The 2016 Kentucky House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 2016, as part of the biennial United States elections. All 100 of Kentucky's state representatives were up for reelection. In Kentucky, members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

serve two-year terms. Accordingly, they are up for reelection in both presidential and midterm election years. Republicans gained 17 seats in the election, winning the chamber outright. This ended nearly 100 years of Democratic control of the house, as the last time that Republicans won a majority was in 1919. Republicans performed well in rural districts and flipped many seats held by Democrats, including Democratic Speaker

Greg Stumbo Gregory D. Stumbo (born August 14, 1951) is an American lawyer and former Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Kentucky Attorney general from 2004 to 2008. He was the Democratic candida ...

who lost reelection. Together with Republican governor

Matt Bevin Matthew Griswold Bevin (; born January 9, 1967) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 62nd governor of Kentucky, from 2015 to 2019. He was the third Republican elected Kentucky governor since World War II, after Ernie Fletc ...

, this was the first time in history that Republicans gained a

trifecta Trifecta A trifecta is a parimutuel bet placed on a horse race in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third, in the exact order. Known as a trifecta in the US and Australia, this is known as a tricast in t ...

in the state. A numbered map of the house districts at the time can be viewe
here

Retiring incumbents

Brad Montell resigned in October 2016. Thomas Kerr resigned in September 2016.

Democratic

# 23rd:

Johnny Bell Johnny W. Bell (born June 15, 1965) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives representing District 23 from 2007 to 2016. He also served as the Majority Whip of the Kentucky House of R ...

: Retired. # 46th:

Larry Clark Lawrence Donald Clark (born January 19, 1943) is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for his controversial teen film ''Kids'' (1995) and his photography book ''Tulsa'' (1971). His work focuses prim ...

: Retired. # 70th: Mike Denham: Retired. # 94th: Leslie A. Combs: Retired.

Republican

# 48th: Bob DeWeese: Retired. # 50th: David Floyd: Retired.

Defeated incumbents

In primary elections

Democratic

# 41st:

Tom Riner Tom Riner (born October 7, 1946) is an American politician and pastor who served as a Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives for the 41st District from 1982 until 2017. He was defeated by Attica Scott in the 2016 Democratic ...

(first elected in 1981) lost renomination to

Attica Scott Attica Woodson Scott (born January 30, 1972) is an American politician serving as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 41st district. Early life and education Scott was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and attended duPont Ma ...

, who won the general election.

Republican

# 33rd: Ronald Crimm (first elected in 1996) lost renomination to

Jason Nemes Jason Michael Nemes (born March 27, 1978) is an American politician who has served in the Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Repre ...

, who won the general election.

In general elections

Democratic

# 8th: Jeffrey R. Taylor (elected in March 2016) lost to Walker Thomas. # 11th: David Watkins (first elected in 2006) lost to

Robby Mills Robert M. Mills (born March 17, 1967) is an American politician who has served in the Kentucky Senate from the 4th district since 2019. He previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 11th district from 2017 to 2019, after d ...

. # 13th:

Jim Glenn James Glenn Jr. (born February 17, 1948) is a former Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. Personal life Jim Glenn was married to his wife Cornelia for 38 years, who died in June 2010. He currently resides in Owensboro an ...

(first elected in 2006) lost to DJ Johnson. # 14th:

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American Republican politician who most recently served as interim president of the University of Wisconsin System from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served ...

(first elected in 2002) lost to Matt Castlen. # 15th: Brent Yonts (first elected in 1996) lost to Melinda Gibbons Prunty. # 16th: Martha Jane King (first elected in 2008) lost to Jason Petrie. # 24th: Terry Mills (first elected in 2010) lost to Brandon Reed. # 49th: Linda H. Belcher (first elected in 2008) lost to Dan Johnson. # 62nd: Chuck Tackett (elected in March 2016) lost to Phillip Pratt. # 78th: Tom McKee (first elected in 1996) lost to

Mark Hart Mark Hart (born July 2, 1953), is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist best known for being a member of both Supertramp (1986–1988, 1996–2002, 2015–present) and Crowded House (1993–1996, 2007–2019). As well as being a group memb ...

. # 81st: Rita Smart (first elected in 2010) lost to C. Wesley Morgan. # 84th: Fitz Steele (first elected in 2008) lost to Chris Fugate. # 91st: Cluster Howard (first elected in 2014) lost to

Toby Herald Gary Wayne "Toby" Herald (born July 4, 1953) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives representing District 91 since January 8, 2013. Elections *2012 To challenge District 91 incumbent Democra ...

. # 92nd: John Short (first elected in 2010) lost to John Blanton. # 95th:

(first elected in 1979) lost to Larry L. Brown. # 97th: Hubert Collins (first elected in 1990) lost to

Scott Wells Scott Darvin Wells (born January 7, 1981) is a former American football center. He played college football for the University of Tennessee, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He won Super Bowl ...

. # 98th: Lew Nicholls (elected in March 2016) lost to Danny Bentley.

Republican

# 38th: Denver Butler (first elected in 2012) lost to McKenzie Cantrell.

Closest races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%: # gain # gain # # # gain # gain # # # gain # gain # gain # # # gain # # # gain # gain # # gain

Results by district

References

Notes

{{2016 United States elections

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

Kentucky House of Representatives elections

Kentucky House The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...