Kentucky election preview, 2024
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Last updated: Oct. 23, 2024
Thousands of general elections are taking place across the United States on Nov. 5, 2024. Those elections include offices at the federal, state, and local levels. This is one of 50 pages in which Ballotpedia previews the elections happening in each state as part of the Daily Brew’s 50 states in 25 days series.
This page provides an overview of all elections happening in Kentucky within our coverage scope on Nov. 5, 2024. Those elections include offices for six U.S. Representatives, 100 state Representatives, 19 state Senators, one state Supreme Court justice, one intermediate appellate court judge. There are also two statewide ballot measures on the ballot in Kentucky. On this page, you will also find information regarding:
- How to vote in Kentucky
- The elected offices that Kentucky voters can expect to see on their ballots
- The races in Kentucky that Ballotpedia is covering as battlegrounds
- The ballot measures that voters in Kentucky will decide on
- Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot Lookup Tool
- The partisan balance of Kentucky's congressional delegation and state government
- Past presidential election results in Kentucky
- The competitiveness of legislative elections in Kentucky
- The candidates who are on the ballot in Kentucky
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Kentucky
What's on the ballot?
2024 elections
- See also: Kentucky elections, 2024
Kentucky voters will elect will elect six U.S. Representatives. There are no open districts.
There are no state executive offices up for elections.
All 100 seats in the state House and 19 seats in the state Senate are up for election. There are 12 open seats in the House and four open seats in the Senate.
One Kentucky Supreme Court seat and oneintermediate appellate court seat are up for election.
Three Fayette County Public Schools school board seats and four Jefferson County Public Schools school board seats are up for election. These are among 475 school districts included in Ballotpedia's coverage of school board elections. This includes all school districts in the 100 largest cities by population and the 200 largest school districts by student enrollment.
Municipal elections will be held in the cities of Frankfort, Lexington, and Louisville.
Kentucky is one of 26 states where we are expanding our local election coverage beyond the nation's biggest cities, school districts, and state capitals. Including those mentioned above, Ballotpedia is covering 1,050 races featuring 3,237 candidates for offices such as local councils and other county-level positions.
Your ballot
- See also: Sample Ballot Lookup
Noteworthy elections
As of Sept. 26, 2024, Ballotpedia has identified one election as a battleground race. Battleground races are those that we expect to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in governments or to be particularly competitive or compelling.
- Kentucky Supreme Court elections, 2024: Pamela R. Goodwine and Erin Izzo are running in the general election for the Kentucky Supreme Court. According to Sabato's Crystal Ball's Louis Jacobson, Kentucky is one of five states—the other four being Michigan, Ohio, Montana, and North Carolina—to "have competitive supreme court elections this year with results that could shift the court’s ideological balance, at least to a degree."[1]
Ballot measures
- See also: Kentucky 2024 ballot measures
There are two statewide ballot measure on the ballot in Kentucky.
| Type | Title | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constitutional Amendment 1 | Prohibit the state and local governments from allowing noncitizens to vote |
|
1,208,898 (62%) |
727,515 (38%) |
|
| Constitutional Amendment 2 | Allow the state to provide funding for non-public education |
|
706,942 (35%) |
1,298,967 (65%) |
In Kentucky, a total of 26 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1985 to 2022. Seventeen ballot measures were approved, and nine ballot measures were defeated.
State analysis
Partisan balance
Five Republicans and one Democrat represent Kentucky's six U.S. House districts. In the U.S. House, Republicans have a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.
Both of Kentucky's senators — Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul — are Republicans. Democrats have a majority in the U.S. Senate. There are 47 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and four independents. Three independents caucus with the Democratic Party, and one other counts towards the Democratic majority for committee purposes.
Republicans have a 31-7 majority in the state Senate and an 80-20 majority in the state House. The governor is a Democrat. This makes Kentucky one of 10 states with a divided government. It has had this status since 2019 when Gov. Andy Beshear (D) assumed office, breaking the state's Republican trifecta.
Kentucky's attorney general and secretary of state are both Republicans. This makes Kentucky one of five states 5 where neither party holds triplex control.
Past presidential election results in Kentucky
- See also: Presidential election in Kentucky, 2024
How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
Following the 2020 presidential election, 74.2% of Kentuckians lived in one of the state's 116 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 24.5% lived in one of two Solid Democratic counties: Fayette and Jefferson. Overall, Kentucky was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Kentucky following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.
| Kentucky county-level statistics, 2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Republican | 116 | 74.2% | |||||
| Solid Democratic | 2 | 24.5% | |||||
| Trending Republican | 2 | 1.3% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 2 | 24.5% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 118 | 75.5% | |||||
State legislative competitiveness
According to Ballotpedia's annual state legislative competitiveness report, Kentucky had a Competitiveness Index of 27.4, ranking it 30th of the 44 states that held elections.
- 16 of the 119 seats up for election were open (13%).
- 26 of the 103 incumbents who ran for re-election faced contested primaries (25%).
- 52 of the 119 seats up for election were contested by both major parties (44%).
2010-2024
Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents.
| State Legislative Competitiveness Index in Kentucky, 2010-2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Open seats | Incs. in contested primaries | Major party competition | Competitiveness Index | Rank | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | 5.9% | 18.8% | 56.3% | 27.0 | 33 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 10.9% | 20.8% | 44.5% | 25.4 | 39 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | 9.2% | 13.9% | 49.6% | 24.2 | 32 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | 8.4% | 14.7% | 58.8% | 27.3 | 31 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | 17.6% | 19.4% | 84.9% | 40.6 | 14 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 14.3% | 12.7% | 57.1% | 28.0 | 35 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 17.6% | 31.0% | 45.4% | 31.3 | 31 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 13.4% | 25.2% | 43.7% | 27.4 | 30 / 44 | |||||||||||||||||||
In 2024
Hover over column headings to learn more about their contents. Click on headings for more state-specific information.
| State Legislative Competitiveness Index in Kentucky, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamber | Open seats | Incs. in contested primaries | Major party competition | Competitiveness Index | ||||||||||||||||||||
| House | 12.0% | 23.9% | 45.0% | 27.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Senate | 21.1% | 33.3% | 36.8% | 30.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 13.4% | 25.2% | 43.7% | 27.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
List of candidates
| candidate | office | party | status |
|---|---|---|---|
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Democratic | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Lost Primary | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Lost Primary | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | office | party | status |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Lost Primary | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 Adrienne Southworth Incumbent | Republican | Lost Primary | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Lost General | |
 | Independent | Won (Write-in) General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
 | Republican | Withdrew (unofficially withdrew) General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Lost Primary | |
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Republican | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Lost Primary | |
 Randy Bridges Incumbent | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Lost General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Lost General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Won General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Kentucky House of Representatives District 24 (Special election) | Republican | Won General |
Kentucky House of Representatives District 24 (Special election) | Democratic | Lost General | |
Kentucky House of Representatives District 24 (Special election) | Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Independent | Lost General | ||
 | Kentucky House of Representatives District 26 (Special election) | Republican | Won General |
| Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Republican | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Lost General | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Lost General | |
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 Rachel Roarx Incumbent | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Republican | Lost General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Republican | Lost General | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Lost Primary | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Lost Primary | |
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Republican | Lost General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Lost Primary | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Republican | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Disqualified General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 Marianne Proctor Incumbent | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Lost Primary | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Lost General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Republican | Won General | ||
 | Republican | Lost Primary | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
 | Republican | Lost General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Democratic | Won General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Republican | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Independent | Lost General | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Won General | ||
 | Democratic | Lost General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Lost Primary | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
 Lisa Payne Jones Incumbent | Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 2 (Special election) | Nonpartisan | Won General |
 | Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 2 (Special election) | Nonpartisan | Lost General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | office | party | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Won General | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
Nonpartisan | Won (Write-in) General | ||
Nonpartisan | Won (Write-in) General | ||
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Lost (Write-in) General | |
 | Nonpartisan | Lost (Write-in) General | |
Nonpartisan | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
Sarah Beth Sammons Incumbent | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
Nonpartisan | Lost Primary | ||
 Shayla Lynch Incumbent | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Lost Primary | |
 | Nonpartisan | Lost General | |
 Liz Sheehan Incumbent | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Nonpartisan | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Nonpartisan | Lost Primary | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Lost General | |
Nonpartisan | Lost Primary | ||
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
 | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
 | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
 | Democratic | Lost Primary | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
 | Democratic | Lost Primary | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Won General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Republican | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 Rick Blackwell Incumbent | Democratic | Lost General | |
Republican | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Lost General | |
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 Scott Reed Incumbent | Republican | Won General | |
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
 | Republican | Won General | |
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Republican | Won General | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Lost General | |
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
Jefferson County Public Schools Board of Education District 1 (Special election) | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Jefferson County Public Schools Board of Education District 1 (Special election) | Nonpartisan | Lost General | |
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Lost (Write-in) General | |
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Lost General | |
Nonpartisan | Won General | ||
Frankfort Board of Commissioners 4 seats | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Frankfort Board of Commissioners 4 seats | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Frankfort Board of Commissioners 4 seats | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Frankfort Board of Commissioners 4 seats | Nonpartisan | Won General | |
Frankfort Board of Commissioners 4 seats | Nonpartisan | Lost General | |
Frankfort Board of Commissioners 4 seats | Nonpartisan | Lost (unofficially withdrew) Primary | |
Frankfort Board of Commissioners 4 seats | Nonpartisan | Lost (unofficially withdrew) Primary | |
Frankfort Board of Commissioners 4 seats | Nonpartisan | Lost General | |
Frankfort Board of Commissioners 4 seats | Nonpartisan | Lost General | |
 | Jefferson County Family Court 9th Division (Special election) | Nonpartisan | Won General |
Jefferson County Family Court 9th Division (Special election) | Nonpartisan | Lost General | |
 | Jefferson County Family Court 9th Division (Special election) | Nonpartisan | Lost General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
See also
Footnotes
