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 seats (all odd-numbered seats) were up for election. Republicans increased their majority in the chamber, gaining two seats.
A numbered map of the senate districts at the time can be viewed here.
Overview PartyCandidatesVotes%SeatsOpposedUnopposedBeforeWonAfter+/−Republican113532,20559.01281430+2Democratic94340,04237.701058-2Libertarian3020,9272.32000-Independent208,4230.93000-Write-in302680.03000-Total287901,865100.00381938±0Source: Kentucky Secretary of State
Retiring incumbents A total of three senators (two Democrats and one Republican) retired, none of whom ran for other offices.
Democratic 7th: Julian M. Carroll (Frankfort): Retired 37th: Perry B. Clark (Louisville): Retired
Republican 1st: Stan Humphries (Cadiz): Retired
Incumbents defeated One incumbent lost renomination in the primary election, and one incumbent lost reelection in the general election.
In the primary election Republicans One Republican lost renomination.
21st: Albert Robinson (first elected in 1994) lost renomination to Brandon J. Storm, who won the general election.
In the general election Democrats One Democrat lost reelection to a Republican.
29th: Johnny Ray Turner (first elected in 2000) lost to Johnnie L. Turner.
Summary by district Certified results by the Kentucky Secretary of State are available online for the primary election and general election.
† – Incumbent not seeking re-election DistrictIncumbent PartyElectedParty 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 Democratic Three districts voted for Donald Trump in 2016 but had Democratic incumbents:
District Incumbent # Trump margin ofvictory in 2016 Member Party Incumbent marginof victory in 2016 7 Unopposed 29 Unopposed 37 Unopposed
Republican None.
Closest races Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%: (gain) (gain)
Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political ReportOctober 21, 2020
Special elections District 31 special
Phillip Wheeler was elected in March 2019 following the resignation of Ray Jones II.
District 38 special Michael J. Nemes was elected in January 2020 following the resignation of Dan Seum.
District 26 special Karen Berg was elected in June 2020 following the resignation of Ernie Harris.
District 1 Incumbent senator Stan Humphries did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican Jason G. Howell. Republican primary Candidates Nominee Jason G. Howell
General election Results
District 3 Incumbent senator Whitney H. Westerfield won reelection, defeating Libertarian candidate Amanda Billings. Republican primary Candidates Nominee Whitney H. Westerfield, incumbent senator
Third-party candidates Libertarian party Amanda Billings
General election Results
District 5 Incumbent senator Stephen L. Meredith won reelection, defeating Independent and Libertarian candidates. Republican primary Candidates Nominee Stephen L. Meredith, incumbent senator
Independent candidates John Whipple
Third-party candidates Libertarian party Guy M. Miller
General election Results
District 7 Incumbent senator Julian M. Carroll did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican Adrienne E. Southworth. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Joe Graviss, representative from the 56th district (2019–2021)
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Adrienne E. Southworth
Eliminated in primary Cleaver Kirk Crawford Katie Howard Calen Studler Linda Thompson
Results
Independent candidates Ken Carroll
General election Results
Results by county County Adrienne E. Southworth Joe Graviss Ken CarrollMargin Totalvotes # % # % # %#%Anderson 8,862 68.20 3,744 28.81 388 2.99 5,118 39.39 12,994Franklin 10,731 41.45 13,562 52.39 1,594 6.16 -2,831 -10.94 25,887Gallatin 2,650 70.27 931 24.69 190 5.04 1,719 45.58 3,771Owen 3,994 74.72 1,163 21.76 188 3.52 2,831 52.97 5,345Woodford 6,950 46.04 7,805 51.71 339 2.25 -855 -5.66 15,094 Total 33,187 52.60 27,205 43.12 2,699 4.28 5,982 9.48 63,091
District 9 Incumbent senator David P. Givens won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Brian Pedigo. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Brian Pedigo
Republican primary Candidates Nominee David P. Givens, incumbent senator
General election Results
District 11 Incumbent senator John Schickel won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate James Fiorelli. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee James Fiorelli
Republican primary Candidates Nominee John Schickel, incumbent senator
General election Results
District 13 Incumbent senator Reginald Thomas won reelection, defeating write-in candidate Matt E. Miniard. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Reginald Thomas, incumbent senator
General election Results
District 15 Incumbent senator Rick Girdler won reelection, defeating primary election challenger Larry Sears Nichols. Republican primary Candidates Nominee Rick Girdler, incumbent senator
Eliminated in primary Larry Sears Nichols
Results
General election Results
District 17 Incumbent senator Damon Thayer won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Jason Stroude. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Jason Stroude
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Damon Thayer, incumbent senator
General election Results
District 19 Incumbent senator Morgan McGarvey won reelection unopposed. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Morgan McGarvey, incumbent senator
General election Results
District 21 Incumbent Republican senator Albert Robinson was defeated for renomination by Brandon Jackson Storm. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Walter Trebolo III
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Brandon Jackson Storm
Eliminated in primary Kay Hensley Albert Robinson, incumbent senator
Results
General election Results
District 23 Incumbent senator Chris McDaniel won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Ryan Olexia. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Ryan Olexia
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Chris McDaniel, incumbent senator
General election Results
District 25 Incumbent senator Robert Stivers won reelection unopposed. Republican primary Candidates Nominee Robert Stivers, incumbent senator
General election Results
District 27 Incumbent senator Steve West won reelection, defeating Libertarian and write-in candidates. Republican primary Candidates Nominee Steve West, incumbent senator
Third-party candidates Libertarian party Bryan Shumate Short
General election Results
District 29 Incumbent senator Johnny Ray Turner was defeated for reelection by Republican Johnnie L. Turner. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Johnny Ray Turner, incumbent senator
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Johnnie L. Turner, representative from the 88th district (1999–2003)
Eliminated in primary Matthew Wynn
Results
General election Results
Results by county County Johnnie L. Turner Johnny Ray TurnerMargin Totalvotes # % # %#%Floyd 6,097 37.50 10,161 62.50 -4,064 -25.00 16,258Harlan 8,431 78.49 2,310 21.51 6,121 56.99 10,741Knott 3,047 49.62 3,094 50.38 -47 -0.77 6,141Letcher 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 Incumbent senator Phillip Wheeler won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Glenn Martin Hammond. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Glenn Martin Hammond
Eliminated in primary Scott Sykes
Results
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Phillip Wheeler, incumbent senator
General election Results
District 33 Incumbent senator Gerald A. Neal won reelection unopposed. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Gerald A. Neal, incumbent senator
General election Results
District 35 Incumbent senator Denise Harper Angel won reelection unopposed. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Denise Harper Angel, incumbent senator
General election Results
District 37 Incumbent senator Perry B. Clark did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Democrat David Yates. Democratic primary Candidates Nominee David Yates
Eliminated in primary Katie Brophy Garrett A. Dean Di Tran
Results
General election Results
See also 2020 Kentucky elections 2020 Kentucky House of Representatives election 2020 United States Senate election in Kentucky 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
References