The 2020 Kentucky Senate election was held on November 3, 2020. The Republican and Democratic primary elections were held on June 23. Half of the senate (all odd-numbered seats) were up for election. Republicans increased their majority in the chamber, gaining two seats.
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 out of 38 seats in the Kentucky Senate 20 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Results: Republican hold Republican gain Democratic hold No election Popular vote: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% >90% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A numbered map of the senate districts at the time can be viewed here.
Overview edit
| |||||||||||
| Party | Candidates | Votes | % | Seats | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposed | Unopposed | Before | Won | After | +/− | ||||||
| Republican | 11 | 3 | 532,205 | 59.01 | 28 | 14 | 30 | +2 | |||
| Democratic | 9 | 4 | 340,042 | 37.70 | 10 | 5 | 8 | -2 | |||
| Libertarian | 3 | 0 | 20,927 | 2.32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | |||
| Independent | 2 | 0 | 8,423 | 0.93 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | |||
| Write-in | 3 | 0 | 268 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | |||
| Total | 28 | 7 | 901,865 | 100.00 | 38 | 19 | 38 | ±0 | |||
| Source: Kentucky Secretary of State | |||||||||||
Retiring incumbents edit
A total of three senators (two Democrats and one Republican) retired, none of whom ran for other offices.
Democratic edit
- 7th: Julian M. Carroll (Frankfort): Retired.
- 37th: Perry B. Clark (Louisville): Retired.
Republican edit
- 1st: Stan Humphries (Cadiz): Retired.
Incumbents defeated edit
One incumbent lost renomination in the primary election and one incumbent lost reelection in the general election.
In the primary election edit
Republicans edit
One Republican lost renomination.
- 21st: Albert Robinson (first elected in 1994) lost renomination to Brandon Storm, who won the general election.
In the general election edit
Democrats edit
One Democrat lost reelection to a Republican.
- 29th: Johnny Ray Turner (first elected in 2000) lost to Johnnie L. Turner.
Summary by district edit
Certified results by the Kentucky Secretary of State are available online for the primary election and general election.
† – Incumbent not seeking re-election
| District | Incumbent | Party | Elected | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stan Humphries† | Rep | Jason G. Howell | Rep | ||
| 3 | Whitney H. Westerfield | Rep | Whitney H. Westerfield | Rep | ||
| 5 | Stephen L. Meredith | Rep | Stephen L. Meredith | Rep | ||
| 7 | Julian M. Carroll† | Dem | Adrienne E. Southworth | Rep | ||
| 9 | David P. Givens | Rep | David P. Givens | Rep | ||
| 11 | John Schickel | Rep | John Schickel | Rep | ||
| 13 | Reginald Thomas | Dem | Reginald Thomas | Dem | ||
| 15 | Rick Girdler | Rep | Rick Girdler | Rep | ||
| 17 | Damon Thayer | Rep | Damon Thayer | Rep | ||
| 19 | Morgan McGarvey | Dem | Morgan McGarvey | Dem | ||
| 21 | Albert Robinson | Rep | Brandon Jackson Storm | Rep | ||
| 23 | Chris McDaniel | Rep | Chris McDaniel | Rep | ||
| 25 | Robert Stivers | Rep | Robert Stivers | Rep | ||
| 27 | Steve West | Rep | Steve West | Rep | ||
| 29 | Johnny Ray Turner | Dem | Johnnie L. Turner | Rep | ||
| 31 | Phillip Wheeler | Rep | Phillip Wheeler | Rep | ||
| 33 | Gerald A. Neal | Dem | Gerald A. Neal | Dem | ||
| 35 | Denise Harper Angel | Dem | Denise Harper Angel | Dem | ||
| 37 | Perry B. Clark† | Dem | David Yates | Dem | ||
Crossover seats edit
Democratic edit
Three districts voted for Donald Trump in 2016 but had Democratic incumbents:
| District | Incumbent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Trump margin of victory in 2016 |
Member | Party | Incumbent margin of victory in 2016 |
| 7 | R+24.18 | Julian M. Carroll | Democratic | Unopposed |
| 29 | R+58.30 | Johnny Ray Turner | Democratic | Unopposed |
| 37 | R+5.54 | Perry B. Clark | Democratic | Unopposed |
Republican edit
None.
Closest races edit
Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:
- District 29, 6.80% (gain)
- District 7, 9.48% (gain)
Predictions edit
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[1] | Solid R | October 21, 2020 |
Special elections edit
District 31 special edit
Phillip Wheeler was elected in March 2019 following the resignation of Ray Jones II.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Phillip Wheeler | 6,188 | 52.3 | ||
| Democratic | Darrell Pugh | 5,649 | 47.7 | ||
| Total votes | 11,837 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | |||||
District 38 special edit
Mike Nemes was elected in January 2020 following the resignation of Dan Seum.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Nemes | 8,637 | 63.6 | ||
| Democratic | Andrew Bailey | 4,943 | 36.4 | ||
| Total votes | 13,580 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
District 26 special edit
Karen Berg was elected in June 2020 following the resignation of Ernie Harris.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Karen Berg | 24,771 | 57.0 | ||
| Republican | Bill Ferko | 18,705 | 43.0 | ||
| Total votes | 43,476 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
District 1 edit
Incumbent senator Stan Humphries did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican Jason G. Howell.
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jason G. Howell | Unopposed | |||
| Total votes | 40,128 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
District 3 edit
Incumbent senator Whitney H. Westerfield won reelection, defeating Libertarian candidate Amanda Billings.
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Whitney H. Westerfield, incumbent senator
Third-party candidates edit
Libertarian party edit
- Amanda Billings
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Whitney H. Westerfield (incumbent) | 29,640 | 78.4 | |
| Libertarian | Amanda Billings | 8,157 | 21.6 | |
| Total votes | 37,797 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 5 edit
Incumbent senator Stephen L. Meredith won reelection, defeating Independent and Libertarian candidates.
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Stephen L. Meredith, incumbent senator
Independent candidates edit
- John Whipple
Third-party candidates edit
Libertarian party edit
- Guy M. Miller
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Stephen L. Meredith (incumbent) | 43,385 | 82.0 | |
| Independent | John Whipple | 5,724 | 10.8 | |
| Libertarian | Guy M. Miller | 3,781 | 7.1 | |
| Total votes | 52,890 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 7 edit
Incumbent senator Julian M. Carroll did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican Adrienne E. Southworth.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Joe Graviss, representative from the 56th district (2019–2021)
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
Eliminated in primary edit
- Cleaver Kirk Crawford
- Katie Howard
- Calen Studler
- Linda Thompson
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Adrienne E. Southworth | 3,701 | 31.1 | |
| Republican | Katie Howard | 3,157 | 26.5 | |
| Republican | Calen Studler | 2,697 | 22.7 | |
| Republican | Linda Thompson | 1,952 | 16.4 | |
| Republican | Cleaver Kirk Crawford | 390 | 3.3 | |
| Total votes | 11,897 | 100.0 | ||
Independent candidates edit
- Ken Carroll
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Adrienne E. Southworth | 33,187 | 52.6 | |
| Democratic | Joe Graviss | 27,205 | 43.1 | |
| Independent | Ken Carroll | 2,699 | 4.3 | |
| Total votes | 63,091 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
District 9 edit
Incumbent senator David P. Givens won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Brian Pedigo.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Brian Pedigo
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- David P. Givens, incumbent senator
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | David P. Givens (incumbent) | 41,555 | 78.5 | |
| Democratic | Brian Pedigo | 11,356 | 21.5 | |
| Total votes | 52,911 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 11 edit
Incumbent senator John Schickel won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate James Fiorelli.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- James Fiorelli
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- John Schickel, incumbent senator
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Schickel (incumbent) | 46,463 | 70.4 | |
| Democratic | James Fiorelli | 19,496 | 29.6 | |
| Total votes | 65,959 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 13 edit
Incumbent senator Reginald Thomas won reelection, defeating write-in candidate Matt E. Miniard.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Reginald Thomas, incumbent senator
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Reginald Thomas (incumbent) | 36,345 | 99.8 | |
| Write-in | Matt E. Miniard | 55 | 0.2 | |
| Total votes | 36,400 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
District 15 edit
Incumbent senator Rick Girdler won reelection, defeating primary election challenger Larry Sears Nichols.
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Rick Girdler, incumbent senator
Eliminated in primary edit
- Larry Sears Nichols
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Girdler (incumbent) | 14,140 | 78.3 | |
| Republican | Larry Sears Nichols | 3,923 | 21.7 | |
| Total votes | 18,063 | 100.0 | ||
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Girdler (incumbent) | Unopposed | |||
| Total votes | 47,098 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
District 17 edit
Incumbent senator Damon Thayer won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Jason Stroude.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Jason Stroude
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Damon Thayer, incumbent senator
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Damon Thayer (incumbent) | 44,772 | 69.3 | |
| Democratic | Jason Stroude | 19,852 | 30.7 | |
| Total votes | 64,624 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 19 edit
Incumbent senator Morgan McGarvey won reelection unopposed.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Morgan McGarvey, incumbent senator
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Morgan McGarvey (incumbent) | Unopposed | |||
| Total votes | 50,867 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
District 21 edit
Incumbent Republican senator Albert Robinson was defeated for renomination by Brandon Jackson Storm.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Walter Trebolo III
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
Eliminated in primary edit
- Kay Hensley
- Albert Robinson, incumbent senator
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Brandon Jackson Storm | 6,875 | 38.7 | |
| Republican | Albert Robinson (incumbent) | 6,131 | 34.5 | |
| Republican | Kay Hensley | 4,756 | 26.8 | |
| Total votes | 17,762 | 100.0 | ||
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Brandon Jackson Storm | 44,099 | 82.4 | |
| Democratic | Walter Trebolo III | 9,447 | 17.6 | |
| Total votes | 53,546 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 23 edit
Incumbent senator Chris McDaniel won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Ryan Olexia.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Ryan Olexia
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Chris McDaniel, incumbent senator
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chris McDaniel (incumbent) | 32,188 | 57.7 | |
| Democratic | Ryan Olexia | 23,623 | 42.3 | |
| Total votes | 55,811 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 25 edit
Incumbent senator Robert Stivers won reelection unopposed.
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Robert Stivers, incumbent senator
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Robert Stivers (incumbent) | Unopposed | |||
| Total votes | 37,141 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
District 27 edit
Incumbent senator Steve West won reelection, defeating Libertarian and write-in candidates.
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Steve West, incumbent senator
Third-party candidates edit
Libertarian party edit
- Bryan Shumate Short
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve West (incumbent) | 38,370 | 80.7 | |
| Libertarian | Bryan Shumate Short | 8,989 | 18.9 | |
| Write-in | Yvonne Baldwin | 166 | 0.3 | |
| Write-in | Gene Barry Detherage Jr. | 47 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 47,572 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 29 edit
Incumbent senator Johnny Ray Turner was defeated for reelection by Republican Johnnie L. Turner.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Johnny Ray Turner, incumbent senator
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Johnnie L. Turner, representative from the 88th district (1999–2003)
Eliminated in primary edit
- Matthew Wynn
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Johnnie L. Turner | 3,552 | 69.9 | |
| Republican | Matthew Wynn | 1,527 | 30.1 | |
| Total votes | 5,079 | 100.0 | ||
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Johnnie L. Turner | 22,475 | 53.4 | |
| Democratic | Johnny Ray Turner (incumbent) | 19,612 | 46.6 | |
| Total votes | 42,087 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
Results by county edit
| County | Johnnie L. Turner | Johnny Ray Turner | Margin | Total votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Floyd | 6,097 | 37.50 | 10,161 | 62.50 | -4,064 | -25.00 | 16,258 |
| Harlan | 8,431 | 78.49 | 2,310 | 21.51 | 6,121 | 56.99 | 10,741 |
| Knott | 3,047 | 49.62 | 3,094 | 50.38 | -47 | -0.77 | 6,141 |
| Letcher | 4,900 | 54.77 | 4,047 | 45.23 | 853 | 9.53 | 8,947 |
| Total | 22,475 | 53.40 | 19,612 | 46.60 | 2,863 | 6.80 | 42,087 |
District 31 edit
Incumbent senator Phillip Wheeler won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Glenn Martin Hammond.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Glenn Martin Hammond
Eliminated in primary edit
- Scott Sykes
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Glenn Martin Hammond | 5,559 | 59.2 | |
| Democratic | Scott Sykes | 3,836 | 40.8 | |
| Total votes | 9,395 | 100.0 | ||
Republican primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Phillip Wheeler, incumbent senator
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Phillip Wheeler (incumbent) | 31,704 | 72.2 | |
| Democratic | Glenn Martin Hammond | 12,196 | 27.8 | |
| Total votes | 43,900 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 33 edit
Incumbent senator Gerald A. Neal won reelection unopposed.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Gerald A. Neal, incumbent senator
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gerald A. Neal (incumbent) | Unopposed | |||
| Total votes | 38,520 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
District 35 edit
Incumbent senator Denise Harper Angel won reelection unopposed.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
- Denise Harper Angel, incumbent senator
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Denise Harper Angel (incumbent) | Unopposed | |||
| Total votes | 37,358 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
District 37 edit
Incumbent senator Perry B. Clark did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Democrat David Yates.
Democratic primary edit
Candidates edit
Nominee edit
Eliminated in primary edit
- Katie Brophy
- Garrett A. Dean
- Di Tran
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | David Yates | 10,946 | 67.0 | |
| Democratic | Katie Brophy | 2,708 | 16.6 | |
| Democratic | Garrett A. Dean | 1,345 | 8.2 | |
| Democratic | Di Tran | 1,343 | 8.2 | |
| Total votes | 16,342 | 100.0 | ||
General election edit
Results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | David Yates | Unopposed | |||
| Total votes | 34,165 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
References edit
- ^ "October Overview: Handicapping the 2020 State Legislature Races". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 26, 2024.