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United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2016

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2016 U.S. Senate Election in Kentucky

General Election Date
November 8, 2016

Primary Date
May 17, 2016

November 8 Election Winner:
Rand Paul Republican Party
Incumbent prior to election:
Rand Paul Republican Party
Rand Paul.jpg

Race Ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid R[1]
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe R[2]
Rothenberg & Gonzales: Safe R[3]

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2016 U.S. House Elections

Flag of Kentucky.png

Voters in Kentucky elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 8, 2016.

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated Kentucky's U.S. Senate race as safely Republican. Incumbent Rand Paul (R) defeated Jim Gray (D) and Billy Ray Wilson (Write-in) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Paul defeated James Gould and Stephen Howard Slaughter in the Republican primary, while Gray defeated six other challengers to win the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on May 17, 2016.[4][5][6]

Candidate Filing Deadline Primary Election General Election
January 26, 2016
May 17, 2016
November 8, 2016

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Kentucky utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.[7][8][9]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.


Incumbent: The election filled the Class 3 Senate seat held by Rand Paul (R). He was first elected in 2010.

Election results

General election

U.S. Senate, Kentucky General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngRand Paul Incumbent 57.3% 1,090,177
     Democratic Jim Gray 42.7% 813,246
     N/A Write-in 0% 42
Total Votes 1,903,465
Source: Kentucky Secretary of State

Primary election

U.S. Senate, Kentucky Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRand Paul Incumbent 84.8% 169,180
James Gould 8.3% 16,611
Stephen Slaughter 6.9% 13,728
Total Votes 199,519
Source: Kentucky State Board of Elections
U.S. Senate, Kentucky Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJim Gray 58.7% 240,598
Sellus Wilder 12.9% 52,729
Ron Leach 9.5% 39,026
Tom Recktenwald 5.3% 21,910
Grant Short 5.3% 21,558
Jeff Kender 4.9% 20,237
Rory Houlihan 3.3% 13,585
Total Votes 409,643
Source: Kentucky State Board of Elections

Candidates

General election candidates:

Republican Party Rand PaulApproveda
Democratic Party Jim Gray
Grey.png Billy Ray Wilson (Write-in)

Primary candidates:[10]

Democratic

Jim Gray - Mayor of Lexington[11] Approveda
Rory Houlihan[4]
Jeff Kender[12]
Ron Leach[4]
Tom Recktenwald[4]
Grant Short[4]
Sellus Wilder[4]

Republican

Rand Paul - Incumbent[4] Approveda
James Gould[4]
Stephen Howard Slaughter[4]


Race background

Rand Paul's dual candidacy

Incumbent Rand Paul (R) announced he would seek re-election to his U.S. Senate seat in December of 2014.[13] Paul also ran for the 2016 Presidential election. Kentucky law prohibits candidates from appearing twice on a ballot, meaning that if Paul became the Republican presidential nominee, he could not run for President and his senate seat simultaneously.[14] In March 2014, the Kentucky State Senate passed a bill that would have allowed Paul to run for both offices; however, the bill did not make it through the Democratic-controlled Kentucky House of Representatives.[15][16]

On August 22, 2015, state Republicans voted to switch from a presidential primary to a presidential caucus, allowing Paul to seek re-election and continue his presidential bid. The only condition was that Paul was required to transfer $250,000 to the state GOP to pay for the caucus, otherwise the state would revert to a presidential primary system.[17] Paul did provide the money as was agreed on September 18, 2015, making the party's switch to a caucus official.[18]

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes criticized the Republican Party's decision. She said, "It is unfortunate that today a few insiders were able to disenfranchise over 1.2 million Republican voters. One candidate should not be able to buy an election. Democracy demands that all eligible Kentuckians be a part of the election process. That didn't happen today and won't happen with a caucus."[17]

Paul ultimately suspended his presidential campaign on February 3, 2016, following the Iowa caucus.[19]

Endorsements

  • Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY): "I am proud to support my friend Rand Paul for his re-election to the U.S. Senate. Rand has been an irreplaceable partner in fighting for Kentucky priorities and Kentucky values. His innovative mind for conservative reforms that create jobs and get the economy working again is essential in the U.S. Senate as we seek to reverse Obama policies that have hurt Kentucky families.”[20]

Media

Jim Gray

Support

"American Dream" - Gray for Kentucky ad released April 2016

Opposition

"Gray and Clinton" - America's Liberty PAC ad attacking Gray, released June 2016

Election history

2014

See also: United States Senate elections in Kentucky, 2014

On November 4, 2014, incumbent Mitch McConnell (R) defeated challengers Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) and David Patterson (L) in the general election.

U.S. Senate, Kentucky General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMitch McConnell Incumbent 56.2% 806,787
     Democratic Alison Lundergan Grimes 40.7% 584,698
     Libertarian David Patterson 3.1% 44,240
Total Votes 1,435,725
Source: Kentucky Secretary of State

2010

On November 2, 2012, Rand Paul (R) defeated Jack Conway (D) and Billy Ray Wilson (I) in the general election.

U.S. Senate, Kentucky General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngRand Paul 55.7% 755,706
     Democratic Jack Conway 44.2% 600,052
     Independent Billy Ray Wilson 0% 338
Total Votes 1,356,096

Important dates and deadlines

See also: Kentucky elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Kentucky in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline Event type Event description
January 26, 2016 Ballot access Candidate filing deadline for candidates running in the primary election
April 1, 2016 Ballot access Deadline for independent, political organization and political group candidates to file statements of candidacy (federal candidates and municipal candidates of cities in the second to sixth classes)
August 9, 2016 Ballot access Candidate deadline for filing petitions, certificates, or statements
April 15, 2016 Campaign finance 32-day pre-primary report due
May 2, 2016 Campaign finance 15-day pre-primary report due
May 17, 2016 Election date Primary election
June 16, 2016 Campaign finance 30-day post-primary report due
July 16, 2016 Campaign finance 60-day post-primary report due
October 7, 2016 Campaign finance 32-day pre-general report due
October 24, 2016 Campaign finance 15-day pre-general report due
November 8, 2016 Election date General election
December 8, 2016 Campaign finance 30-day post-general report due
January 7, 2017 Campaign finance 60-day post-general report due
Sources: Kentucky State Board of Elections, "2016 Kentucky Election Calendar," accessed June 12, 2016
Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Candidate Reporting Dates," accessed June 12, 2015

See also

Footnotes

  1. Cook Political Report, "2016 Senate Race Ratings for July 11, 2016," accessed July 19, 2016
  2. Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2016 Senate," accessed July 18, 2016
  3. Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, "Senate Ratings," accessed July 19, 2016
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed January 27, 2016
  5. The New York Times, "Kentucky Results," May 17, 2016
  6. Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed September 6, 2016
  7. NCSL,"State Primary Election Types," February 06, 2024
  8. Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
  9. Kentucky State Board of Elections,"Key Information," accessed July 26, 2024
  10. Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.
  11. AP, "Democratic mayor to challenge GOP's Rand Paul in Senate race ," January 26, 2016
  12. Kender 4 Senate, "Home," accessed January 4, 2016
  13. USA Today Politics, "Rand Paul running for Senate and maybe president in 2016," December 2, 2014
  14. Washington Post, "In SOTU rebuttal, Rand Paul outlines 2016 vision," January 20, 2015
  15. Kentucky.com, "Kentucky Senate passes bill to let Rand Paul run for re-election and president in 2016," March 18, 2014
  16. CNN, "Dead for now: Kentucky bill allowing twin Paul 2016 runs," April 17, 2014
  17. 17.0 17.1 Kentucky.com, "Kentucky Republicans vote to give Rand Paul a caucus, if the money is there," August 22, 2015
  18. WPSD Local 6, "Kentucky Republicans confirm 2016 presidential caucus," September 18, 2015
  19. CN2, "Rand Paul suspends presidential campaign," February 3, 2016
  20. Rand Paul for U.S. Senate, 2016, "Rand Paul to Seek Re-Election to U.S. Senate," accessed December 19, 2014


For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
Andy Barr (R)
Republican Party (7)
Democratic Party (1)