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Elections in Kentucky |
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Government |
The 2026 United States Senate election in Kentucky will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Kentucky. Incumbent seven-term Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who was re-elected with 57.8% of the vote in 2020, has not announced whether he will run for re-election. Media sources have speculated that McConnell, first elected in 1984, may choose not to run for re-election in 2026, owing to his declining health and his decision to retire as Senate Republican Leader after the 2024 Senate elections. [1]
Kentucky is generally considered to be a Republican stronghold, having not elected a Democrat to the U.S. senate since 1992. Republicans control both U.S. Senate seats, all but two statewide offices, supermajorities in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly, and all but one seat in its congressional delegation in Kentucky's U.S. House congressional delegation. [2] McConnell was first elected in 1984 and was re-elected in six subsequent elections. [3] However, Democrats control the governorship and lieutenant-governorship which flipped from Republican control in 2019. [4]
The 2008 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 4, 2008. Minority Leader and incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell won re-election to a fifth term. Although Barack Obama lost Kentucky by a 16.22% margin to John McCain in the concurrent presidential election, McConnell more narrowly kept his seat with a 5.94% margin against businessman Bruce Lunsford. This was a greatly reduced margin from when he won re-election in 2002 with a 29.4% margin.
The Republican Party of Kentucky is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Kentucky and follows its nationally established platform. The party's headquarters is in Frankfort, Kentucky.
As established and defined by the Kentucky Constitution, the government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is composed of three branches: the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative.
The 1996 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell won re-election to a third term with a 12.6% margin of victory over Democrat Steve Beshear, who later successfully ran in 2007 and 2011 for Governor of Kentucky.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Kentucky took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Kentucky, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the six U.S. representatives from the state of Kentucky, one from each of the state's six congressional districts. The elections will coincide with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election. Primary elections were held on May 22, 2012.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Kentucky on November 3, 2015. All of Kentucky's executive officers were up for election. Primary elections were held on May 19, 2015.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held November 8, 2016 to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Kentucky, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held May 17.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Kentucky, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who had been Senate Majority Leader since 2015 and senator from Kentucky since 1985, won reelection to a seventh term in office. He faced off against former U.S. Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath and Libertarian Brad Barron.
The 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. The Democratic nominee, Andy Beshear, defeated Republican Incumbent governor Matt Bevin. It was the closest gubernatorial election by votes since 1899. It was the closest race of the 2019 gubernatorial election cycle.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 2019, in Kentucky and Mississippi, and on October 12, 2019, with a runoff on November 16, in Louisiana. These elections formed part of the 2019 United States elections. The last regular gubernatorial elections for all three states were in 2015. The Democrats had to defend an incumbent in Louisiana, while the Republicans had to defend an incumbent in Kentucky plus an open seat in Mississippi. Though all three seats up were in typically Republican states, the election cycle became unexpectedly competitive: Kentucky and Louisiana were seen as highly contested races; and Mississippi's race ultimately became closer than usual, despite being seen as favorable for the Republicans.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Kentucky on November 5, 2019, with all executive offices in the state up for election. Primary elections were held on May 21, 2019.
The 2024 United States Senate election in Indiana was held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Indiana. Republican congressman Jim Banks was elected to his first term, defeating Democratic psychologist Valerie McCray in the general election. Banks will succeed Republican incumbent Mike Braun, who opted instead to run for governor. This was the first election for this seat in which there was no incumbent running since 1958.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent Kentucky. Incumbent Republican Rand Paul won re-election to a third term, defeating Democratic nominee Charles Booker with 61.8% of the vote.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky was held on November 3, 2020, 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 the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky were held on November 8, 2022, 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.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Kentucky on November 3, 2020.
The 2026 United States Senate elections are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections, the winners of which will serve six-year terms in the United States Congress from January 3, 2027, to January 3, 2033. Senators are divided into three groups, or classes, whose terms are staggered so that a different class is elected every two years. Class 2 senators were last elected in 2020, and will be up for election in this cycle.
The 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2023, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. Incumbent Democratic governor Andy Beshear won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron. If Cameron had won, he would have become Kentucky's first African-American governor.
The 2026 United States elections are scheduled to be held, in large part, on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. In this U.S. midterm election, which will occur during Republican President Donald Trump's non-consecutive second term, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 33 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested to determine the 120th United States Congress. Thirty-nine state and territorial U.S. gubernatorial elections, as well as numerous state and local elections, will also be contested.