We are proud.

There’s no other way to say it.

Although it doesn’t seem like a huge feat, the fact that about 50 percent of registered voters in Clark County went to the polls and cast their ballot Tuesday is exciting.

In the primary, which generally does have lower voter turnout, only about 25 percent of local registered voters participated.

To see that number double, was just the little bit of faith in the American people we needed.

We may not be happy with every one of the outcomes in Tuesday’s election, but the people used their voice, and that is an accomplishment.

Voter participation was even higher than estimated across Kentucky, which was about 45 percent.

In all, 14,827 people cast votes for several state, local and federal offices on the ballot.

In 2019, our local government will look different, with new faces elected to some offices, including judge-executive, magistrates, judges, county attorney, state representative and city commission.

For many other offices, our representatives will have the opportunity to continue working for the better of our community.

We want to offer our deepest gratitude to those people who have served our community for many years, in some cases decades, who were not re-elected Tuesday. We cannot express how much it means to have dedicated elected officials serving our community for many years. We hope you leave this office feeling like you impacted positive change in Winchester and Clark County.

To those who were re-elected, we extend our congratulations and look forward to continuing working with you.

Finally, to those who were elected to office for the first time, thank you for putting yourself out there, for offering new, fresh ideas to improve our community and for your willingness to serve in an often thankless but necessary capacity.

Regardless if your preferred candidate won, we all have something to be proud of this election. To have so many people hitting the polls Tuesday was impressive and offered a glimpse of hope. However, it also provides a strong foundation for us to build on in coming election cycles.

We hope the momentum keeps up. It will be critical to the future of our community and state.