Gerald Neal

Gerald Neal

Democratic Party

Kentucky State Senate District 33

Tenure

1989 - Present

Term ends

2029

Years in position

36

Compensation

Base salary

188.22/calendar day during session for legislators whose terms began before 2023. $203.28/calendar day for legislators whose terms began after 2023.

Per diem

$182.60/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Kentucky State University at Louisville, 1967

Law

University of Louisville, 1972

Personal

Religion

Christian: Baptist

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Instagram

Campaign website

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Gerald Neal (Democratic Party) is a member of the Kentucky State Senate, representing District 33. He assumed office in 1989. His current term ends on January 1, 2029.

Neal (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Kentucky State Senate to represent District 33. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Neal began serving as state senate minority leader in 2023.

Biography

Neal earned his B.A. from Kentucky State University at Louisville in 1967 and his J.D. from Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville in 1972. His professional experience includes working as Assistant Safety Director for the City of Louisville and an attorney for Gerald A. Neal & Associates, Attorneys at Law, Limited Liability Company.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Neal was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee
• Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
• Senate Committee on Committees
• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• Senate Rules Committee
• Appropriations and Revenue Committee
• Banking and Insurance Committee
• Education Committee
• Judiciary Committee

2021-2022

Neal was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee

2019-2020

Neal was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee
• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• Senate Transportation Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Kentucky committee assignments, 2017
• Appropriations and Revenue
• Education
• Transportation

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Neal served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Neal served on the following committees:

Kentucky committee assignments, 2013
• Appropriations and Revenue
• Education
• Enrollment
• State and Local Government

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Neal served on the following committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Neal served on the following committees:

Kentucky committee assignments, 2009
• Banking and Insurance
• Education
• Judiciary

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Kentucky State Senate District 33

Incumbent Gerald Neal won election in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 33 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gerald Neal (D)	100.0	31,265

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,265
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 33

Incumbent Gerald Neal defeated Attica Scott and Michael Churchill in the Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 33 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gerald Neal	55.3	4,854
		Attica Scott	39.4	3,460
		Michael Churchill	5.3	462

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,776
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Neal in this election.

2020

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Kentucky State Senate District 33

Incumbent Gerald Neal won election in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 33 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gerald Neal (D)	100.0	38,520

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,520
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Gerald Neal advanced from the Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 33.

2016

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Kentucky State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 17, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was January 26, 2016.

Incumbent Gerald Neal defeated Shenita Rickman in the Kentucky State Senate District 33 general election.

Kentucky State Senate District 33, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gerald Neal Incumbent	84.32%	34,588
	Republican	Shenita Rickman	15.68%	6,432
Total Votes				41,020
Source: Kentucky State Board of Elections

Incumbent Gerald Neal defeated Toni Stringer and Charles Booker in the Kentucky State Senate District 33 Democratic primary.

Kentucky State Senate District 33, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gerald Neal Incumbent	48.36%	9,013
	Democratic	Toni Stringer	31.90%	5,945
	Democratic	Charles Booker	19.75%	3,681
Total Votes				18,639

Shenita Rickman defeated John Yuen in the Kentucky State Senate District 33 Republican primary.

Kentucky State Senate District 33, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Shenita Rickman	51.83%	537
	Republican	John Yuen	48.17%	499
Total Votes				1,036

2012

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2012

Neal won re-election in the 2012 election for Kentucky State Senate District 33. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on May 22, 2012, and defeated Norris Shelton (Descendents of American Slaves) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Kentucky State Senate, District 33, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gerald Neal Incumbent	93.7%	33,986
	Independent	Norris Shelton	6.3%	2,291
Total Votes				36,277

2008

On November 4, 2008, Neal was re-elected to the 33rd District Seat in the Kentucky State Senate with no opposition. Neal raised $87,534 for his campaign.

Kentucky State Senate, District 33 (2008)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Gerald Neal (D)		36,700	100%

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Gerald Neal did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Gerald Neal did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Neal's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“	Senator Gerald Neal is an experienced, proven and effective leader fighting to make a difference for the 33rd Senate District and our community. Fighting for our children, our seniors, our teachers and our schools Fighting for community safety, fairness and common sense in our justice system Fighting against poverty and for economic development Fighting for environmental protection of our community	”
—Gerald Neal

Campaign finance summary

---

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

---

Gerald Neal campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Kentucky State Senate District 33	Won general	$140,402	$0
2020	Kentucky State Senate District 33	Won general	$39,435	N/A**
2016	Kentucky State Senate, District 33	Won	$109,901	N/A**
2012	Kentucky State Senate, District 3	Won	$30,316	N/A**
2008	Kentucky State Senate, District 3	Won	$87,534	N/A**
2004	Kentucky State Senate, District 3	Won	$15,025	N/A**
2000	Kentucky State Senate, District 3	Won	$16,775	N/A**
1996	Kentucky State Senate, District 3	Won	$5,625	N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Kentucky

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Kentucky scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 2 to April 15. Americans for Prosperity Kentucky Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy. Greater Louisville Inc. Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The Family Foundation of Kentucky Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 3 to March 30. Greater Louisville Inc. Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The Family Foundation of Kentucky Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 4 to April 14. Americans for Prosperity Kentucky Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy. Greater Louisville Inc. Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The Family Foundation of Kentucky Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 5 to March 30. Greater Louisville Inc. Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Kentucky Comeback: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported by the organization. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 7 to April 15. Greater Louisville Inc. Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 29. Greater Louisville Inc. Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].
In 2018, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 2 through April 14. Greater Louisville Inc. Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].
In 2017, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 3 through March 30. Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].

In 2016, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 5 through April 15. Greater Louisville Inc. Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].
In 2015, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 6 through March 23. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].
In 2014, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 7 to April 15. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2013

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show].
In 2013, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 8 to March 26. Ballotpedia staff did not find any state legislative scorecards published for this state in 2013. If you are aware of one, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org to let us know.

2012

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show].
In 2012, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 3 through April 9. Kentucky Club for Growth: House and Senate Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues.

Noteworthy events

Coronavirus pandemic
Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more. Political responses overviewState reopening plansDocumenting America's Path to RecoveryElection changesChanges to vote-by-mail and absentee voting proceduresFederal responsesState responsesState executive ordersStay-at-home ordersMultistate agreementsNon-governmental reopening plansEvictions and foreclosures policiesTravel restrictionsEnacted state legislationState legislative session changesSchool closuresState court closuresInmate releasesLocal government responsesDiagnosed or quarantined politiciansBallot measure changesArguments about government responsesThe 1918 influenza pandemicPandemic Response Accountability CommitteeUnemployment filingsLawsuitsBallotpedia's polling on the coronavirus pandemicSubmit

Tested positive for coronavirus on September 8, 2020

See also: Government official, politician, and candidate deaths, diagnoses, and quarantines due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021

On September 8, 2020, Neal announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Kentucky State Senate District 33

Website

Officeholder

Kentucky State Senate District 33

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Personal

Website

Facebook

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Kentucky State Senate District 33 1989-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Kentucky State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Robert Stivers

Majority Leader:Max Wise

Minority Leader:Gerald Neal

Senators

District 1

Jason Howell (R)

District 2

Danny Carroll (R)

District 3

Craig Richardson (R)

District 4

Robby Mills (R)

District 5

Stephen Meredith (R)

District 6

Lindsey Tichenor (R)

District 7

Aaron Reed (R)

District 8

Gary Boswell (R)

District 9

David Givens (R)

District 10

Matthew Deneen (R)

District 11

Steve Rawlings (R)

District 12

Amanda Bledsoe (R)

District 13

Reggie Thomas (D)

District 14

Jimmy Higdon (R)

District 15

Rick Girdler (R)

District 16

Max Wise (R)

District 17

Matt Nunn (R)

District 18

Robin Webb (R)

District 19

Cassie Chambers Armstrong (D)

District 20

Gex Williams (R)

District 21

Brandon Storm (R)

District 22

Donald Douglas (R)

District 23

Chris McDaniel (R)

District 24

Shelley Frommeyer (R)

District 25

Robert Stivers (R)

District 26

Karen Berg (D)

District 27

Steve West (R)

District 28

Greg Elkins (R)

District 29

Scott Madon (R)

District 30

Brandon Smith (R)

District 31

Phillip Wheeler (R)

District 32

Mike Wilson (R)

District 33

Gerald Neal (D)

District 34

Jared Carpenter (R)

District 35

Keturah Herron (D)

District 36

Julie Adams (R)

District 37

David Yates (D)

District 38

Mike Nemes (R)

Republican Party (32)

Democratic Party (6)