The Race Is Over! Kentucky Elects Politician With The Loudest Bark

The race is over in Kentucky and the results are out. But when citizens in the town of Rabbit Hash meet and greet the new mayor this week, mere handshakes just won’t do; they will probably have to pass a sniff test instead. That's because Kentucky’s new Mayor, Wilbur, is actually a dog.

Wilbur, a French bulldog, did not just simply win the race; he also set record victory of 13,143 votes in the 2020 election. Wilbur snatched the seat from his “paw runner” Brynneth Pawltrow, a rescued pit bull who had assumed office in 2016.

The Rabbit Hash Historical Society, known for its canine mayoral race, elected the new mayor with the highest total of votes since the election began in 1998, reported NY Post.

This Ohio River community, with just a few hundred people, elects dogs as its mayors for fundraisers every four years. The organizers claim to run the “only honest election in the country,” reported Cincinnati.com. The town allows citizens to take part in the election by making them pay $1 for every vote.

Since the previous election in 2016, the town has begun awarding Rabbit Hash Ambassador positions to second and third place winners. This year, beagle Jack Rabbit and golden retriever Poppy were crowned as Rabbit Hash Ambassadors. Meanwhile, Ambassador Lady Stone retained her position from the previous election.

The society announced the results of “the most important election that happened this year” on their Facebook page.

Although canine mayors do not make legislative decisions for the town, they help raise funds to keep the town’s historic buildings in good condition. In fact, officials communicated that the $13,156 raised this year would be used for preserving local historic buildings in Rabbit Hash.