Kentucky's 2014 elections U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State House • School boards • Judicial • Candidate ballot access

2015 → ← 2013

The state of Kentucky held elections in 2014. Below are the dates of note:

2014 elections and events in Kentucky
Signature filing deadline for party candidates	January 28, 2014
Filing deadline for independent and minor party candidates for primary election	April 1, 2014
Deadline for general election candidates running for state office to file a statement of candidacy	April 1, 2014
Voter registration deadline for primary election	April 21, 2014
Primary election date	May 20, 2014
Filing deadline for general election candidates	August 12, 2014
Voter registration deadline for general election	October 6, 2014
Filing deadline for write-in candidates for general election	October 24, 2014
General election date	November 4, 2014
School board elections (13)	November 4, 2014

Below are the types of elections that were scheduled in Kentucky in 2014:

On the 2014 ballot
Find current election news and links here.
U.S. Senate	a
U.S. House	a
State Executives	d
State Senate	a
State House	a
Statewide ballot measures (0 measures)	d
Local ballot measures	d
School boards	a
State courts	a

2014 elections

Races to watch in Kentucky

U.S. Congress

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See also: United States Senate elections in Kentucky, 2014

Facing both legitimate challenges from his own party and the Democratic Party, Sen. Mitch McConnell faced his toughest re-election campaign yet. Democratic frontrunner Alison Lundergan Grimes showed strong fundraising and media attention.

Kentucky State Legislature

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See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2014 and Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Kentucky State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 28, 2014. Heading into the election, the Republican Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.

2012 Margin of Victory, Kentucky State Senate
District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Votes	Top Opponent
District 3	Whitney Westerfield	0.8%	36,617	Joey Pendleton
District 21	Albert Robinson	7.6%	38,073	Amie Hacker
District 37	Perry Clark	17.2%	42,342	Chris Thieneman
District 7	Julian Carroll	18%	56,617	Frank Haynes
District 1	Stan Humphries	18.6%	47,783	Carroll Hubbard
District 23	Chris McDaniel	20%	40,003	James Noll
District 27	Walter Blevins	27%	39,327	Tony Downey
District 23	Robert Stivers	27.9%	33,147	Ralph Hoskins
District 17	Damon Thayer	32.7%	53,269	David Holcomb
District 33	Gerald Neal	87.4%	36,277	Norris Shelton

Elections for the Kentucky House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 28, 2014. Heading into the election, the Democratic Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.

2012 Margin of Victory, Kentucky House of Representatives
District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Votes	Top Opponent
District 91	Gary Wayne Herald	1.1%	12,530	Ted Edmonds
District 13	James Glenn, Jr.	1.6%	15,731	Bill Barron
District 27	Jeff Greer	2%	14,800	Dalton Jantzen
District 49	Russell Webber	5.6%	21,453	Linda Belcher
District 50	David Floyd	6.9%	21,298	Dick Heaton
District 88	Robert J. Benvenuti III.	7.9%	24,013	Reginald Thomas
District 62	Ryan Quarles	8.1%	22,965	Charlie Hoffman
District 16	Martha King	8.5%	15,004	Chris Hightower
District 76	Ruth Palumbo	9.2%	19,028	Richard Marrs

Elections by type

U.S. Senate

U.S. Senate elections in Kentucky

See also: United States Senate elections in Kentucky, 2014 and United States Senate elections, 2014

Voters in Kentucky elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 4, 2014.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
January 28, 2014	May 20, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Kentucky utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.^[1][2][3]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by April 21, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 6, 2014.^[4]

See also: Kentucky elections, 2014

Incumbent: The election filled the Senate seat held by Mitch McConnell (R). McConnell was first elected in 1984.

Kentucky was a solidly Republican state.^[5]

Candidates

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Note: The filing deadline for candidates was January 28, 2014.

General election candidates

• Mitch McConnell - Incumbent
• Alison Lundergan Grimes - Kentucky Secretary of State
• David Patterson
• Mike Maggard (Write-in)
• Robert Ransdell (Write-in)
• Shawna Sterling (Write-in)

May 20, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Mitch McConnell - Incumbenta Matt Bevin[6] Brad Copas[7] Chris Payne[8] Shawna Sterling[8]

Democratic Primary Alison Lundergan Grimes - Kentucky Secretary of State[9][10]a Burrel Charles Farnsley[11] Greg Leichty - University of Louisville professor[12] Tom Recktenwald[13]

Third Party Candidates

• David Patterson^[14]

Failed to file

• Bennie Smith^[12][15][16]
• Cecil Weldon Pearson, Jr.^[17]
• Bill Garmer - Attorney and former state Democratic Party Chairman^[18]
• Tom Fitzgerald - Environmental attorney^[18]
• Roger Thoney^[19]
• Joshua Pike Mather^[19]

Withdrew

• Gurley Martin - Candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010^{[20][21][22][23]}
• Ed Marksberry^[9][24]

Declined to run

• Heather French Henry - Former Miss America^[12][25]
• Brett Guthrie - Representative from District 2^[26]
• Thomas Massie - Representative from District 4^[27]

U.S. House

U.S. House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky, 2014 and United States House of Representatives elections, 2014

The 2014 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Kentucky took place on November 4, 2014. Voters elected six candidates to serve in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's six congressional districts.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
January 28, 2014	May 20, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Kentucky utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.^[1][2][28]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by April 21, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 6, 2014.^[4]

See also: Kentucky elections, 2014

Partisan breakdown

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Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held five of the six congressional seats from Kentucky.

Members of the U.S. House from Kentucky -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2014	After the 2014 Election
	Democratic Party	1	1
	Republican Party	5	5
Total		6	6

Incumbents

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Heading into the 2014 election, the incumbents for the six congressional districts were:

Name	Party	District
Ed Whitfield	Republican	1
Brett Guthrie	Republican	2
John Yarmuth	Democratic	3
Thomas Massie	Republican	4
Hal Rogers	Republican	5
Andy Barr	Republican	6

List of candidates by district

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Note: The filing deadline for candidates was January 28, 2014.

1st Congressional District

General election candidates

• Ed Whitfield - Incumbent
• Charles Kendall Hatchett

May 20, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Ed Whitfield - Incumbenta

Democratic Primary Wesley Bolin[29] Charles Kendall Hatchett[29]a

2nd Congressional District

General election candidates

• Brett Guthrie - Incumbent
• Ron Leach
  

May 20, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Brett Guthrie - Incumbenta

Democratic Primary Ron Leach[29]a

3rd Congressional District

General election candidates

• Michael Macfarlane
• John Yarmuth - Incumbent
• Greg Puccetti

May 20, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Michael Macfarlane[30]a

Democratic Primary John Yarmuth - Incumbenta E. Ray Pierce[29]

Third Party Candidates

• Mark Gatton^[31]

4th Congressional District

General election candidates

• Thomas Massie - Incumbent
• Peter Newberry

May 20, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Thomas Massie - Incumbenta

Democratic Primary Peter Newberry[32]a

Failed to file

• Steve Stevens: Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President^[33]

5th Congressional District

General election candidates

• Hal Rogers - Incumbent
• Kenneth Stepp

May 20, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Hal Rogers - Incumbenta

Democratic Primary Kenneth Stepp[29]a Billy Ray Wilson[29]

6th Congressional District

General election candidates

• Andy Barr - Incumbent
• Elisabeth Jensen

May 20, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Andy Barr - Incumbenta

Democratic Primary Elisabeth Jensen: Director of the non-profit Race for Education[34]a Geoff Young[35]

Failed to file

• Michael Coblenz^[36][37]

Withdrew from race

• Joe Palumbo^[38][39]

State Senate

State Senate election in Kentucky

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2014 and State legislative elections, 2014

Elections for the Kentucky State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 28, 2014.

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Kentucky State Senate:

Kentucky State Senate
Party		As of November 3, 2014	After November 4, 2014
	Democratic Party	14	12
	Republican Party	23	26
	Independent	1	0
Total		38	38

List of candidates by district

Note: The filing deadline for candidates was January 28, 2014.

District 2 • District 4 • District 6 • District 8 • District 10 • District 12 • District 14 • District 16 • District 18 • District 20 • District 22 • District 24 • District 26 • District 28 • District 30 • District 32 • District 34 • District 36 • District 38

State House

State House elections in Kentucky

See also: Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2014 and State legislative elections, 2014

Elections for the Kentucky House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 28, 2014.

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the Kentucky House of Representatives:

Kentucky House of Representatives
Party		As of November 3, 2014	After November 4, 2014
	Democratic Party	54	54
	Republican Party	46	46
Total		100	100

List of candidates by district

Note: The filing deadline for candidates was January 28, 2014.

District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 42 • District 43 • District 44 • District 45 • District 46 • District 47 • District 48 • District 49 • District 50 • District 51 • District 52 • District 53 • District 54 • District 55 • District 56 • District 57 • District 58 • District 59 • District 60 • District 61 • District 62 • District 63 • District 64 • District 65 • District 66 • District 67 • District 68 • District 69 • District 70 • District 71 • District 72 • District 73 • District 74 • District 75 • District 76 • District 77 • District 78 • District 79 • District 80 • District 81 • District 82 • District 83 • District 84 • District 85 • District 86 • District 87 • District 88 • District 89 • District 90 • District 91 • District 92 • District 93 • District 94 • District 95 • District 96 • District 97 • District 98 • District 99 • District 100

School boards

School board elections in Kentucky

See also: List of school board elections in 2014 and Kentucky school board elections, 2014

In 2014, 670 of America's largest school districts held elections for 2,188 seats. These elections took place in 37 states.

State elections

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A total of 13 Kentucky school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2014 for 29 seats. Each district held elections on November 4, 2014.

Here are several quick facts about Kentucky's school board elections in 2014:

• An average of 1.93 candidates ran for each board seat up for election in 2014 in Kentucky’s largest school districts by enrollment, which was higher than the national average of 1.89 candidates per seat.
• 31.03 percent of the school board seats on the ballot in 2014 were unopposed. This was a slightly lower percentage than the 32.57 percent of school board seats that were unopposed nationally.

• 79.31 percent of the incumbents whose seats were on the ballot ran for re-election in 2014, which was higher than the 75.56 percent of incumbents who sought another term nationally.
• A total of 11 newcomers were elected to school boards in Kentucky. They took 37.93 percent of the total seats in 2014, which was slightly lower than the 38.19 percent of school board seats that went to newcomers nationally.
• The largest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was Jefferson County Public Schools with 97,331 K-12 students.
• The smallest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was Christian County Public Schools with 9,291 K-12 students.
• Jefferson County Public Schools had the most seats on the ballot in 2014 with four seats up for election.
• Eleven districts tied for the fewest seats on the ballot with two seats up for election in each.

The districts listed below served 273,445 K-12 students during the 2010-2011 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.^[40] Click on the district names for more information on the district and its school board elections.

2014 Kentucky School Board Elections
District	Date	Seats up for election	Total board seats	Student enrollment
Boone County Schools	11/4/2014	3	5	19,306
Bullitt County Public Schools	11/4/2014	2	5	12,873
Christian County Public Schools	11/4/2014	2	5	9,291
Daviess County Public Schools	11/4/2014	2	5	11,310
Fayette County Public Schools	11/4/2014	2	5	37,819
Hardin County Schools	11/4/2014	2	5	14,675
Jefferson County Public Schools	11/4/2014	4	7	97,331
Kenton County School District	11/4/2014	2	5	14,465
Laurel County Schools	11/4/2014	2	5	9,394
Madison County Schools	11/4/2014	2	5	11,138
Oldham County Schools	11/4/2014	2	5	11,951
Pike County Schools	11/4/2014	2	5	9,982
Warren County Public Schools	11/4/2014	2	5	13,910

Voting in Kentucky

See also: Voting in Kentucky

Important voting information

• A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Kentucky utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.^[1][2][41]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

• On September 22, 2015, Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) said that the state board of elections had approved regulations establishing an online voter registration system. The system was expected to be available in time for the 2016 election. The board of elections expected the registration system to cost the state between $45,000 and $50,000.^[42]

Voting absentee

See also: Absentee voting by state

For information about eligibility, deadlines, military and overseas voting and updates to the voting laws in Kentucky, please visit our absentee voting by state page.

Voting early

See also: Early voting

Kentucky is one of 14 states that do not permit early voting in any form.

Elections Performance Index

See also: Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index

Kentucky ranked 27th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2012 elections. The EPI examined election administration performance and assigned an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. These indicators were chosen in order to determine both the convenience and integrity of these three phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Kentucky received an overall score of 64 percent.^[43]

See also

Footnotes

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