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Kentucky

State facts

people (ACS)
4,534,824
House seats
6
president 2024
R +30.6
Democrat

Governor Andy Beshear

Senators: 2 Republicans. House members: 1 Democrat, 5 Republicans.

Districts

6 House districts (2024 lines), 38 State Senate districts and 100 State House districts. Each district has its own page: who holds it, who lives there and how it has voted.

Choose a district on the map or in the table. House districts follow the lines their members were elected on; state legislative districts are the ones drawn for 2024.

Kentucky: U.S. House, 2024 lines

6 districts

U.S. House, 2024 lines districts of Kentucky
Kentucky’s 1stJames ComerR753,9712022
Kentucky’s 2ndBrett GuthrieR765,6612022
Kentucky’s 3rdMorgan McGarveyD748,5222022
Kentucky’s 4thThomas MassieR762,3192022
Kentucky’s 5thHal RogersR742,6632022
Kentucky’s 6thAndy BarrR761,6882022

Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files (2025; 2026 lines from TIGER/Line 2026).

Notes

Districts are filled by the party of the officials on this site who hold them; a hatched district has no one here today or is shared by members of more than one party. “Lines since” is the first general election held on the district’s lines: results before it describe a different place.

Back to topNext: Who represents it

Who represents it

2 senators, 6 House members and a governor on this site, and 138 state legislators.

Each name links to the official’s profile: what they say, how they vote, their ideology and money.

Governor and senators

The House delegation

6 members, by district

The state legislature

Officials on this site by chamber and party

State legislators on this site by chamber and party
ChamberDemocratsRepublicansOthers
State Senate7310
State House20800

Back to topNext: Elections

Elections

2024 presidential vote: R +30.6. 34.0% Democratic, 64.5% Republican.

Results from Candidates in American General Elections (CAGE): certified from 1990 to 2024, and 2026 as it is counted (unofficial, from NYT and NBC reporting, until certified). Shares are of all votes cast.

U.S. Senate

2026

2026 general election: candidates by votes
CandidatePartyVotesShare
Andy BarrcalledR784,00055.0%
Charles BookerD611,98742.9%
Christopher CampbellOther29,8652.1%

Unofficial: about 99% of the expected vote counted; called by a network. Source: CAGE.

Earlier

  • 2022: Rand Paul (R) won by 23.6 points
  • 2020: Mitch McConnell Jr. (R) won by 19.6 points
  • 2016: Rand Paul (R) won by 14.6 points
  • 2014: Mitch McConnell Jr. (R) won by 15.5 points
  • 2010: Rand Paul (R) won by 11.5 points

Governor

2023

2023 general election: candidates by votes
CandidatePartyVotesShare
Andy BeshearwonincumbentD694,48252.5%
Daniel CameronR627,45747.5%

Certified results. Source: CAGE.

Earlier

  • 2019: Andy Beshear (D) won by 0.4 points
  • 2015: Matt Bevin (R) won by 8.7 points
  • 2011: Steven Beshear (D) won by 20.4 points
  • 2007: Steven Beshear (D) won by 17.4 points
  • 2003: Ernie Fletcher (R) won by 10.0 points

President

Statewide vote

Presidential vote in Kentucky by year
YearDemocraticRepublicanMargin
202434.0%64.5%R +30.6
202036.2%62.1%R +26.0
201632.7%62.5%R +29.8
201237.8%60.5%R +22.7
200841.2%57.4%R +16.2
200439.7%59.6%R +19.9
200041.4%56.5%R +15.1
199645.9%44.9%D +1.0
199244.6%41.3%D +3.2

U.S. House

Seats won and the statewide House vote

House seats and vote in Kentucky by year
YearD seatsR seatsD voteR vote
2026counting2443.9%53.9%
20241526.9%73.1%
20221533.5%65.1%
20201534.8%64.5%
20181539.0%59.6%
20161529.3%70.7%
20141536.4%63.5%
20121539.2%58.9%
20102437.4%62.3%
20082443.5%54.6%
20062448.0%48.8%
20041536.8%62.2%
20021532.1%63.4%
20001539.1%57.5%
19981541.5%58.0%
19961541.0%59.0%
19942440.3%57.5%
19924253.0%46.9%
19904346.3%52.0%

In 2026 the seats are the races called so far.

Back to topNext: Who lives there

Who lives there

4,534,824 people, by the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Each figure beside the nation’s; ± is the 90 percent margin of error.

Kentucky at a glance

ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimates

People

4,534,824

A Census Bureau estimate

Median age

39.1

±0.1 · United States 38.9

Median household income

$63,726

±$429 · United States $80,734

Race and ethnicity

Share of everyone; Hispanic or Latino people may be of any race, the other groups are not Hispanic

Show the data
Race and ethnicity: kentucky beside United States
PartKentuckyUnited States
White81.5%57.4%
Black7.5%11.9%
Hispanic or Latino5.0%19.3%
Asian1.6%5.9%
Another race or more than one4.3%5.5%

Age, schooling, income and place

Kentucky over United States; ± is the 90 percent margin of error

0%50%
Kentucky
United States
±
Aged 65 and over
17.3%
17.2%
±0.1
Bachelor’s degree or moreadults 25 and over
27.6%
35.7%
±0.3
Below the poverty line
16.1%
12.4%
±0.3
Born outside the U.S.
4.7%
14.1%
±0.1
Veteranscivilian adults
6.5%
6.2%
±0.1
Living in rural areas2020 Census
41.3%
20.0%
Show the data
Shares of people: kentucky beside United States
RowKentuckyUnited States
Aged 65 and over17.3%17.2%
Bachelor’s degree or more (adults 25+)27.6%35.7%
Below the poverty line16.1%12.4%
Born outside the U.S.4.7%14.1%
Veterans (adults)6.5%6.2%
Living in rural areas (2020 Census)41.3%20.0%

Source: ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates (Census Bureau); rural share from the 2020 Census.

About these figures

The figures from the American Community Survey are estimates from a sample, not a count. The ± beside each is its 90 percent margin of error: nine times in ten the true value lies within that range. In small districts the margins are wide, so a gap of a few points from United States may be noise. Shares are of everyone in the district, except education (adults 25 and over), poverty (people whose poverty status is known) and veterans (civilian adults).

These are the Census Bureau’s own estimates for the district; margins on shares are approximated from the counts’ margins.

The rural share counts the people living outside the urban areas the Census Bureau drew from the 2020 Census; it is a count, with no margin of error.

Back to topNext: Opinion

Opinion

What Kentucky’s adults think, estimated from the lab’s national survey.

Estimates for each state come from multilevel regression and poststratification (MRP): a model of every respondent’s answers by age, race, education, sex and their state’s 2024 vote, weighted to the state’s population. Rank 1 is the highest of the 51 states. See Public Opinion for the questions and the national trends.

Partisan animosity: Kentucky’s estimates
Partisan animosityKYRankMedian state
Feelings gap between the parties49.0 47.6–50.64851.8
Very liberal or very conservative26% 24%–28%1826%
MAGA Republicans46% 44%–49%3247%
Political violence: Kentucky’s estimates
Political violenceKYRankMedian state
Protesting without a permit29% 27%–30%3129%
Vandalism5.7% 5.1%–6.5%416.2%
Assault2.0% 1.5%–2.5%472.5%
Arson1.5% 1.2%–2.0%471.8%
Assault with a deadly weapon1.1% 0.7%–1.4%491.4%
Murder1.0% 0.7%–1.5%471.2%
Support for political violence (index)6.7% 6.1%–7.3%447.1%
Democratic norms: Kentucky’s estimates
Democratic normsKYRankMedian state
Censoring hostile media18% 17%–20%1717%
Governing by executive order29% 27%–30%3029%
Ignoring court rulings11% 9.6%–12%3412%
Party over election rules14% 13%–16%2514%
Cutting polling stations6.8% 5.7%–7.9%317.0%
Accepting norm breaches (index)16% 15%–17%2816%
Issues: Kentucky’s estimates
IssuesKYRankMedian state
The economy over the next six months32% 28%–37%3335%
The economy over the past six months27% 24%–31%1125%
Free speech is secure20% 16%–23%2320%
Amnesty for undocumented immigrants24% 22%–27%4930%
Deport immigrants here illegally59% 56%–62%651%
Immigration is good for America56% 52%–61%4565%
More manufacturing jobs50% 46%–54%1448%
New tariffs35% 30%–40%1933%
New tariffs, if prices rise32% 28%–36%1229%
Notes

An estimate is uncertain, especially in small states: the 95% interval shows the range. Ranks between states whose intervals overlap mean little. Estimates as of Nov 3, 2026.

Back to topNext: What its officials say

What its officials say

5.5% of Kentucky’s officials’ statements make personal attacks, against 4.7% nationwide.

An AI model reads each statement (posts on X, press releases, newsletters, floor speeches) and marks the kinds of statement it contains; a rate is the share of statements with that label, in the officials’ current terms. The Kentucky dashboard has the trends, topics and leaders.

Rates of each kind of statement in Kentucky and the nation
Kind of statementAll officialsMembers of CongressLegislators and governorNation
Personal attacks5.5%4.9%6.0%4.7%
Policy criticism16%22%9.9%16%
Policy discussion42%58%24%50%
Bipartisanship3.7%6.0%1.3%5.5%
Credit claiming17%25%8.2%19%
Extreme labels2.1%1.9%2.2%2.3%
Statements23,77612,23511,5411,724,578

Back to topNext: Lawmaking

Ideology and lawmaking

12,240 bills in the Kentucky legislature since 2019, 1,541 of them law (12.6%).

CSIP is the lab’s ideology score from roll calls, donations and text, on one scale for every official (0 is the centre of the scale, not “moderate” by definition). The legislature’s party gap is measured within each chamber from its own roll calls, in standard deviations of its members’ positions. See Bills for every legislature.

CSIP medians

By party and level

Median CSIP score by party and level
OfficialsMediann
D in Congress-0.841
D governor-0.751
D in the legislature-0.6627
R in Congress0.997
R in the legislature0.46111

Party gap in the legislature

Latest term, from roll calls

Party gap by chamber and term
Chamber, termGap (SD)Members
State Senate, 2025-20262.26131
State House, 2025-20262.13100
State Senate, 2023-20242.5744
State House, 2023-20242.25103

Bills

State legislature, 2019 on

12,240

bills introduced

1,541 became law (12.6%)

The most bills are on Health (15% of those with an area).

Back to topNext: Money

Money

23% of itemized gifts to its members of Congress came from inside Kentucky; 92% of itemized gifts to its state officials came from inside Kentucky (latest cycle).

Itemized donations are individual gifts over $200 a cycle, the only ones reported with an address; totals and shares count those only. Aggregates only: no donor is named.

Members of Congress

2026 cycle · 8 officials · $18.3M itemized

Where itemized donations came from
Donors inShare
Kentucky23%
California10%
Florida8.1%
Texas8.0%
Virginia4.8%

State officials

2026 cycle · 118 officials · $5.2M itemized

Where itemized donations came from
Donors inShare
Kentucky92%
Florida1.2%
Ohio1.1%
Connecticut0.7%
California0.7%

Back to topNext: Violence

Threats and violence

5 federal prosecutions for threatening officials in Kentucky, 16 threats or harassment of local officials since 2022, and 3 political violence events in the lab’s record.

Separate records, never added together: prosecutions the Justice Department announced (not every threat), the Bridging Divides Initiative’s record of threats and harassment against local officials, the lab’s record of political violence, the FBI’s hate crime statistics and the Crowd Counting Consortium’s protests. The Political Violence page has each record in full.

2.4

hate crimes per 100,000 (2025)

Agencies covering 100% of residents reported

230

protests in the last 12 months

2025-06 to 2026-05; 5.0 per 100,000

5

threat prosecutions announced

Justice Department press releases, 2010 on

Hate crimes reported to the FBI

Incidents per year

2001991: 0 incidents1992: 5 incidents1993: 13 incidents1994: 4 incidents1995: 81 incidents1996: 109 incidents1997: 48 incidents1998: 48 incidents1999: 71 incidents2000: 76 incidents2001: 83 incidents2002: 79 incidents2003: 81 incidents2004: 71 incidents2005: 46 incidents2006: 66 incidents2007: 48 incidents2008: 79 incidents2009: 153 incidents2010: 173 incidents2011: 157 incidents2012: 204 incidents2013: 172 incidents2014: 165 incidents2015: 188 incidents2016: 214 incidents2017: 380 incidents2018: 234 incidents2019: 148 incidents2020: 169 incidents2021: 135 incidents2022: 118 incidents2023: 140 incidents2024: 131 incidents2025: 109 incidents0380 in 201710919912000201020202025
Notes

Reporting is voluntary: a year’s count rises and falls with the number of police agencies that took part, not only with crime. Few agencies reported in the early 1990s, and in 2021 the FBI took reports only through its incident-based system (NIBRS), which many agencies had not yet joined. The Political Violence page has each year’s coverage.

Where people protested

Counties with the most protest events, last 12 months

Protest events by county
Jefferson County56
Franklin County29
Fayette County16
Madison County9
Warren County9

Crowd Counting Consortium (CC0).

Back to topNext: Files

Files and sources

Every figure on this page is in the bulk files and the data API.

The state facts file has one row per state and every series by year or month, with the state boundaries; the API serves this state at /v1/states/KY. Sources: the Census Bureau (people, boundaries), Candidates in American General Elections and MIT Election Data and Science Lab (elections), the lab’s survey, the FBI, the Crowd Counting Consortium, the Justice Department, the Bridging Divides Initiative and the Global Terrorism Database. Credits and terms are on Open data.

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