held that seat from 1998 through 2010.

“I feel very lucky and blessed,” Cummings said. “I think I came out from the beginning with a grassroots campaign and stuck with it throughout the race. The biggest part was going door to door. I knocked on more than 4,000 doors. Donoho ran a good strong race. I think I’ll be a good addition to fiscal court.”

Getting the wet-dry issue on the ballot was a bigger challenge than getting the votes Tuesday.

Event venues like Highland Stables and Smiths Grove’s Elkins Grove and some rural convenience stores mounted a campaign to gather enough signatures to put the local option question on the ballot.

Helped by a deadline extension and a late push that included using electronic signatures, the group called Warren Countians for Economic Growth collected more than 13,000 signatures in less than a month.

The overwhelming “wet” vote was not a surprise for Buchanon, who said: “I assumed it would pass. I talked to people throughout the county about it, and it really wasn’t a factor for most of them because nearly every county around us is wet now.”

Buchanon, 66, moved a step closer to equaling predecessor Basil Griffin’s long tenure as judge-executive. Griffin was elected judge-executive eight times.

“When I first ran, I was eager to do the job for one or two terms, but it seems like at the end of each term there are more challenges and opportunities that need to be addressed,” Buchanon said. “I enjoy what I do, and I enjoy making a difference to so many people.”

Buchanon has overseen a period of rapid commercial and residential growth for Warren County. The county’s population, now estimated at more than 130,000 by the U.S. Census Bureau, is up from 113,781 in the 2010 census.

Duffer, 73, ran unsuccessfully for judge-executive for the third time. A former leader of the Warren County Citizens for Managed Growth group that opposed development of the Kentucky Transpark industrial park, Duffer ran as an independent in both 2006 and 2010.

Three incumbent county magistrates ran unopposed Tuesday. First District’s Doug Gorman, Third District’s Tony Payne and Fifth District’s Mark Young are all elected to serve four more years on fiscal court.

Also re-elected without opposition were Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Cohron, Property Valuation Administrator Bob Branstetter, County Attorney Amy Milliken, County Clerk Lynette Yates, Coroner Kevin Kirby and Jailer Stephen Harmon.

In the only contested constable race, Democrat Daniel Alexander defeated Republican Tony Bell 2,080 to 756 to win the Second District race.

– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.