November 7, 2024

2024 Kentucky General Election Update

Matthew Koppitch, Gregory Lestini, Rachael Mains, Elizabeth Martini, William Mason, Christopher Slagle, Elisabeth Squeglia

Bricker Graydon LLP

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Bricker Graydon LLP

The Commonwealth of Kentucky held its 2024 General Election alongside the rest of the nation on Tuesday, November 5. Nationally, Republicans enjoyed strong performances across the board. President Trump will be returning to the White House and Republicans will control the Senate. Republicans in Kentucky also enjoyed a strong showing. Below is a brief summary and analysis of the preliminary results. All results are preliminary until the official canvas is completed.

PRESIDENTIAL

As expected, President Trump won the Commonwealth easily, adding 8 electoral votes to his total, winning 65% of votes cast. That’s an improvement from 2020 when he received 62%. In fact, every county in the Commonwealth broke further in President Trump’s favor than in 2020, some by more than double digits. The increase in his Kentucky performance was a harbinger of how the night would go nationally for both President Trump and his fellow Republicans. Trump joins Grover Cleveland as the only President to win nonconsecutive terms.

CONGRESSIONAL

There were no surprises or upsets in Kentucky’s congressional elections, meaning the delegation will remain unchanged in the next Congress. It’s still unclear which party will control the U.S. House of Representatives.

Neither Senate seat was contested this election cycle, however, Republicans regained control of the chamber. If the Republicans maintain control of the House, they’ll enjoy a trifecta in Washington D.C. Several races around the country are still too close to call.

KENTUCKY SUPREME COURT

Kentucky elects its Supreme Court Justices through nonpartisan elections. Judge Pamela R. Goodwine and Erin Izzo faced off for the 5^th District seat, replacing retiring Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter. Justice Debra Hembree Lambert becomes the new Chief Justice in January. Ultimately Judge Goodwin emerged victorious, capturing 77% of the vote and becoming the Commonwealth’s first African American Supreme Court Justice.

STATE LEGISLATIVE

Based on the preliminary results, Kentucky Republicans maintained their wide majorities in both the House and Senate, as expected.

A bright spot for Kentucky Democrats was the 45^th Representative District race where Democrat Adam Moore defeated Republican Thomas Jefferson by 131 votes. The district includes the southwestern suburbs of Lexington and represents a flip for Kentucky Democrats. Jefferson defeated Rep. Killian Timoney in the May Republican Primary.

However, Kentucky Democrats also lost a rising star. Democratic Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson, the second highest-ranked Democrat in the House, lost to Republican challenger Vanessa Grossl. The race was decided by 214 votes.

In the Senate, the Mayor of Pineville, Scott Madon, won a crowded, last-minute write-in candidate election for an Eastern Kentucky seat. The unique election was triggered when incumbent Senator, Johnnie Turner was tragically killed following a lawnmower accident. Mayor Madon was endorsed by the Senate Republican Caucus and defeated 11 write-in candidates to win the Senate seat.

Kentucky Republicans control the House of Representatives 80 to 20 and the Senate 31 to 7.

STATEWIDE BALLOT ISSUES

Kentucky voters saw two issues on the ballot this general election. First, Amendment 1, which amends the state constitution to bar people who are not citizens of the United States from voting in Kentucky. Kentucky was one of eight states that had a similar measure on the ballot. Amendment 1 passed easily with 62% of the vote share.

The second issue, Amendment 2 allows lawmakers to direct public funds to private schools, potentially paving the way for charter school funding and voucher programs. For context, the General Assembly approved charter schools in 2017 and later approved state funding for charter schools in 2022, but a court decision in 2023 held that those laws violate Kentucky’s constitution. Amendment 2 was soundly rejected with 65% of voters voting “no.”

CONCLUSION

With the General Election in the books, we look ahead to 2025, when legislators will tackle the state’s next biennial budget. Please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our Government Relations team with any questions.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS^[1]

Below is a summary of the preliminary results. Incumbents are noted by an -* and winners are identified in bold.

Office	Democratic	Republican	Independent
US Representative- 1^st Congressional District	Erin Marshall	James Comer Jr. *
US Representative – 2^nd Congressional District	Hank Linderman	Brett Guthrie *
US Representative – 3^rd Congressional District	Morgan McGarvey*	Mike Craven
US Representative – 4^th Congressional District		Thomas Massie*
US Representative – 5^th Congressional District		Hal Rogers*
US Representative – 6^th Congressional District	Randy Cravens	Andy Barr *
State Senator – 1^st Senatorial District		Jason G. Howell
State Senator – 2^nd Senatorial District		Craig Richardson
State Senator – 5^th Senatorial District	Jamie Skudlarek	Stephen Meredith*
State Senator – 7^th Senatorial District	Rhonda Davis	Aaron Reed
State Senator – 9^th Senatorial District	Karen Pennington	David Givens *
State Senator – 11^th Senatorial District		Steve Rawlings
State Senator – 13^th Senatorial District	Reggie Thomas*
State Senator – 15^th Senatorial District		Rick Girdler*
State Senator – 17^th Senatorial District	Kiana Fields	Matt Nunn
State Senator – 19^th Senatorial District	Cassie Chambers Armstrong*
State Senator – 21^st Senatorial District		Brandon Storm*
State Senator – 23^rd Senatorial District	Jennifer Sierra	Chris McDaniel*
State Senator – 25^th Senatorial District		Robert Stivers*
State Senator – 27^th Senatorial District	Molly Crain	Steve West*
State Senator – 29^th Senatorial District			Scott Madon[2]
State Senator – 31^st Senatorial District		Phillip Wheeler Jr.*
State Senator – 33^rd Senatorial District	Gerald A. Neal*
State Senator – 35^th Senatorial District	Keturah Herron
State Senator – 37^th Senatorial District	David Yates*	Calvin Leach
State Representative – 1^st Representative District	Fredrick Fountain	Steven Rudy*
State Representative – 2^nd Representative District		Kimberly Holloway
State Representative – 3^rd Representative District	Carrie Singler	Randy Bridges*
State Representative – 4^th Representative District	Lloyd Smith	D. Wade Williams*
State Representative – 5^th Representative District	Lauren Hines	Mary Imes*
State Representative – 6^th Representative District	Linda Edwards	Chris Freeland*
State Representative – 7^th Representative District		Suzanne Miles*
State Representative – 8^th Representative District		Walker Thomas*
State Representative – 9^th Representative District	Twyla Dillard	Myron Dossett*
State Representative – 10^th Representative District	John Whipple	Josh Calloway*
State Representative – 11^th Representative District		J.T. Payne
State Representative – 12^th Representative District	Alton Ayer	Jim Gooch Jr.*
State Representative – 13^th Representative District		D.J. Johnson*
State Representative – 14^th Representative District	Chanda Garner	Scott Lewis*
State Representative – 15^th Representative District		Rebecca Raymer*
State Representative – 16^th Representative District		Jason Petrie*
State Representative – 17^th Representative District		Robert Duvall*
State Representative – 18^th Representative District		Samara Heavrin*
State Representative – 19^th Representative District		Michael Lee Meredith*
State Representative – 20^th Representative District		Kevin Jackson *
State Representative – 21^st Representative District	Jeffery Humble	Amy Neighbors*
State Representative – 22^ndRepresentative District		Shawn McPherson*
State Representative – 23^rd Representative District		Steve Riley*
State Representative – 24^th Representative District	Johnny Pennington	Ryan Bivens
State Representative – 25^th Representative District	Cheryl Smith	Steve Bratcher*	Eric Parrish
State Representative – 26^th Representative District		Peyton Griffee*
State Representative – 27^th Representative District	Tyler Chapman	Nancy Tate*
State Representative – 28^th Representative District	Almaria Baker	Jared Bauman*
State Representative – 29^th Representative District	Timothy Findley Jr.	Chris Lewis
State Representative – 30^th Representative District	Daniel Grossberg*
State Representative – 31^st Representative District	Colleen Orsella Davis	Susan Tyler Witten*
State Representative – 32^nd Representative District	Tina Bojanowski*
State Representative – 33^rd Representative District	Taylor Jolly	Jason Michael Nemes*
State Representative – 34^th Representative District	Sarah Stalker*
State Representative – 35^th Representative District	Lisa Willner*
State Representative – 36^th Representative District	William “Woody” Zorn	John Hodgson*
State Representative – 37^th Representative District	John Stovall	Emily Callaway*
State Representative – 38^th Representative District	Rachel Roarx*	Carrie Sanders McKeehan
State Representative – 39^th Representative District	Ryan Stanford	Matt Lockett*
State Representative – 40^th Representative District	Nima Kulkarni*
State Representative – 41^st Representative District	Mary Lou Marzian	Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell
State Representative – 42^nd Representative District	Joshua Watkins
State Representative – 43^rd Representative District	Pamela Stevenson*
State Representative – 44^th Representative District	Beverly D. Chester-Burton*
State Representative – 45^th Representative District	Adam Moore	Thomas Jefferson
State Representative – 46^th Representative District	Alan Gentry*	Bob DeVore
State Representative – 47^th Representative District	Robb Adams	Felicia Rabourn
State Representative – 48^th Representative District	Kate Farrow	Ken Fleming*
State Representative – 49^th Representative District		Thomas Huff*
State Representative – 50^th Representative District		Candy Massaroni*
State Representative – 51^st Representative District		Michael Pollock*
State Representative – 52^nd Representative District		Ken Upchurch*
State Representative – 53^rd Representative District		James A. Tipton*
State Representative – 54^th Representative District		Daniel Elliott*
State Representative – 55^th Representative District	Katrina Sexton	Kim King*
State Representative – 56^th Representative District	Chantel Bingham	Daniel Fister*
State Representative – 57^th Representative District	Erika Marie Hancock	Kyle Thompson
State Representative – 58^th Representative District		Jennifer Decker*
State Representative – 59^th Representative District		David Osborne*
State Representative – 60^th Representative District	Deborah Flowers	Marianne Proctor*
State Representative – 61^st Representative District		Savannah Maddox
State Representative – 62^ndRepresentative District	Kevin Kidwell	Tony Hampton
State Representative – 63^rd Representative District		Kimberly Banta*
State Representative – 64^th Representative District	Heather Crabbe	Kimberly Moser*
State Representative – 65^th Representative District	Aaron Currin	Stephanie A. Dietz*
State Representative – 66^th Representative District	Peggy Houston- Nienaber	T.J. Roberts
State Representative – 67^th Representative District	Matthew Lehman	Terry W. Hatton
State Representative – 68^th Representative District	Brandon Long	Mike Clines
State Representative – 69^th Representative District	Wilanne Stangel	Steven Doan
State Representative – 70^th Representative District		William Lawrence*
State Representative – 71^st Representative District	Rachelle Riddle	Josh Bray*
State Representative – 72^ndRepresentative District		Matthew Koch*
State Representative –73^rd Representative District	Rory Houlihan	Ryan Dotson*
State Representative – 74^th Representative District		David Hale*
State Representative – 75^th Representative District	Lindsey Burke*
State Representative – 76^th Representative District	Anne Gay Donworth
State Representative – 77^th Representative District	George A. Brown Jr.*	Jason Griffith
State Representative – 78^th Representative District		Mark Hart *	Timothy Johnson
State Representative – 79^th Representative District	Chad Aull*
State Representative – 80^th Representative District		David Meade*
State Representative – 81^st Representative District		Deanna Frazier Gordon*
State Representative – 82^ndRepresentative District		Nick Wilson*
State Representative – 83^rdRepresentative District		Joshua Branscum*
State Representative – 84^th Representative District	Zachary Hall	Chris Fugate*
State Representative – 85^th Representative District		Shane Baker*
State Representative – 86^th Representative District		Tom O’Dell Smith
State Representative – 87^th Representative District		Adam Bowling*
State Representative – 88^th Representative District	Cherlynn Stevenson*	Vanessa Grossl
State Representative – 89^th Representative District		Timmy Truett*
State Representative – 90^th Representative District		Derek Lewis*
State Representative – 91^st Representative District		Billy Wesley*
State Representative – 92^ndRepresentative District		John Blanton*
State Representative – 93^rd Representative District	Adrielle Camuel*
State Representative – 94^th Representative District		Mitchum Whitaker
State Representative – 95^th Representative District	Ashley Laferty*	Brandon Spencer
State Representative – 96^th Representative District		Patrick Flannery*
State Representative – 97^thRepresentative District		Bobby McCol*
State Representative – 98^th Representative District	Tammie Womack	Aaron Thompson
State Representative – 99^th Representative District		Richard White*
State Representative – 100^th Representative District		Scott Sharp*

[1] All results are preliminary until the official canvas is completed.
[2] This race featured multiple independent candidates. Mr. Madon was endorsed by the Senate Republican Caucus.

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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. Attorney Advertising.