2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

←  2016 November 6, 2018 2020  →
All 6 Kentucky seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 5 1 Seats won 5 1 Seat change Popular vote 935,564 613,040 Percentage 59.59% 39.05% Swing 11.11% 9.77%
Election results by district Election results by county Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   >90% Democratic   50–60%   60–70%

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the six U.S. representatives from the state of Kentucky, one from each of the state's six congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.

Overview

Popular vote Republican   59.59% Democratic   39.05% Other   1.36%

House seats Republican   83.33% Democratic   16.67%

By district

Results of the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky by district: ^[1]

District	Republican		Democratic		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	172,167	68.59%	78,849	31.41%	0	0.00%	251,016	100.0%	Republican hold
District 2	171,700	66.72%	79,964	31.07%	5,681	2.21%	257,345	100.0%	Republican hold
District 3	101,930	36.57%	173,002	62.07%	3,788	1.36%	278,720	100.0%	Democratic hold
District 4	162,946	62.24%	90,536	34.58%	8,330	3.18%	261,812	100.0%	Republican hold
District 5	172,093	78.94%	45,890	21.05%	34	0.02%	218,017	100.0%	Republican hold
District 6	154,468	51.00%	144,736	47.79%	3,684	1.22%	302,888	100.0%	Republican hold
Total	935,304	59.58%	612,977	39.05%	21,517	1.37%	1,569,798	100.0%

District 1

2018 Kentucky's 1st congressional district election

←  2016 2020  →

Nominee James Comer Paul Walker Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 172,167 78,849 Percentage 68.6% 31.4%

County results Comer:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%

U.S. Representative before election James Comer Republican Elected U.S. Representative James Comer Republican

See also: Kentucky's 1st congressional district

Incumbent Republican James Comer, who had represented the district since 2016, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 73% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+23.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• James Comer, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Paul Walker, professor ^[2]

Eliminated in primary

• Alonzo Pennington, musician ^[3]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Walker	51,094	74.6
	Democratic	Alonzo Pennington	17,398	25.4
Total votes			68,492	100.0

General election

Results

Kentucky's 1st congressional district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James Comer (incumbent)	172,167	68.6
	Democratic	Paul Walker	78,849	31.4
Total votes			251,016	100.0
	Republican hold

District 2

2018 Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election

←  2016 2020  →

Nominee Brett Guthrie Hank Linderman Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 171,700 79,964 Percentage 66.7% 31.1%

County results Guthrie:     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. Representative before election Brett Guthrie Republican Elected U.S. Representative Brett Guthrie Republican

See also: Kentucky's 2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Brett Guthrie, who had represented the district since 2009, ran for re-election. He was re-elected unopposed in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+19.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Brett Guthrie, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Hank Linderman, musician ^[4]

Eliminated in primary

• Brian Pedigo, teacher and farmer ^[5]
• Rane Eir Olivia Sessions, veteran and former intern for William D. Ford ^[6]
• Grant Short pilot, businessman and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016 ^[7]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hank Linderman	14,516	30.0
	Democratic	Brian Pedigo	13,866	28.7
	Democratic	Rane Eir Olivia Sessions	10,501	21.7
	Democratic	Grant Short	9,470	19.6
Total votes			48,353	100.0

General election

Results

Kentucky's 2nd congressional district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Guthrie (incumbent)	171,700	66.7
	Democratic	Hank Linderman	79,964	31.1
	Independent	Thomas Loecken	5,681	2.2
Total votes			257,345	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3

2018 Kentucky's 3rd congressional district election

←  2016 2020  →

Nominee John Yarmuth Vickie Yates Glisson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 173,002 101,930 Percentage 62.1% 36.1%

County result Yarmuth:     60–70%

U.S. Representative before election John Yarmuth Democratic Elected U.S. Representative John Yarmuth Democratic

See also: Kentucky's 3rd congressional district

Incumbent Democrat John Yarmuth, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with %63 of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+6.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• John Yarmuth, incumbent U.S. Representative

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Vickie Yates Glisson, lawyer and former state health secretary ^[8]

Eliminated in primary

• Mike Craven, Ford worker
• Rhonda Palazzo, realtor

Withdrawn

• Waymen Eddings

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Vickie Yates Glisson	11,239	49.1
	Republican	Mike Craven	6,163	26.9
	Republican	Rhonda Palazzo	5,511	24.0
Total votes			22,913	100.0

General election

Results

Kentucky's 3rd congressional district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Yarmuth (incumbent)	173,002	62.1
	Republican	Vickie Yates Glisson	101,930	36.6
	Libertarian	Gregory Boles	3,788	1.4
Total votes			278,720	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 4

2018 Kentucky's 4th congressional district election

←  2016 2020  →

Nominee Thomas Massie Seth Hall Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 162,946 90,536 Percentage 62.2% 34.6%

County results Massie:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. Representative before election Thomas Massie Republican Elected U.S. Representative Thomas Massie Republican

See also: Kentucky's 4th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Thomas Massie, who had represented the district since 2012, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 71% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+18.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Thomas Massie, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Seth Hall, health insurance worker

Eliminated in primary

• Christina Lord ^[9]
• Patti Piatt, business executive ^[10]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Seth Hall	17,859	40.8
	Democratic	Patti Piatt	16,441	37.5
	Democratic	Christina Lord	9,509	21.7
Total votes			43,809	100.0

General election

Results

Kentucky's 4th congressional district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas Massie (incumbent)	162,946	62.2
	Democratic	Seth Hall	90,536	34.6
	Independent	Mike Moffett	8,318	2.2
	Independent	David Goodwin (write-in)	12	0.0
Total votes			261,812	100.0
	Republican hold

District 5

2018 Kentucky's 5th congressional district election

←  2016 2020  →

Nominee Hal Rogers Kenneth Stepp Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 172,093 45,890 Percentage 78.9% 21.0%

County results Rogers:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%

U.S. Representative before election Hal Rogers Republican Elected U.S. Representative Hal Rogers Republican

See also: Kentucky's 5th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Hal Rogers, who had represented the district since 1981, ran for re-election. He was re-elected unopposed in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+31.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Hal Rogers, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Gerardo Serrano

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Hal Rogers (incumbent)	75,405	84.2
	Republican	Gerardo Serrano	14,177	15.8
Total votes			89,582	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Kenneth Stepp, attorney

Eliminated in primary

• Scott Sykes

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kenneth Stepp	33,584	58.7
	Democratic	Scott Sykes	23,637	41.3
Total votes			57,221	100.0

General election

Results

Kentucky's 5th congressional district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Hal Rogers (incumbent)	172,093	78.9
	Democratic	Kenneth Stepp	45,890	21.0
	Independent	Bill Ray (write-in)	34	0.1
Total votes			218,017	100.0

District 6

2018 Kentucky's 6th congressional district election

←  2016 2020  →

Nominee Andy Barr Amy McGrath Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 154,468 144,736 Percentage 51.0% 47.8%

County results Barr:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% McGrath:     50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Andy Barr Republican Elected U.S. Representative Andy Barr Republican

See also: Kentucky's 6th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Andy Barr, who had represented the district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 61% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+9.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Andy Barr, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Chuck Eddy

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Andy Barr (incumbent)	40,514	83.8
	Republican	Chuck Eddy	7,858	16.2
Total votes			48,372	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Amy McGrath, retired U.S. Marine fighter pilot ^[11]

Eliminated in primary

• Jim Gray, Mayor of Lexington and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2016 ^[12]
• Theodore Green ^[13]
• Daniel Kemph, business analyst
• Reggie Thomas, state senator ^[14]
• Geoff Young, perennial candidate ^[15]

Campaign

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee included Kentucky's 6th congressional district on its initial list of Republican-held seats considered targets in 2018. ^{[16] [17]} McGrath's campaign announcement video, entitled "Told Me" where she spoke of her navy service (being the first female Marine to fly an McDonnell Douglas F/F-18 in combat), attracted much national attention. ^{[18] [19] [20]}

The DCCC opted to support Jim Gray in the primary. ^{[21] [22]}

Endorsements

Jim Gray

Labor unions

• United Steelworkers ^[23]

Organizations

• LGBTQ Victory Fund ^[24]

Newspapers

• Lexington Herald-Leader ^[25]

Amy McGrath

U.S. Senators

• Kirsten Gillibrand, former U.S. Senator from New York (2009–present) ^[26]

U.S. Representatives

• Seth Moulton, U.S. representative from Massachusetts's 6th congressional district (2015–present) ^[27]

Organizations

• VoteVets ^[28]
• With Honor ^[29]

Reggie Thomas

Individuals

• Nancy Jo Kemper, former executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches and nominee for this seat in 2016

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jim Gray	Amy McGrath	Reggie Thomas	Other	Undecided
Garin Hart Yang (D-McGrath) [30]	April 17–19, 2018	400	±5.0%	35%	42%	6%	3%	14%
Mellman Group (D-Gray) [31]	March 3–6, 2018	400	±4.9%	52%	19%	6%	—	23%

Results

County results

Map legend

•   McGrath—60–70%
•   McGrath—50–60%
•   McGrath—40–50%
•   Gray—50–60%

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Amy McGrath	48,859	48.7
	Democratic	Jim Gray	40,684	40.5
	Democratic	Reggie Thomas	7,226	7.2
	Democratic	Geoff Young	1,574	1.6
	Democratic	Daniel Kemph	1,240	1.2
	Democratic	Theodore Green	835	0.8
Total votes			100,418	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Andy Barr (R)

U.S. Executive Branch officials

• Donald Trump, President of the United States ^[32]

Amy McGrath (D)

U.S. Senators

• Kirsten Gillibrand, former U.S. Senator from New York (2009–present) ^[26]

U.S. Representatives

• Seth Moulton, U.S. representative from Massachusetts's 6th congressional district (2015–present) ^[27]

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program ^[33]
• VoteVets ^[28]
• With Honor ^[29]

Polling

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Andy Barr (R)	Amy McGrath (D)	Other	Undecided
NYT Upshot/Siena College [34]	November 1–4, 2018	438	± 4.9%	44%	44%	2%	10%
Public Opinion Strategies (R-Barr) [35]	October 6–8, 2018	400	± 4.9%	48%	46%	–	–
Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group (D-McGrath) [36]	September 30 – October 2, 2018	501	± 4.5%	44%	51%	–	–
Pulse Opinion Research [37]	September 12–17, 2018	600	± 4.0%	47%	47%	2%	3%
NYT Upshot/Siena College [38]	September 6–8, 2018	506	± 4.9%	47%	46%	–	7%
Fabrizio, Lee & Associates (R-CLF) [39]	September 4–6, 2018	400	± 4.9%	49%	45%	–	6%
Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group (D-McGrath) [40]	July 7–10, 2018	461	± 4.6%	43%	50%	–	7%
Fabrizio, Lee & Associates (R-CLF) [39]	June 6–7, 2018	400	± 4.9%	38%	51%	–	11%
DCCC (D) [41]	April 30–May 2, 2018	508	± 4.4%	37%	52%	–	8%
Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group (D-McGrath) [42]	February 5–7, 2018	401	± 5.0%	48%	44%	–	–

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Andy Barr (R)	Generic Democrat	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [43]	February 12–13, 2018	662	± 3.8%	42%	44%	–	14%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [44]	Tossup	November 5, 2018
Inside Elections [45]	Tossup	November 5, 2018
Sabato's Crystal Ball [46]	Lean R	November 5, 2018
RCP [47]	Tossup	November 5, 2018
Daily Kos [48]	Tossup	November 5, 2018
538 [49]	Tossup	November 7, 2018

Results

Kentucky's 6th congressional district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Andy Barr (incumbent)	154,468	51.0
	Democratic	Amy McGrath	144,736	47.8
	Libertarian	Frank Harris	2,150	0.7
	Independent	Rikka Wallin	1,011	0.3
	Independent	James Germalic	523	0.2
Total votes			302,890	100.0
	Republican hold

See also

• 2018 Kentucky House of Representatives election

References

1. Johnson, Cheryl L. (February 28, 2019). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 2018". Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives . Retrieved April 27, 2019.
2. reports, New Era staff. "Murray man to run for congress, challenge Comer". Kentucky New Era. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
3. "Can Alonzo Pennington Thumbpick His Way into Congress?". LA Progressive. March 10, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
4. "Hank Linderman running for Congress". TRISTATEHOMEPAGE. January 31, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
5. "Danville hosts first public forum for Democratic congressional candidates | The Advocate-Messenger". www.amnews.com. February 22, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
6. By, WES SWIETEK. "Third Democrat files to challenge Guthrie". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
7. "Four good Democratic candidates for Kentucky's Second District | The Advocate-Messenger". www.amnews.com. February 24, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
8. "Kentucky Health Official Running for Congress | NewsRadio 840 WHAS". NewsRadio 840 WHAS. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
9. "Here is the list of candidates for 4th Congressional District and KY House, Senate, from the region | NKyTribune". www.nkytribune.com. January 31, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
10. "Massie Challenger Looks to Paint a Red District Blue". CityBeat Cincinnati. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
11. "McGrath will launch first campaign commercial during UK basketball game". Spectrum News. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
12. Arroyo, Emilie. "Lexington mayor Jim Gray files to run for Congress" . Retrieved April 14, 2018.
13. "Theodore David Green". Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
14. Staff, WKYT News. "State Senator Reggie Thomas to run for Congress" . Retrieved April 14, 2018.
15. "Geoff Young continues suit against Kentucky Democratic Party, even as he seeks its nomination | The State Journal". www.state-journal.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
16. Cheney, Kyle (January 30, 2017). "Amid Democratic doldrums, DCCC identifies 2018 targets". Politico . Retrieved February 11, 2017.
17. Sena, Dan (January 30, 2017). "House Democrats Playing Offense" (PDF). Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee . Retrieved February 11, 2017.
18. Kurtzleben, Danielle (August 3, 2017). "Female Retired Marine With Viral Campaign Ad Hopes To Bridge Gap In Democratic Party". NPR .
19. Desrochers, Daniel (June 19, 2017). "His blog inflamed Kentucky politics a decade ago. Now he's back". Lexington Herald-Leader .
20. Puckett, Jeffrey Lee (August 3, 2017). "Kentucky combat veteran Amy McGrath is going viral with a video announcing Congressional run". The Courier-Journal .
21. Murphy, Tim (May 22, 2018). "As a kid, she petitioned Congress for the right to fly fighter planes. Now she's gunning for a seat of her own". Mother Jones .
22. Tackett, Michael (January 29, 2018). "From Annapolis to Congress? These Three Women Know Tough Missions". The New York Times .
23. "United Steelworkers Endorse Jim Gray for Congress". jimgraycongress.co. Jim Gray for Congress. April 18, 2018. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
24. Elliot Imse (January 23, 2018). "23 more LGBTQ champions for equality endorsed by Victory Fund". victoryfund.org/. Victory Fund PAC. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
25. Herald-Leader editorial board (May 13, 2018). "Jim Gray for 6th District Democrats". kentucky.com. Lexington Herald-Leader. Archived from the original on May 13, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
26. Bradner, Eric (May 21, 2018). "Democratic primary in Kentucky pits openly gay mayor against female fighter pilot". CNN .
27. Roarty, Alex (August 9, 2017). "Rising Dem star Moulton grants seal of approval to three House candidates". The News & Observer .
28. "VoteVets PAC Endorses Amy McGrath for Congress". VoteVets.org . Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
29. "Our Candidates: Amy McGrath KY-6 (D)". With Honor. Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
30. Garin Hart Yang (D-McGrath)
31. Mellman Group (D-Gray)
32. Donald J. Trump. "Heading to the Great State of Kentucky - Big Rally for Congressman Andy Barr - Fantastic guy, need his vote for MAGA! Strong on Crime, Tax Cuts, Military, Vets & 2nd A. His opponent will NEVER vote for us, only for Pelosi. Andy has my Strongest Endorsement!!! See you in Kentucky". Twitter.
33. "Red to Blue". dccc.org/. DCCC. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
34. NYT Upshot/Siena College
35. Public Opinion Strategies (R-Barr)
36. Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group (D-McGrath) Archived October 4, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
37. Pulse Opinion Research
38. NYT Upshot/Siena College
39. Fabrizio, Lee & Associates (R-CLF)
40. Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group (D-McGrath)
41. DCCC (D)
42. Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group (D-McGrath)
43. Public Policy Polling (D)
44. "2018 House Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
45. "2018 House Ratings". The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
46. "2018 House". Sabato's Crystal Ball . Retrieved November 5, 2018.
47. "Battle for the House 2018". RCP. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
48. "Daily Kos Elections 2018 race ratings". Daily Kos . Retrieved November 5, 2018.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
49. Silver, Nate (August 16, 2018). "2018 House Forecast". FiveThirtyEight . Retrieved November 6, 2018.

External links

• Candidates at Vote Smart
• Candidates at Ballotpedia
• Campaign finance at FEC
• Campaign finance at OpenSecrets
• Campaigns at Curlie

Official campaign websites District 1 Paul Walker (D) for Congress James Comer (R) for Congress District 2 Hank Linderman (D) for Congress Brett Guthrie (R) for Congress District 3 John Yarmuth (D) for Congress Vickie Yates Glisson (R) for Congress District 4 Seth Hall (D) for Congress Thomas Massie (R) for Congress David Goodwin (I) for Congress District 5 Hal Rogers (R) for Congress Kenneth Stepp (D) for Congress District 6 Andy Barr (R) for Congress Amy McGrath (D) for Congress Frank Harris (L) for Congress