2018 Kentucky elections

Kentucky state elections in 2018 were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, with the primary elections being held on May 22, 2018. ^{[lower-alpha 1]} These midterm elections occurred during the presidency of Republican Donald Trump and the governorship of Republican Matt Bevin, alongside other elections in the United States. All six of Kentucky's seats in the United States House of Representatives, nineteen of the 38 seats in the Kentucky State Senate, all 100 seats in the Kentucky House of Representatives, and one of the seven seats on the Kentucky Supreme Court were contested. Numerous county and local elections were also contested within the state.

In the United States House of Representatives, all six of Kentucky's incumbent congressional representatives won their individual elections. With 59.59% of ballots cast in favor of the Republican congressional candidates, the Republican party maintained its five-seat majority within the congressional delegation; Representative John Yarmuth of Kentucky's 3rd congressional district maintained his position as the only Democrat in the United States Congress from Kentucky. All six of Kentucky's incumbent representatives were reelected with at least 60% of the vote in their respective districts. Aside from the election in Kentucky's 1st congressional district, all incumbents were challenged by at least one Libertarian or Independent candidate, though no third-party candidates were able to obtain more than 2.5% of the vote.

In the Kentucky General Assembly, Democrats made a net gain of one seat, ^{[lower-alpha 2]} while Republicans maintained their supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature. As the office of governor was not contested in the 2018 elections, Republicans maintained their state-level trifecta established in the 2016 elections. As Kentucky's judicial elections are non-partisan, there was no change in the partisan makeup of the Kentucky Supreme Court.

While voter turnout in the United States as a whole reached its highest point seen in a midterm election since 1914, Kentucky voter turnout remained unaffected. With approximately 45.90% of Kentucky's 3.4 million registered voters casting ballots in the election, ^{[1] [2]} turnout as a percentage of registered voters remained unchanged from 2014 levels, although the total number of ballots cast did increase. ^[3]

During the campaign, Democrats focused heavily on public education and teacher pay, frequently attacking Republicans for their support of, among other issues, a controversial overhaul to Kentucky's teacher pension system. Republican messaging centered around a theme of maintaining their trifecta, with claims that a divided legislature would not be able to get anything done.

Congress

House of Representatives

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

In the 2018 elections, Democrats sought to take control of the United States House of Representatives for the first time since the 2010 elections. ^{[4] [5]} As all 6 of Kentucky's voting seats in the 435 member House of Representatives were up for election to serve two-year terms, the Kentucky Democratic Party sought to capitalize on an expected increase in voter turnout to take control of at least two of Kentucky's House seats. ^[6]

While nationwide the 2018 House elections saw the largest number of retirements by incumbents of any election cycle since at least 1992, none of Kentucky's incumbent Representatives chose to retire. ^[7] The lack of Republican retirements may have harmed Democratic prospects in the 2018 mid-term elections due to the incumbency advantage. ^{[8] [9]}

Kentucky General Assembly

Kentucky State Senate

Overview

2018 Kentucky State Senate election General election — November 6, 2018 [10]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Not up	Contested	Before	After	+/–
	Republican	468,530	57.93%	10	16	27	28	1
	Democratic	325,800	40.28%	8	3	11	10	1
	Independent	10,946	1.35%	0	0	0	0	0
	Write-Ins	3,454	0.43%	0	0	0	0	0
Totals		808,730	100.00%	19	19	38	38	—

District 2

Candidates

• Danny Carroll (Republican), incumbent state senator since 2014. ^[11]
• Julie Tennyson (Democratic), patent attorney from Paducah, Kentucky. ^[12]

Results

Kentucky's 2nd State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Danny Carroll (incumbent)	28,252	63.2
	Democratic	Julie Tennyson	16,428	36.8
Total votes			44,680	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

Candidates

• Dorsey Ridley (Democratic), incumbent state senator since 2006. ^[13]
• Robby Mills (Republican), former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives for District 11 from 2017 to 2019. ^[14]

Results

Kentucky's 4th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert Mills	19,057	50.64
	Democratic	Dorsey Ridley (Incumbent)	18,573	49.36
Total votes			37,630	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 6

Candidates

• C. B. Embry Jr. (Republican), incumbent state senator since 2014. ^[15]
• Crystal Chappell (Democratic), special education teacher from Drakesboro, Kentucky. ^[16]

Results

Kentucky's 6th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	C.B. Embry Jr. (incumbent)	27,139	67.2
	Democratic	Crystal Chappell	13,217	32.8
Total votes			40,356	100.0
	Republican hold

District 8

Candidates

• Matt Castlen (Republican), former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing District 14 from 2017 to 2018. ^[17]
• Bob Glenn (Democratic), three-term Owensboro City Commissioner. ^[18]

Results

Kentucky's 8th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Castlen	25,107	58.2
	Democratic	Bob Glenn	18,019	41.8
Total votes			43,126	100.0
	Republican hold

District 10

Candidates

• Dennis Parrett (Democratic), incumbent state senator since 2011. Senate minority whip since 2017. ^[19]

Results

Kentucky's 10th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dennis Parrett (incumbent)	24,224	100.0
Total votes			24,224	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 12

Candidates

• Alice Forgy Kerr (Republican), incumbent state senator since 1998. ^[20]
• Paula Setser-Kissick (Democratic), schoolteacher. ^[21]

Results

Kentucky's 12th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alice Forgy Kerr (incumbent)	26,874	50.7
	Democratic	Paula Setser-Kissick	26,102	49.3
Total votes			52,976	100.0
	Republican hold

District 14

Candidates

• Jimmy Higdon (Republican), incumbent state senator since 2009. ^[22]
• Stephanie Compton (Democratic). ^[23]

Results

Kentucky's 14th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jimmy Higdon (incumbent)	29,752	65.3
	Democratic	Stephanie Compton	15,842	34.7
Total votes			45,594	100.0
	Republican hold

District 16

Candidates

• Max Wise (Republican), incumbent state senator since 2014. ^[24]
• Nicole Britton (Write-In).

Results

Kentucky's 16th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Max Wise (incumbent)	33,447	96.7
	Write-In	Nicole Britton	1,125	3.3
Total votes			34,572	100.0
	Republican hold

District 18

Candidates

• Robin Webb (Democratic), incumbent state senator since 2008.
• Scott Sharp (Republican), retired senior special agent at the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command. ^[25]

Results

Kentucky's 18th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robin Webb (incumbent)	21,644	57.8
	Republican	Scott Sharp	15,823	42.2
Total votes			37,467	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 20

Candidates

• Paul Hornback (Republican), incumbent state senator since 2010.
• Dave Suetholz (Democratic), lawyer.

Results

Kentucky's 20th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Hornback (incumbent)	25,775	56.5
	Democratic	Dave Suetholz	19,829	43.5
Total votes			45,604	100.0
	Republican hold

District 22

Candidates

• Tom Buford (Republican), incumbent state senator since 1990.
• Carolyn Dupont (Democratic), professor at Eastern Kentucky University.

Results

Kentucky's 22nd State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Buford (incumbent)	28,537	66.0
	Democratic	Carolyn Dupont	14,629	34.0
Total votes			43,229	100.0
	Republican hold

District 24

Candidates

• Wil Schroder (Republican), incumbent state senator since 2014. ^[26]
• Rachel Roberts (Democratic), entrepreneur.

Results

Kentucky's 24th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wil Schroder (incumbent)	23,705	56.9
	Democratic	Rachel Roberts	17,958	43.1
Total votes			41,663	100.0
	Republican hold

District 26

Candidates

• Ernie Harris (Republican), incumbent state senator since 1994.
• Karen Berg (Democratic), diagnostic radiologist.
• Jody Hurt (independent).

Results

Kentucky's 26th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ernie Harris (incumbent)	29,625	51.8
	Democratic	Karen Berg	26,524	46.3
	Independent	Jody Hurt	1,078	1.9
Total votes			57,227	100.0
	Republican hold

District 28

Candidates

• Ralph Alvarado (Republican), incumbent state senator since 2014.
• Denise Gray (Democratic), educator with Fayette County Public Schools.

Results

Kentucky's 28th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph Alvarado (incumbent)	23,212	53.4
	Democratic	Denise Gray	20,291	46.6
Total votes			43,505	100.0
	Republican hold

District 30

Candidates

• Brandon Smith (Republican), incumbent state senator since 2008.
• Paula Celemons-Combs (Democratic).

Results

Kentucky's 30th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brandon Smith (incumbent)	27,747	73.2
	Democratic	Paula Clemons-Combs	10,151	26.8
Total votes			37,898	100.0
	Republican hold

District 32

Candidates

• Mike Wilson (Republican), incumbent state senator since 2010.
• Jeanie Smith (Democratic), social studies teacher.

Results

Kentucky's 32nd State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Wilson (incumbent)	20,803	52.3
	Democratic	Jeanie Smith	18,952	47.7
Total votes			39,755	100.0
	Republican hold

District 34

Candidates

• Jared Carpenter (Republican), incumbent state senator since 2010.
• Susan Byrne Haddix (Democratic).

Results

Kentucky's 34th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jared Carpenter (incumbent)	28,145	61.8
	Democratic	Susan Byrne Haddix	17,377	38.2
Total votes			45,522	100.0
	Republican hold

District 36

Candidates

• Julie Raque Adams (Republican), incumbent state senator since 2014.
• Sheri Donahue (Democratic).

Results

Kentucky's 36th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Julie Raque Adams (incumbent)	29,725	53.4
	Democratic	Sheri Donahue	25,977	46.6
Total votes			55,706	100.0
	Republican hold

District 38

Candidates

• Dan Seum (Republican), incumbent state senator since 1994.
• Brenda Sue Board (independent).
• Andrew Bailey (Write-In)

Results

Kentucky's 38th State Senate district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Seum (incumbent)	25,801	67.9
	Independent	Brenda Sue Board	9,868	26.0
	Write-In	Andrew Bailey	2,329	6.1
Total votes			37,998	100.0
	Republican hold

Kentucky House of Representatives

In the 2018 elections, Democrats sought to regain control of the Kentucky House of Representatives, which had been lost following the 2016 elections. All 100 voting seats in the House of Representatives were up for election to serve two-year terms. At the time of the election, Republicans held a supermajority of 62 seats to Democrats 37, with one vacant seat. ^[27]

The 2018 House elections saw fifteen of the state House's members retiring. Prior to the election, 7 House Republicans and 8 House Democrats had announced their retirement or resignation, with most declining to run for reelection in order to pursue higher office.

Overview

Kentucky House of Representatives election, 2018 [10] General election — November 6, 2018
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Republican	814,787	53.33%	61	1
	Democratic	700,379	45.84%	39	2
	Libertarian	907	0.06%	0	0
	Write-In Candidates	8,112	0.53%	0	0
	Independent Candidates	3,626	0.24%	0	0
Totals		1,527,819	100.00%	100	—
		Note: 1 seat vacant prior to election

Kentucky Supreme Court

The Kentucky Supreme Court is composed of seven justices who are elected in nonpartisan elections by voters. A full term on the court is eight years. Kentucky's nonpartisan judicial elections take place during its general elections. These are usually held in even-numbered years but can be held in odd-numbered years. While no Judicial terms were set to expire in 2018, an election was held for the 3rd Supreme Court district due to incumbent justice Daniel J. Venters announcing he would retire from his position in early 2019. ^[28]

District 3

A map of Kentucky's 3rd Supreme Court district (highlighted in red)

Candidates

• Debra Hembree Lee (Non-Aligned), former judge on the Kentucky Court of Appeals, representing the 3rd Appellate District, Division 1 from 2015 to 2018. ^[29]
• Daniel Ballou (Non-Aligned), chief circuit judge for the 34th Judicial Circuit in Kentucky, first elected in 2008.

Results

Kentucky's 3rd State Supreme Court district, 2018 ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Non-Partisan	Debra Hembree Lee	95,237	65.1
	Non-Partisan	Daniel Ballou	51,075	34.9
Total votes			146,312	100.0

Kentucky Court of Appeals

District 5, Division 1

Kentucky Court of Appeals 5th district, 1st division, 2018 ^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Non-Partisan	Pamela R. Goodwine	126,373	56.1
	Non-Partisan	Robert Johnson	98,861	43.9
Total votes			225,234	100.0

District 7, Division 2

Kentucky Court of Appeals 7th district, 2nd division, 2018 ^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Non-Partisan	Larry E. Thompson	64,551	53.9
	Non-Partisan	David Allen Barber	55,310	46.1
Total votes			119,861	100.0

Ballot Measures and Amendments

The Constitution of Kentucky does not provide for citizen-initiated ballot measures and referendums at the state level. Under the state Constitution, aside from Constitutional amendments, approval from the Kentucky General Assembly is required to put anything to a statewide vote. ^{[31] [32]}

• Senate Bill 3 - Results declared invalid by order of the Kentucky Supreme Court

  A Legislatively referred constitutional amendment which was a type of Marsy's Law, which would have added a new section to the Kentucky Constitution regarding the rights of victims accused of a crime. ^[33] The amendment appeared on the ballot, and was approved with 63% in favor and 37% opposed, however the Kentucky Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, barred Secretary of State Allison Lundergan Grimes from certifying the election results, declaring "Our constitution is too important and valuable to be amended without the full amendment ever being put to the public." ^[34] The ruling also stated, "We hold that Section 256 of the Kentucky Constitution requires the General Assembly to submit the full text of a proposed constitutional amendment to the electorate for a vote. Likewise, Section 257 requires the secretary of state to publish the full text of the proposed amendment at least ninety days before the vote. Because the form of the amendment that was published and submitted to the electorate for a vote in this case was not the full text, and was instead a question, the proposed amendment is void." ^[35]

• House Bill 10 - Failed to gain Legislative Approval

  The Kentucky Legislative Review of Administrative Regulations Amendment (also known as HB 10, or the phonetic acronym "Klara"), was a measure would have authorized the Kentucky General Assembly to establish a process to review any state executive administrative regulation and approve or disapprove the regulation. The measure would have allowed the legislature, or a committee established by the legislature, to review, approve, or disapprove regulations while lawmakers were in session or between sessions. ^[36] Proponents argued the amendment was necessary to ensure legislative oversight over the actions of the executive branch, while opponents argued the measure would violate Kentucky's Constitution, which only allows the General Assembly to make binding decisions while in session (a time-frame which is constitutionally confined to between January 1 and May 31, except in emergencies.) ^[37] Despite the opposition, the bill passed the House 68-22 (8 abstentions), but failed to receive a vote in the Senate. As the Amendment did not meet the required 60% threshold in both legislative chambers, it was not included on the 2018 ballot.

Notes

1. Some special elections were held on other dates.
2. Democrats won a net gain of 2 seats in the Kentucky House of Representatives, but lost one seat in the Kentucky Senate

References

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3. "Voter Turnout Kentucky 2014 Midterm election" (PDF). Kentucky Secretary of State. February 5, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
4. Leamon, Eileen J.; Bucelato, Jason, eds. (December 2017). Federal Elections 2016: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Federal Election Commission.
5. "What happens now that Democrats will retake the House". NBC News. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
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25. Adkins, Andrew (April 24, 2018). "3 Battling for state senate seat". The Daily Independent. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
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29. "Ky Court of Appeals Judge Debra Hembree Lee files to run for open Supreme Court seat". The Interior Journal. February 1, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
30. "Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2018".
31. "State by state listing of where they are used". Iandrinstitute.org. Archived from the original on February 11, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
32. "Kentucky". Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
33. "Senate Bill 3 Text". Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. January 16, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
34. Wolfson, Andrew (June 13, 2019). "Kentucky Supreme Court Strike down Marsy's Law". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
35. Cheves, John (June 13, 2019). "Kentucky Supreme Court strikes down Marsy's Law, says wording is too vague". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
36. "House Bill 10". Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. January 16, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
37. Latek, Tom (February 8, 2018). "Administrative regulations proposal passes house after debate over vote legality". Kentucky Today. Retrieved July 13, 2019.