Elections in Kentucky
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/United_States_presidential_election_in_Kentucky%2C_2016.svg/290px-United_States_presidential_election_in_Kentucky%2C_2016.svg.png)
Elections in theU.S. stateofKentuckyare held regularly.[1]Politics in Kentucky has historically been very competitive. The state leaned toward theDemocratic Partyduring the 1860s after the Whig Party dissolved. During theCivil War,the southeastern part of the state aligned with the Union and tended to supportRepublicancandidates thereafter, while the central and western portions remained heavily Democratic even into the following decades. Kentucky would be part of the DemocraticSolid Southuntil the mid-20th century.
Since 1952, voters in the Commonwealth supported the three Democratic candidates elected to the White House, all from Southern states:Lyndon B. Johnsonfrom Texas in 1964,Jimmy Carterfrom Georgia in 1976, andBill Clintonfrom Arkansas in 1992 and 1996. But by the 21st century, the state had become a Republican stronghold in federal elections, supporting that party's presidential candidates by double-digit margins since 2000. At the same time, voters have continued to elect Democratic candidates to state and local offices in many jurisdictions. As of April 2024, 46.25 percent of the state's voters were officially registered as Republicans, while 43.36 percent were registered Democrats, whose members tend to be conservative. Some 10.40 percent were registered with anotherpolitical partyor as Independents.[2]Despite the Democratic voter registration advantage, the state has elected Republican candidates for federal office routinely since the beginning of the 21st century.
From 1964 through 2004, Kentucky voted for the eventual winner of the presidential election each time, until losing itsbellwetherstatus in the2008 election.That year RepublicanJohn McCainwon Kentucky, carrying it 57 percent to 41 percent, but lost the national popular and electoral votes to DemocratBarack Obama.Further hampering Kentucky's status as a bellwether state, 116 of Kentucky's 120 counties supported RepublicanMitt Romneyin the 2012 election, who lost to Barack Obama nationwide.[3][4]
In a 2020 study, Kentucky was ranked as the 8th hardest state for citizens to vote in.[5]
Year | Republican/Whig | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 1,326,646 | 62.05% | 772,474 | 36.13% | 38,889 | 1.82% |
2016 | 1,202,971 | 62.52% | 628,854 | 32.68% | 92,325 | 4.80% |
2012 | 1,087,190 | 60.47% | 679,370 | 37.78% | 31,488 | 1.75% |
2008 | 1,048,462 | 57.37% | 751,985 | 41.15% | 27,140 | 1.49% |
2004 | 1,069,439 | 59.54% | 712,733 | 39.68% | 13,907 | 0.77% |
2000 | 872,492 | 56.50% | 638,898 | 41.37% | 32,797 | 2.12% |
1996 | 623,283 | 44.88% | 636,614 | 45.84% | 128,811 | 9.28% |
1992 | 617,178 | 41.34% | 665,104 | 44.55% | 210,618 | 14.11% |
1988 | 734,281 | 55.52% | 580,368 | 43.88% | 7,868 | 0.59% |
1984 | 822,782 | 60.04% | 539,589 | 39.37% | 8,090 | 0.59% |
1980 | 635,274 | 49.07% | 616,417 | 47.61% | 42,936 | 3.32% |
1976 | 531,852 | 45.57% | 615,717 | 52.75% | 19,573 | 1.68% |
1972 | 676,446 | 63.37% | 371,159 | 34.77% | 19,894 | 1.86% |
1968 | 462,411 | 43.79% | 397,541 | 37.65% | 195,941 | 18.56% |
1964 | 372,977 | 35.65% | 669,659 | 64.01% | 3,469 | 0.33% |
1960 | 602,607 | 53.59% | 521,855 | 46.41% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 572,192 | 54.30% | 476,453 | 45.21% | 5,160 | 0.49% |
1952 | 495,029 | 49.84% | 495,729 | 49.91% | 2,390 | 0.24% |
1948 | 341,210 | 41.48% | 466,756 | 56.74% | 14,692 | 1.79% |
1944 | 392,448 | 45.22% | 472,589 | 54.45% | 2,884 | 0.33% |
1940 | 410,384 | 42.30% | 557,322 | 57.45% | 2,457 | 0.25% |
1936 | 369,702 | 39.92% | 541,944 | 58.51% | 14,560 | 1.57% |
1932 | 394,716 | 40.15% | 580,574 | 59.06% | 7,773 | 0.79% |
1928 | 558,734 | 59.36% | 381,070 | 40.48% | 1,470 | 0.16% |
1924 | 398,966 | 48.93% | 374,855 | 45.98% | 41,511 | 5.09% |
1920 | 452,480 | 49.26% | 456,497 | 49.69% | 9,659 | 1.05% |
1916 | 241,854 | 46.50% | 269,990 | 51.91% | 8,225 | 1.58% |
1912 | 115,512 | 25.46% | 219,584 | 48.40% | 118,602 | 26.14% |
1908 | 235,711 | 48.03% | 244,092 | 49.74% | 10,916 | 2.22% |
1904 | 205,457 | 47.13% | 217,170 | 49.82% | 13,319 | 3.06% |
1900 | 227,132 | 48.51% | 235,126 | 50.21% | 6,007 | 1.28% |
1896 | 218,171 | 48.93% | 217,894 | 48.86% | 9,863 | 2.21% |
1892 | 135,462 | 39.74% | 175,461 | 51.48% | 29,941 | 8.78% |
1888 | 155,138 | 44.98% | 183,830 | 53.30% | 5,900 | 1.71% |
1884 | 118,690 | 42.93% | 152,961 | 55.32% | 4,830 | 1.75% |
1880 | 106,490 | 39.87% | 148,875 | 55.74% | 11,739 | 4.39% |
1876 | 97,568 | 37.44% | 160,060 | 61.41% | 2,998 | 1.15% |
1872 | 88,766 | 46.44% | 99,995 | 52.32% | 2,374 | 1.24% |
1868 | 39,566 | 25.45% | 115,889 | 74.55% | 0 | 0.00% |
1864 | 27,787 | 30.17% | 64,301 | 69.83% | 0 | 0.00% |
1860 | 1,364 | 0.93% | 25,651 | 17.54% | 119,201 | 81.52% |
1856 | 0 | 0.00% | 74,642 | 52.54% | 67,416 | 47.46% |
1852 | 57,428 | 51.44% | 53,949 | 48.32% | 266 | 0.24% |
1848 | 67,145 | 57.46% | 49,720 | 42.54% | 0 | 0.00% |
1844 | 61,249 | 54.09% | 51,988 | 45.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
1840 | 58,488 | 64.20% | 32,616 | 35.80% | 0 | 0.00% |
1836 | 36,861 | 52.59% | 33,229 | 47.41% | 0 | 0.00% |
Voter Registration[edit]
Voter registration and party enrollment as of June 15, 2021[2] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Number of voters | Percentage | |||
Republican | 1,593,476 | 45.40% | |||
Democratic | 1,529,360 | 43.24% | |||
Other | 333,058 | 9.36% | |||
Total | 3,560,376 | 100% |
Elections in Kentucky |
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Federal elections[edit]
US House[edit]
Elections to theUnited States House of Representativesare held biennially.
- 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
- 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
- 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
- 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
- 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
US Senate[edit]
Elections to the United States Senate are held every six years.
State elections[edit]
Gubernatorial elections[edit]
- 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election
- 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election
- 2015 Kentucky gubernatorial election
- 2011 Kentucky gubernatorial election
State legislative elections[edit]
- 2022 Kentucky House of Representatives election
- 2020 Kentucky House of Representatives election
- 2018 Kentucky House of Representatives election
- 2016 Kentucky House of Representatives election
- 2004 Kentucky House of Representatives election
- 2022 Kentucky Senate election
- 2020 Kentucky Senate election
See also[edit]
- 2020 Kentucky elections
- United States presidential elections in Kentucky
- Elections in the United States
References[edit]
- ^"Kentucky: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links - Vote.org".vote.org.Retrieved2020-10-03.
- ^ab"Election Statistics Registration Statistics".elect.ky.gov.RetrievedApril 1,2024.
- ^"2012 Kentucky Presidential Results".POLITICO.RetrievedJune 25,2016.
- ^POLITICO."2012 Election Results Map by State – Live Voting Updates".POLITICO.RetrievedJune 25,2016.
- ^J. Pomante II, Michael; Li, Quan (15 Dec 2020)."Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020".Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy.19(4): 503–509.doi:10.1089/elj.2020.0666.S2CID225139517.Retrieved14 January2022.
- ^Leip, David."Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Kentucky".US Election Atlas.RetrievedDecember 31,2009.
External links[edit]
- "State Elections Legislation Database",Ncsl.org,Washington, D.C.:National Conference of State Legislatures,
State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020