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Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022 (May 17 Democratic primary)
- Primary date: May 17
- Mail-in registration deadline: April 18
- Online reg. deadline: April 18
- In-person reg. deadline: April 18
- Early voting starts: May 12
- Early voting ends: May 14
- Poll times: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Absentee/mail-in deadline: May 17
2024 →
← 2020
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Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District |
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Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
Election details |
Filing deadline: January 25, 2022 |
Primary: May 17, 2022 General: November 8, 2022 |
How to vote |
Poll times: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Voting in Kentucky |
Race ratings |
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic |
Ballotpedia analysis |
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022 |
See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th Kentucky elections, 2022 U.S. Congress elections, 2022 U.S. Senate elections, 2022 U.S. House elections, 2022 |
Morgan McGarvey defeated Attica Scott in the Democratic primary for Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District on May 17, 2022. The general election was scheduled to take place on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Rep. John Yarmuth (D) announced on October 12, 2021, that he was not running for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022.
McGarvey was a member of the Kentucky State Senate, having first been elected to the legislature in 2012. He announced he was running for this seat on October 12, 2021, the same day that Yarmuth stated he would not run for re-election.[1] He had served as the Democrats' minority leader in the Senate since 2019. McGarvey described himself as a champion of progressive values and said on his website, "As the Democratic Minority Leader in the Kentucky State Senate, I’ve spent my career standing up to the Trump-Bevin Republicans in Frankfort. I’ve stood firm on our progressive values to protect health care and teachers’ pensions, promote clean energy and defend choice so that Kentucky doesn’t look like Texas."[2]
Scott served on the Louisville City Council from 2011 to 2014 and as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives since 2016. At the time of her election to the legislature, she was the first Black woman to win such an office in 20 years.[3] Scott announced her candidacy in July 2021 before Yarmuth announced he was not running. After announcing her campaign, she said during an interview with Spectrum News 1, "I want people to know that I stand for economic justice, environmental justice, health justice, racial justice. Over and over again, Black people, Latinx people, Asian people, Indigenous people, our issues get overlooked because we’re not in office to bring them up."[4]
Yarmuth endorsed McGarvey on February 7, 2022, describing him as a champion of progressive values and an effective legislator and leader. In endorsing McGarvey, Yarmuth said, "he has shown an ability to build and work in diverse coalitions necessary to create meaningful change and get the job done for our community."[5] Scott was endorsed by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, the Higher Heights for America PAC, and the Future Generations PAC.[6][7][8]
The Louisville-area district hasn't had an open-seat race since 1994. Morgan Watkins of the Louisville Courier Journal wrote, "political experts say the pursuit of Yarmuth's job is poised to be the least predictable race, and certainly the most interesting primary contest" in the state, with "experts say[ing] the big clash for Yarmuth's seat will happen in the Democratic primary rather than the general election."[9]
University of Kentucky political science professor Steve Voss told the Louisville Courier Journal, "Democrats have close to a 2-1 advantage over the GOP in terms of voters' party registration in this congressional district."[9] As of May 2022, three independent outlets rated the general election as Solid Democratic. Yarmuth was first elected to represent the district in 2006. In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden (D) defeated Donald Trump (R) in Kentucky's 3rd, 60% to 38%.[10]
This page focused on Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022 (May 17 Republican primary)
- Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022

Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 3
Morgan McGarvey defeated Attica Scott in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 3 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Morgan McGarvey | 63.3 | 52,157 |
![]() | Attica Scott | 36.7 | 30,183 |
Total votes: 82,340 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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. |
Candidate comparison
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff compiled a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[11]
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office:
Kentucky State Senate (Assumed office: 2012)
Biography: McGarvey received a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in 2002 and a law degree from the University of Kentucky in 2007. He worked in the Kentucky attorney general's office and as an attorney for Frost Brown Todd and Morgan Pottinger McGarvey.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Kentucky District 3 in 2022.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office:
Kentucky House of Representatives (Assumed office: 2016)
Louisville City Council (2011-2014)
Biography: Scott received a B.A. in political science from Knoxville College and a graduate degree in communications from the University of Tennessee. She worked as a community activist and a coordinator at Kentucky Jobs for Justice.
Show sources
Sources: NBC News, "Kentucky Elects First African American Woman to State Legislature in 20 Years," May 18, 2016WBKO-13, "Attica Scott to run for Congress," July 7, 2021Spectrum News 1, "Rep. Attica Scott announces a run for Congress," July 8, 2021; Attica for Congress, "About," accessed February 16, 2022WDRB.com, "First day on the job for Judy Green's replacement," October 19, 2011;
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Kentucky District 3 in 2022.
Campaign advertisements
Morgan McGarvey
If you're aware of any ads McGarvey has released for this race, email us.
Attica Scott
If you're aware of any ads Scott has released for this race, email us.
Satellite ads
This section includes a selection of campaign advertisements released by satellite groups. If you are aware of other satellite ads that should be included, please email us.
Protect Our Future PAC
On April 27, 2022, Protect Our Future PAC announced it was endorsing 11 Democratic candidates and was spending $10 million in Democratic congressional primaries.[12] A selection of those ads in this race are included below:
April 21, 2022 |
April 21, 2022 |
Debates and forums
This section includes links to debates, forums, and other similar events where multiple candidates in this race participated. If you are aware of any debates or forums that should be included, please email us.
May 9 forum
On May 9, 2022, Kentucky Educational Television premiered the broadcast of a virtual candidate forum with McGarvey and Scott.[13]
News and conflicts in this primary
This race was featured in The Heart of the Primaries, a newsletter capturing stories related to conflicts within each major party. Click here to read more about conflict in this and other 2022 Democratic U.S. House primaries. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.
Election competitiveness
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.
General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[14]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[15][16][17]
Race ratings: Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022 | |||||||||
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Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
November 8, 2022 | November 1, 2022 | October 25, 2022 | October 18, 2022 | ||||||
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | |||||
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. |
Election spending
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[18] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[19] Click here to view the reporting schedule for candidates for U.S. Congress in 2022.
U.S. Congress campaign reporting schedule, 2022 | ||
---|---|---|
Report | Close of books | Filing deadline |
Year-end 2021 | 12/31/2021 | 1/31/2022 |
April quarterly | 3/31/2022 | 4/15/2022 |
July quarterly | 6/30/2022 | 7/15/2022 |
October quarterly | 9/30/2022 | 10/15/2022 |
Pre-general | 10/19/2022 | 10/27/2022 |
Post-general | 11/28/2022 | 12/08/2022 |
Year-end 2022 | 12/31/2022 | 1/31/2023 |
Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Morgan McGarvey | Democratic Party | $3,088,931 | $2,867,875 | $221,057 | As of December 31, 2022 |
Attica Scott | Democratic Party | $240,509 | $240,509 | $0 | As of September 30, 2022 |
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2022. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
Ballot access requirements
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Kentucky in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Kentucky, click here.
Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
Kentucky | U.S. House | Ballot-qualified party | 2 | $500.00 | 1/25/2022 | Source |
Kentucky | U.S. House | Unaffiliated | 400 | $500.00 | 6/7/2022 | Source |
District analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.
- District map - A map of the district before and after redistricting.
- Effect of redistricting - How districts in the state changed as a result of redistricting following the 2020 census.
- Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2022 U.S. House elections in the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
- Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
- State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
District map
Below was the map in use at the time of the election, enacted as part of the 2020 redistricting cycle, compared to the map in place before the election.
Kentucky District 3
until January 2, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Kentucky District 3
starting January 3, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Effect of redistricting
The table below details the results of the 2020 presidential election in each district at the time of the 2022 election and its political predecessor district.[20] This data was compiled by Daily Kos Elections.[21]
2020 presidential results by Congressional district, Kentucky | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
District | 2022 district | Political predecessor district | ||
Joe Biden ![]() |
Donald Trump ![]() |
Joe Biden ![]() |
Donald Trump ![]() | |
Kentucky's 1st | 27.9% | 70.6% | 25.5% | 73.1% |
Kentucky's 2nd | 30.8% | 67.5% | 30.6% | 67.6% |
Kentucky's 3rd | 60.2% | 37.9% | 60.0% | 38.1% |
Kentucky's 4th | 32.8% | 65.4% | 33.4% | 64.7% |
Kentucky's 5th | 19.7% | 79.1% | 18.6% | 80.1% |
Kentucky's 6th | 43.5% | 54.5% | 44.5% | 53.6% |
Competitiveness
This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Kentucky.
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Kentucky in 2022. Information below was calculated on Feb. 22, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
Thirty-one candidates filed to run for Kentucky's six U.S. House districts in 2022, including nine Democrats and 22 Republicans. This equals 5.2 candidates per district, the most candidates per district since 2014.
This was the first candidate filing deadline under new district lines adopted during the state's decennial redistricting process. Kentucky was apportioned six districts, the same number it received after the 2010 census.
One district—Kentucky's 3rd—was left open with Rep. John Yarmuth (D) retiring from politics. Yarmuth first won election in 2006 after defeating Rep. Anne Northup (R). The 2022 filing deadline marked the first time since 1994 that the district had been left open. The 3rd District drew the largest number of major party candidate filings overall: two Democrats and seven Republicans.
The remaining five incumbents—all Republicans—filed for re-election. Of those five, four drew primary challengers, the same number as 2020.
Eight of the 12 possible major party primaries (67%) drew more than one candidate leaving them contested. This represents more contested primaries than in 2020 and the same number as 2018.
Presidential elections
Partisan Voter Index
Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+9. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 9 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Kentucky's 3rd the 136th most Democratic district nationally.[22]
2020 presidential election results
The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.
2020 presidential results in Kentucky's 3rd based on 2022 district lines | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Joe Biden ![]() |
Donald Trump ![]() | |||
60.2% | 37.9% |
Presidential voting history
- See also: Presidential election in Kentucky, 2020
Kentucky presidential election results (1900-2020)
- 16 Democratic wins
- 15 Republican wins
Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winning Party | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | R | R | D | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Demographics
The table below details demographic data in Kentucky and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.
Demographic Data for Kentucky | ||
---|---|---|
Kentucky | United States | |
Population | 4,505,836 | 331,449,281 |
Land area (sq mi) | 39,491 | 3,531,905 |
Race and ethnicity** | ||
White | 86.2% | 70.4% |
Black/African American | 8.1% | 12.6% |
Asian | 1.5% | 5.6% |
Native American | 0.2% | 0.8% |
Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Other (single race) | 1.1% | 5.1% |
Multiple | 2.8% | 5.2% |
Hispanic/Latino | 3.8% | 18.2% |
Education | ||
High school graduation rate | 87.2% | 88.5% |
College graduation rate | 25% | 32.9% |
Income | ||
Median household income | $52,238 | $64,994 |
Persons below poverty level | 16.6% | 12.8% |
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020). | ||
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. |
State party control
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Kentucky's congressional delegation as of November 2022.
Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Kentucky, November 2022 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
Democratic | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Republican | 2 | 5 | 7 |
Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 2 | 6 | 8 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Kentucky's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.
State executive officials in Kentucky, November 2022 | |
---|---|
Office | Officeholder |
Governor | ![]() |
Lieutenant Governor | ![]() |
Secretary of State | ![]() |
Attorney General | ![]() |
State legislature
The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Kentucky General Assembly as of November 2022.
Kentucky State Senate
Party | As of November 2022 | |
---|---|---|
Democratic Party | 8 | |
Republican Party | 29 | |
Vacancies | 1 | |
Total | 38 |
Kentucky House of Representatives
Party | As of November 2022 | |
---|---|---|
Democratic Party | 25 | |
Republican Party | 75 | |
Vacancies | 0 | |
Total | 100 |
Trifecta control
As of November 2022, Kentucky was a divided government, with Democrats controlling the governorship and Republican majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.
Kentucky Party Control: 1992-2022
Eight years of Democratic trifectas • Three years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Governor | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D |
Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R |
2022 battleground elections
- See also: Battlegrounds
This election was a battleground race. Other 2022 battleground elections included:
- Arizona's 1st Congressional District election, 2022 (August 2 Republican primary)
- Georgia's 7th Congressional District election, 2022 (May 24 Democratic primary)
- Oregon's 4th Congressional District election, 2022 (May 17 Democratic primary)
- Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District election, 2022
- San Francisco Unified School District recall, California (2021-2022)
See also
- Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022 (May 17 Republican primary)
- Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022
- United States House elections in Kentucky, 2022 (May 17 Democratic primaries)
- United States House elections in Kentucky, 2022 (May 17 Republican primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2022
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2022
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2022
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2022
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ WLKY, "Minutes after Rep. Yarmuth announcement, Sen. Morgan McGarvey says he'll run to fill the seat," October 12, 2021
- ↑ Morgan McGarvey for Congress, "Why I'm running," accessed February 22, 2022
- ↑ NBC News, "Kentucky Elects First African American Woman to State Legislature in 20 Years," May 18, 2016
- ↑ Spectrum News 1, "Rep. Attica Scott announces a run for Congress," July 8, 2021
- ↑ Louisville Courier Journal, "Kentucky Rep. John Yarmuth makes his pick on who should succeed him in Congress," February 7, 2022
- ↑ Twitter, "BoldProgressives.org," November 22, 2021
- ↑ Higher Heights for America PAC, "Attica Scott for Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District," accessed March 4, 2022
- ↑ Facebook, "Future Generations," November 10, 2021
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Louisville Courier Journal, "McGarvey vs. Scott and more: What to expect from Kentucky's 2022 congressional elections," February 3, 2022
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," November 19, 2020
- ↑ In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
- ↑ Politico, "A new Democratic super PAC is endorsing 11 more candidates and spending $10 million in primary contests." April 27, 2022
- ↑ Kentucky Educational Television, "Third Congressional District Democratic Primary," accessed May 9, 2022
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ Political predecessor districts are determined primarily based on incumbents and where each chose to seek re-election.
- ↑ Daily Kos Elections, "Daily Kos Elections 2020 presidential results by congressional district (old CDs vs. new CDs)," accessed May 17, 2022
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "The 2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI℠)," accessed February 6, 2023