2014 Kentucky Senate election

2014 Kentucky Senate election
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% >90% ; 60–70% >90%
Senate President before election; Robert Stivers; Republican	Elected Senate President ; Robert Stivers; Republican

The 2014 Kentucky Senate election was held on November 4, 2014. The Republican and Democratic primary elections were held on May 20. Half of the senate (all even-numbered seats) were up for election. Republicans increased their majority in the chamber, gaining three seats.

A numbered map of the senate districts at the time can be viewed here.

Overview

Party		Candidates		Votes	%	Seats

Party		Opposed	Unopposed	Votes	%	Before	Won	After	+/−
	Republican	9	8	444,656	70.06	23	16	26	+3
	Democratic	9	2	190,052	29.94	14	3	12	-2
	Independent	0	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	-1
Total		18	10	634,708	100.00	38	19	38	±0
Source: Kentucky Secretary of State

Retiring incumbents

A total of four senators (one Democrat, two Republicans, and one independent) retired, one of whom ran for another office.^[1]

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.

16th: Sara Beth Gregory (elected in December 2012) lost renomination to George Maxwell "Max" Wise, who won the general election.^[2]

In the general election

Democrats

One Democrat lost reelection to a Republican.

28th: R. J. Palmer II (first elected in 2001) lost to Ralph Alvarado.^[3]

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

District	Incumbent		Elected
2	Robert J. "Bob" Leeper†	Ind	Danny Carroll	Rep
4	J. Dorsey Ridley	Dem	J. Dorsey Ridley	Dem
6	Jerry P. Rhoads†	Dem	C. B. Embry Jr.	Rep
8	Joe Bowen	Rep	Joe Bowen	Rep
10	Dennis L. Parrett	Dem	Dennis L. Parrett	Dem
12	Alice Forgy Kerr	Rep	Alice Forgy Kerr	Rep
14	Jimmy Higdon	Rep	Jimmy Higdon	Rep
16	Sara Beth Gregory	Rep	George Maxwell "Max" Wise	Rep
18	Robin Webb	Dem	Robin Webb	Dem
20	Paul R. Hornback	Rep	Paul R. Hornback	Rep
22	Tom Buford	Rep	Tom Buford	Rep
24	Katie Kratz Stine†	Rep	Wil Schroder	Rep
26	Ernie Harris	Rep	Ernie Harris	Rep
28	R. J. Palmer II	Dem	Ralph Alvarado	Rep
30	Brandon D. Smith	Rep	Brandon D. Smith	Rep
32	Mike Wilson	Rep	Mike Wilson	Rep
34	Jared K. Carpenter	Rep	Jared K. Carpenter	Rep
36	Julie Carman Denton†	Rep	Julie Raque Adams	Rep
38	Dan Malano Seum	Rep	Dan Malano Seum	Rep

Closest races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

District 28, 5.61% (gain)

Special elections

District 13 special

Reggie Thomas was elected in December 2013 following the resignation of Kathy Stein.

2013 Kentucky Senate 13th district special election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Reggie Thomas	4,040	53.8
	Independent	Richard Moloney	2,617	34.8
	Republican	Michael Johnson	851	11.3
	Write-in	Michael Graetz	2	0.0
Total votes			7,510	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 2

Incumbent senator Robert J. "Bob" Leeper did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican Danny Carroll.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Jeff G. Parker

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Danny Carroll

Eliminated in primary

David Hoffman

Results

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Danny Carroll	3,195	54.9
	Republican	David Hoffman	2,621	45.1
Total votes			5,816	100.0

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 2nd district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Danny Carroll	24,752	58.5
	Democratic	Jeff G. Parker	17,585	41.5
Total votes			42,337	100.0
	Republican gain from Independent

District 4

Incumbent senator J. Dorsey Ridley won reelection unopposed.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

J. Dorsey Ridley, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 4th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J. Dorsey Ridley (incumbent)	Unopposed
Total votes			26,811	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 6

Incumbent senator Jerry P. Rhoads did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican C. B. Embry Jr.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

William M. Cox Jr.

Eliminated in primary

M. Douglas "Doug" Smith

Results

Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William M. Cox Jr.	7,411	66.9
	Democratic	M. Douglas "Doug" Smith	3,665	33.1
Total votes			11,076	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

C. B. Embry Jr., representative from the 17th district (2003–2015)

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 6th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	C. B. Embry Jr.	21,591	57.1
	Democratic	William M. Cox Jr.	16,230	42.9
Total votes			37,821	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 8

Incumbent senator Joe Bowen won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Joe Bowen, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 8th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Bowen (incumbent)	Unopposed
Total votes			29,140	100.0
	Republican hold

District 10

Incumbent senator Dennis L. Parrett won reelection unopposed.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Dennis L. Parrett, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 10th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dennis L. Parrett (incumbent)	Unopposed
Total votes			23,823	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 12

Incumbent senator Alice Forgy Kerr won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Kathy Warnecke Ryan.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Kathy Warnecke Ryan

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Alice Forgy Kerr, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 12th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alice Forgy Kerr (incumbent)	26,458	62.9
	Democratic	Kathy Warnecke Ryan	15,583	37.1
Total votes			42,041	100.0
	Republican hold

District 14

Incumbent senator Jimmy Higdon won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Jimmy Higdon, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 14th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jimmy Higdon (incumbent)	Unopposed
Total votes			31,413	100.0
	Republican hold

District 16

Incumbent Republican senator Sara Beth Gregory was defeated for renomination by George Maxwell "Max" Wise.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

George Maxwell "Max" Wise

Eliminated in primary

Sara Beth Gregory, incumbent senator

Results

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George Maxwell "Max" Wise	14,037	54.5
	Republican	Sara Beth Gregory (incumbent)	11,743	45.5
Total votes			25,780	100.0

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 16th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George Maxwell "Max" Wise	Unopposed
Total votes			31,918	100.0
	Republican hold

District 18

Incumbent senator Robin Webb won reelection, defeating Republican candidate Tony Downey.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Robin Webb, incumbent senator

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Tony Downey

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 18th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robin Webb (incumbent)	21,533	62.7
	Republican	Tony Downey	12,817	37.3
Total votes			34,350	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 20

Incumbent senator Paul R. Hornback won reelection, defeating primary election challenger Tony McCurdy.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Paul R. Hornback, incumbent senator

Eliminated in primary

Tony McCurdy

Results

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul R. Hornback (incumbent)	6,079	82.9
	Republican	Tony McCurdy	1,256	17.1
Total votes			7,335	100.0

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 20th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul R. Hornback (incumbent)	Unopposed
Total votes			29,810	100.0
	Republican hold

District 22

Incumbent senator Tom Buford won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Tom Buford, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 22nd district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Buford (incumbent)	Unopposed
Total votes			28,089	100.0
	Republican hold

District 24

Incumbent senator Katie Kratz Stine did not seek reelection. She was succeeded by Republican Wil Schroder.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Jason Michael Steffen

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Wil Schroder

Eliminated in primary

Deb Sheldon
Brandon N. Voelker

Results

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wil Schroder	4,555	50.3
	Republican	Deb Sheldon	2,439	26.9
	Republican	Brandon N. Voelker	2,057	22.7
Total votes			9,051	100.0

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 24th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wil Schroder	21,792	61.7
	Democratic	Jason Michael Steffen	13,547	38.3
Total votes			35,339	100.0
	Republican hold

District 26

Incumbent senator Ernie Harris won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Ernie Harris, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 26th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ernie Harris (incumbent)	Unopposed
Total votes			34,827	100.0
	Republican hold

District 28

Incumbent senator R. J. Palmer II was defeated for reelection by Republican Ralph Alvarado.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

R. J. Palmer II, incumbent senator

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Ralph Alvarado

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 28th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph Alvarado	18,636	52.8
	Democratic	R. J. Palmer II (incumbent)	16,656	47.2
Total votes			35,292	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 30

Incumbent senator Brandon D. Smith won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Jordan Bowling Palmer.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Jordan Bowling Palmer

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Brandon D. Smith, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 30th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brandon D. Smith (incumbent)	27,447	73.8
	Democratic	Jordan Bowling Palmer	9,733	26.2
Total votes			37,180	100.0
	Republican hold

District 32

Incumbent senator Mike Wilson won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Mike Wilson, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 32nd district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Wilson (incumbent)	Unopposed
Total votes			24,666	100.0
	Republican hold

District 34

Incumbent senator Jared K. Carpenter won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Michael S. Pope.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Michael S. Pope

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Jared K. Carpenter, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 34th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jared K. Carpenter (incumbent)	22,932	64.6
	Democratic	Michael S. Pope	12,540	35.4
Total votes			35,472	100.0
	Republican hold

District 36

Incumbent senator Julie Carman Denton did not seek reelection. She was succeeded by Republican Julie Raque Adams.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Siddique Malik

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Julie Raque Adams, representative from the 32nd district (2011–2015)

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 36th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Julie Raque Adams	31,623	66.4
	Democratic	Siddique Malik	16,011	33.6
Total votes			47,634	100.0
	Republican hold

District 38

Incumbent senator Dan Malano Seum won reelection, defeating primary election challenger Brenda Sue "Susie" Board.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Dan Malano Seum, incumbent senator

Eliminated in primary

Brenda Sue "Susie" Board

Results

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Malano Seum (incumbent)	5,280	74.2
	Republican	Brenda Sue "Susie" Board	1,832	25.8
Total votes			7,112	100.0

General election

Results

2014 Kentucky Senate 38th district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Malano Seum (incumbent)	Unopposed
Total votes			26,745	100.0
	Republican hold

Notes

^ Independent senator Bob Leeper caucused with the Republicans.

References

^ "Diverse candidates vying for state Senate seats - election could see first latino, muslim in general assembly". The Lexington Herald-Leader. September 29, 2014. p. A1.
^ "Max Wise ousts David Williams' successor - GOP primary winner to run unopposed". The Lexington Herald-Leader. May 21, 2014. p. A7.
^ "Same candidates, reversed outcome in 28th Senate District - Republicans increase commanding lead, gaining three more seats". The Lexington Herald-Leader. November 5, 2014. p. A5.

v t e (2013 ←) 2014 United States elections (→ 2015)
U.S. Senate	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Colorado Delaware Georgia Hawaii (special) Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina Oklahoma Oklahoma (special) Oregon Rhode Island South Carolina South Carolina (special) South Dakota Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia Wyoming
U.S. House (Election ratings)	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida 13th sp 19th sp Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey 1st sp New Mexico New York North Carolina 12th sp North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia 7th sp U.S. Virgin Islands Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Governors	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Lt. Gov Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Lt. Gov Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U.S. Virgin Islands Vermont Wisconsin Wyoming
Attorneys General	Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Iowa Maryland Michigan Minnesota Nevada New York Ohio Texas Wisconsin
State legislatures	Alaska House Senate Connecticut Senate California Assembly Senate Delaware House Senate Florida House Guam Hawaii Senate Illinois House Senate Iowa Senate Maryland House Senate Michigan House Senate Minnesota House Montana House New Mexico House New York Senate North Carolina House Senate Pennsylvania House Senate Texas House Senate Vermont Senate Washington House Senate Wisconsin Assembly Senate
Mayors	Anaheim, CA Austin, TX Chula Vista, CA Corpus Christi, TX Irvine, CA Jackson, MS Lexington, KY Long Beach, CA Louisville, KY Lubbock, TX New Orleans, LA Newark, NJ Norfolk, VA North Miami, FL (special) Oakland, CA Oklahoma City, OK Providence, RI Reno, NV San Bernardino, CA San Diego, CA (special) San Jose, CA Santa Ana, CA Shreveport, LA Tallahassee, FL Washington, DC
States	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia U.S. Virgin Islands Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Overview

Retiring incumbents

Democratic

Republican

Independent

Incumbents defeated

In the primary election

Republicans

In the general election

Democrats

Summary by district

Closest races

Special elections

District 13 special

District 2

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Results

General election

Results

District 4

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Results

District 6

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Results

District 8

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Results

District 10

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Results

District 12

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Results

District 14

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Results

District 16

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Results

General election

Results

District 18

Democratic primary

Candidates