Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2022
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Kentucky's 4th 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 Republican Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican |
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 |
All U.S. House districts, including the 4th Congressional District of Kentucky, held elections in 2022. The general election was on November 8, 2022. The primary was scheduled for May 17, 2022. The filing deadline was January 25, 2022.
The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 118th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.
Republicans won a 222-213 majority in the U.S. House in 2022.
Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 32.8% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 65.4%.[1]
For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:
- Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2022 (May 17 Democratic primary)
- Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2022 (May 17 Republican primary)
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie defeated Matthew Lehman and Ethan Osborne in the general election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Thomas Massie (R) | 65.0 | 167,541 |
![]() | Matthew Lehman (D) ![]() | 31.0 | 79,977 | |
![]() | Ethan Osborne (Independent) ![]() | 3.9 | 10,111 |
Total votes: 257,629 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Matthew Lehman advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie defeated Claire Wirth, Alyssa Dara McDowell, and George Washington in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Thomas Massie | 75.2 | 50,301 |
![]() | Claire Wirth ![]() | 15.7 | 10,521 | |
Alyssa Dara McDowell | 5.2 | 3,446 | ||
George Washington | 3.9 | 2,606 |
Total votes: 66,874 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Voting information
- See also: Voting in Kentucky
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Survey responses from candidates in this race
Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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Matthew Lehman (D)
Invest in infrastructure
Invest in health care, including mental health and substance abuse

Ethan Osborne (Independent)
Kentucky's natural resources have been plundered by oligarchs like Mitch McConnell for 100 years. Our natural resources belong to all of us and I will work to nationalize them.
I am a secularist, pro 2nd Amendment, pro bill of rights, pro choice.

Matthew Lehman (D)
ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
INFRASTRUCTURE
VETERANS & AMERICA’S PLACE IN THE WORLD
HEALTHCARE & HEALTHCARE WORKERS
THOROUGHBRED INDUSTRY
Ethan Osborne (Independent)
I view addiction as a medical, not criminal issue. I support strong unions and workers rights. I am pro 2nd Amendment. I support universal health care. I support reparations for the descendants of African Slaves. I support universal basic income and student debt forgiveness. I am against income taxes on the working class. I believe we should not be the world's police and we should have a Swiss Style military, not an offensive corporate war machine.
I support green energy, localized organic agriculture and land reform.
Ethan Osborne (Independent)

Ethan Osborne (Independent)

Ethan Osborne (Independent)

Ethan Osborne (Independent)

Ethan Osborne (Independent)

Ethan Osborne (Independent)

Ethan Osborne (Independent)

Ethan Osborne (Independent)

Ethan Osborne (Independent)
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[2] 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.[3] Click here to view the reporting schedule for candidates for U.S. Congress in 2022.
U.S. Congress campaign reporting schedule, 2022 | ||
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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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thomas Massie | Republican Party | $1,105,339 | $976,631 | $248,092 | As of December 31, 2022 |
Matthew Lehman | Democratic Party | $304,094 | $298,074 | $6,020 | As of December 31, 2022 |
Alyssa Dara McDowell | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
George Washington | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
Claire Wirth | Republican Party | $461,113 | $461,113 | $0 | As of June 30, 2022 |
Ethan Osborne | Independent | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
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." |
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.[4]
- 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.[5][6][7]
Race ratings: Kentucky's 4th 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 Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | |||||
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. |
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 | ||||||
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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 4
until January 2, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Kentucky District 4
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.[8] This data was compiled by Daily Kos Elections.[9]
2020 presidential results by Congressional district, Kentucky | ||||
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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 R+19. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 19 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Kentucky's 4th the 44th most Republican district nationally.[10]
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 4th based on 2022 district lines | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Joe Biden ![]() |
Donald Trump ![]() | |||
32.8% | 65.4% |
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 |
District history
2020
See also: Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2020
Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Republican primary)
Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie defeated Alexandra Owensby in the general election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Thomas Massie (R) | 67.1 | 256,613 |
![]() | Alexandra Owensby (D) ![]() | 32.9 | 125,896 |
Total votes: 382,509 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Alexandra Owensby defeated Shannon Fabert in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Alexandra Owensby ![]() | 58.4 | 41,531 |
![]() | Shannon Fabert ![]() | 41.6 | 29,557 |
Total votes: 71,088 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie defeated Todd McMurtry in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Thomas Massie | 81.0 | 68,591 |
![]() | Todd McMurtry | 19.0 | 16,092 |
Total votes: 84,683 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie defeated Seth Hall and Mike Moffett in the general election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Thomas Massie (R) | 62.2 | 162,946 |
![]() | Seth Hall (D) | 34.6 | 90,536 | |
![]() | Mike Moffett (Independent) | 3.2 | 8,318 | |
Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 12 |
Total votes: 261,812 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Seth Hall defeated Patti Piatt and Christina Lord in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Seth Hall | 40.8 | 17,862 |
![]() | Patti Piatt | 37.5 | 16,442 | |
Christina Lord | 21.7 | 9,510 |
Total votes: 43,814 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Sayre O'Cull (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | ||
✔ | ![]() | Thomas Massie |
![]() | ||||
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Independent primary election
No Independent candidates ran in the primary.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Joshua Neace (Independent)
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Thomas Massie (R), the only Republican to file in the race, won re-election to his third term in 2016. He faced Calvin Sidle, the only Democrat to file, in the general election. The primary elections took place on May 17, 2016. The general election took place on November 8, 2016.[11][12]
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | ![]() |
71.3% | 233,922 | |
Democratic | Calvin Sidle | 28.7% | 94,065 | |
Total Votes | 327,987 | |||
Source: Kentucky Secretary of State |
Primary candidates:[13] |
Democratic ![]() |
Republican ![]() |
2014
The 4th Congressional District of Kentucky held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Thomas Massie (R) defeated Peter Newberry (D) in the general election.
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | ![]() |
67.7% | 150,464 | |
Democratic | Peter Newberry | 32.3% | 71,694 | |
Total Votes | 222,158 | |||
Source: Kentucky Board of Elections |
May 20, 2014, primary results
|
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2020 presidential results by congressional district, for new and old districts," accessed September 15, 2022
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed January 27, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Kentucky Results," May 17, 2016
- ↑ Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State Elections Division, "Candidate Filings," accessed January 29, 2014